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Thank you hotmetal, much appreciated, Gacelito went to a lot of effort and was a shame, that many people may not have fully understood his comments.
Kind regards, whitesix
Thank you hotmetal, much appreciated, Gacelito went to a lot of effort and was a shame, that many people may not have fully understood his comments.Hey Whitesix I've just stumbled on this thread. Gacelito is (writing in) Spanish. His name means "little gazelle" literally, or "graceful one" figuratively. Here's what he said...
It depends on how you like to shave.
For tough beards that never clog, we have the 1990 BIC METAL from Greece.
Or the WILKINSON HIDRO 5 lawnmower, the best for eliminating the retractable lube strip.
Cheaper is the Personna M5
In the four-blade range we have the classic Wilkinson sword (Quattro Titanium Precision) in its razor and cartridge holder versions or the classic Wilkinson with four metal handles.
WILKINSON PRECISION
These versions have four-blade cartridges and some compatible ones like qshave with more blades.
Agreed.
Part of the problem, as others have observed, is that manufacturers like P&G and Edgewell put cheaper, duller blades in older model cartridges after introducing more expensive razors with more blades or some other gimmick. So the two or three blade cartridges that once were state of the art decades ago are now unpleasant to use. (They also buy up brands and put duller DE blades in the same packaging, often after moving the factory to a locale with cheaper manufacturing costs.)
I remember when Dorco proudly introduced their six-blade cartridge, the first in the world. I was there. All of South Korea rejoiced -- Korea is No. 1!
There are several things that were quite bizarre about this. One is that most Korean men shave with an electric razor, and then only once or twice a week. (Same with Japanese men, which makes the whole "Feather is the sharpest in the world" an exercise in pointless macho pride.) I only ran into a few tucks of blue and white Dorco DE blades (and a DE razor) ONCE in my three years in Korea, and then only in a remote corner of a dusty hardware store in an unfashionable part of town. Most seemed to think that shaving with a blade, especially a DE blade, was only for peasants (same in China).
Another is that after trying several Dorco cartridge razors with various blade permutations, I concluded their motto should be: "Ever striving for mediocrity, but never quite arriving" (Semper certando ad mediocritatem, sed non satis perveniens). Their five-blade razor was just another dull version of their four-blade razor and their three-blade razor and their two-blade razor. But, Koreans are convinced, if it is more expensive, it must be better. If they were the only razors in the world, I could use them. I never plunked down a pocket of Won for their ridiculously priced six-blade razor. Adding more dull blades does not a better razor make.
But the biggest reason I was not impressed by Dorco was that their quality control was non-existent. Literally.
I bought a package of 10 triple blade razors and could not shave with any of them. This is not hyperbole. I literally could not shave a single whisker off with any of them. Puzzled, I tried running my finger lengthwise along the razor edge. Nothing happened. No blood. It didn't feel at all sharp - just strips of thin metal.
Not a single one of the three blades on any of the 10 razors had been sharpened at all. None. They had all gone from one end of the production line to the other: Into the plastic bags, into the cartons, onto the trucks, into the stores, onto the store shelves, into the hands of Korean consumers, without a single person ever complaining once.
But, hey, Korea makes the best razors in the world, because they have six blades!
And whilst off the topic (what some might call a "rant"), to answer your question, I use a great many different DE razors, old, new, cheap, pricey, rare, plebian, but only one at a time. The list would be too long to inventory. I have used so many different razor blades over the years that I've lost count, well over 50, perhaps as many as 100. Before you say that's impossible, they don't even make 100 different razor blades, consider that I lived in India for several years, and, yes, they make a whole lot of different blades there (SuperMax is just the tip of the iceberg/monsoon) -- why, I don't know, because after trying most of them, I concluded that almost all of them aren't very good. And then there are the incredibly atrocious Chinese blades (mostly), although some are quite good, of course.
However, I can answer that I use the Sharp Swiss Titanium blade most of the time, along with the Treet 7 Day Platinum and Treet carbon Dura Sharp blades. I also like the Laser Ultra Triple Coated blades and the Derby Extra blades, which I prefer over their pricier permutations (there is a reason why some people get lots of great shaves with Derby Extras and others only get one). I also have BICs, which are, indeed, extremely sharp and smooth. But I generally prefer the feel of the Sharp Titanium blades.
And yet there are still blades I have not tried, including tucks in a cardboard box somewhere on the back of a shelf that were included with razors I ordered, with names such as "Black Widow," not to mention some intriguing vintage blades (Don Juan!). That box also has several tucks of genuine Feathers, unopened; I will take them for a spin again, one day, perhaps when I run out of Titaniums.
Life is never boring as long as there are new blades to try. But most of the blades are. I received a stock of a new blade yesterday that I kept seeing glowing reviews of, and tried it out today. It only lasted half a shave because, while it was smooth, it did not provide a close shave even in an aggressive razor, and in a mild razor was useless.
I will try it again tomorrow. Certainly, every blade deserves at least three tries. But this is absolutely the last new razor blade brand I am buying. Period. The other new blade I got recently is good and useable. People all over the world rave about it. But it is not as good as my top three. When I use these so-so blades, I really have to wonder what people are comparing them to.
However, one's experience with a blade is highly contingent on one's prep, along with the razor, whether it is aggressive or mild, and what blade bevel works best with it. So I shouldn't be too judgmental of others.
But, after too many years wandering in the desert, I suggest that most people would do well to pick a good razor -- such as a Merkur, Baili, Long Comb, Tech, Fatip, etc., a good blade -- such as the Sharp Titanium or Treet 7 Day Platinum or Dura Sharp, and just shave and get on with it. And never, ever use a DE in the shower.
That's my opinion, and I'm sticking with it.
Don't beg, makes you look bad.
Thank you hotmetal, much appreciated, Gacelito went to a lot of effort and was a shame, that many people may not have fully understood his comments.
Kind regards, whitesix
Just realised Gacelito writes in English on other threads, perhaps displaying superior linguistic command, unfortunately completely lost on me.Geez.
Right click, "Translate to English".Thank you hotmetal, much appreciated, Gacelito went to a lot of effort and was a shame, that many people may not have fully understood his comments.
Kind regards, whitesix
Hello Technika are there different models of Trac II and if so which one would you recommend (ie my favourite is the Gillette Sensor, but I would not recommend the later issued Sensor Ecel) and are the blades still available?Only one I own is the trac ll., Prefer the two blade cartridge razors.
HiHello Technika are there different models of Trac II and if so which one would you recommend (ie my favourite is the Gillette Sensor, but I would not recommend the later issued Sensor Ecel) and are the blades still available?
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