Anyone still do cartridge shaving?

[smballer]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone use a cartridge razor if they are in a hurry or if travelling such as flying?

Would using a brush/soap with a cartridge be a good idea though? I always felt that the lubricant strip on the cartridge is designed to work with canned gel.

Would it make sense to do 'hybrid shaving' with a Proglide or a Schick?

 

[GoneRetroInOH]

What got me started with getting shaving supplies online was a need to replentish the Trac II cartridges that I had been using. I stocked-up with more than 200 of them before discovering DE. I've kept the Barbasol and cartridges handy, and even upgraded the Trac II handle with a bump fighter. In the five weeks since switching, I recall reverting to cartridges once for a late-day touch up. I have already bought and used a couple cheap Baili DE travel sets and synthetic brushes for away-from-home shaves.
It is a free country and there are times when the shave is the only discretionary time left. There is never any telling how much, or how little of it, there may be. I have been lucky to maintain the dozen minutes or so that it takes to do it well. When that availability of time closes, or when just needing a change, the means to get it back down to under five minutes is handy.

 

[Musikmann]

When I discovered our hobby I had quite a few cartridge refills and canned foams and gels. I'm still using the carts to use them up (with a brush, soaps or creams) and I still use the foams and carts when travelling for the convenience. Many on here will state you aren't getting the full experience of wet shaving by using a cartridge razor with brush/soap/cream but I find it immeasureably better than using the canned foams and gels. Just try it and see if you like that method.

 

[mmaggi]

Of course I do. I use a DE 2-3 times a week and my Gillette Fusion Pro Glide once a week. Still gives me the best shave by far. Brush & soap/cream is best regardless of the razor you use.

 

[chris.hale]

A cartridge is no faster for me, so no. The only time I'd use a cartridge / disposable is if I was flying without hold luggage, but I'd still use soap and a brush.

The lubricant strip on cartridges is a mystery to me, if it's a lubricant why put it after the blade?

 

[Montanan]

A cartridge isn't really any faster for me than a double-edge, and it just seems so ... wrong.

I generally don't travel with my shaving soap and brush, though, and I'll sometimes buy a small can of the chemical foam for use on a trip. makes me appreciate my shaving soap all the more when I get home.

 

[rlsinaz]

As I've gotten better at DE shaving, I've stopped using carts. I still have around 150 Trac II carts, and I still like the Bump Fighter handle, but I simply get a better shave with my current DE razor. I like to shave aggressively & not slow down around the corners. Counter-intuitively, I find a "mild" razor used fast gives me my closest shave. The Bump Fighter is still there, the carts are still stacked in the closet...but after 3 years of DE shaving, I just don't have much need for them any more.

I wash my face with Ivory and water, then start my first pass. I use the despised 'canned goo' for the second and third passes - Gillette Foamy Menthol. In the 10 years after canned shaving cream was introduced, 2 out of 3 switched. That was in the 50s, when everyone used DE razors. They also shaved to get the job done and get out the door.

There is a reason most men switched to carts. I did too, when carts first came out. They gave me a faster and easier shave than my Schick Injector, with less blood. My Dad died before I needed to shave, so I learned shaving on my own - before the Internet. Frankly, I did not learn to do it well before the carts were introduced - and the carts made a good shave possible without any technique. Neither carts nor canned shaving cream are bad. They converted millions of men because they both work well for a fast, easy & good enough shave without any skill.

But it is also good to remember than many men DID get excellent & fast shaves in the 50s & 60s. Shaving with a DE razor is, in the end, about SHAVING. It is not necessarily a mating ritual between highly ornate birds. Many apparently find the ritual soothing and relaxing, rather like some find the ritual of making tea in the traditional manner. Me? I drink coffee from Mr Coffee. I don't do latte, don't grind my own coffee and don't care if the water is hard. It's just coffee to me.

You can get a good, close, comfortable shave from a DE razor in 5-6 minutes. Close to a DFS in 6 minutes. You can get a BBS in under 10 minutes. A $23 Merkur 15c, a bar of Ivory soap, any darn blade you wish to buy, hot water and your hand suffice to get a good shave with a DE razor - with practice. Practice, and paying attention to what works or doesn't work.

It may take a month for some, or a few years for others. If you pay attention and strive to improve, you'll get good enough shaves fast enough that carts won't improve anything for you.

But until then, keeping a Bump Fighter handle and some Trac II carts around for times when you need fast & easy is a good idea. I found the Mach 3 a questionable improvement over the Sensor, but if you get a good shave with a 5 blade rollerball...then use it when needed. This is shaving. It can be fun, but it isn't the path to Heaven. When you need a fast,safe shave, use whatever works for you. In my case, a Tech, 15c or AS-D2 give me equally fast and good results. But carts can be great. "Canned goo" has its place. Electric razors? Not so much...

Post #115 sums it up well for me:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...to-shave-clean-amp-safe?p=6608256#post6608256

 

[MicBaldy]

Yep, still do.

 

[jayroyster]

Still finding my way with my DE. So for now my Fusion is used as a last minute touch up. I'm slowly weaning myself off of it though.

 

[tejolot3]

I use my Mach III every few weeks to shave non-facial hair (I'll leave it at that), for which I use only oil.

Before switching to DE, I had long been using nothing but Ivory soap for my shaves, so there would be no going back to gel for me. If I were ever to need to use a cartridge razor again (for my face), then it would certainly be for the sake of time, which means I would probably abandon the brush as well. I have a family of five, so flying hasn't been an economical option for a long time.

But, I rather doubt time would ever be an issue for me. I rarely shave in the morning, and if I didn't have time for a proper shave, I'd probably just skip it. It would have to be some crazy combination of a hectic day followed by a wedding or funeral or some such thing, on which case I probably wouldn't have packed my Mach III along anyway.

I still haven't decided what I'll do when I eventually run out of cartridges. One thing's for sure: I'm not paying an arm and a leg for more Mach III cartridges.

 

[VedderLG]

Don't use carts anymore; even when traveling. Brush and soap/cream do greatly improve results from a cart shave. Way less irritation. There should be no shame in using a cart. It is a tool like any other. Do what works best for you.

 

[crleftwich]

I still have my Gillette Fusion and am on my last cartridge. I've been on my last cartridge for probalby about 6 months now. I rarely use it. The only time I do is when I am pressed for time...like today, for instance. Stayed up a bit late last night, slept in a bit longer than usual, so I had to do a quick in-shower shave with the cart. I have to admit one thing - - - I got a pretty damn smooth shave. Armed with the knowledge and technique that comes from DE shaving, I got a good shave with the cart. Once this last cartridge is no longer usable, I guess I'll throw away the whole thing. Going forward, when I am pressed on time, I'll use a single-blade disposable razor such as a Bic Sensitive.

 

[Royalpar1]

I will NEVER go back !

 

[Milhaus]

I do.
I do a polish pass with my cart after a DE shave...gets any spots I may have missed or not gone close enough for fear of a nick in a tricky area.
And ya, if in a hurry, i'll use a cart for a DFS...it takes me about 5-6 mins, whereas a good DE shave takes me about 15-20.
they are both tools, with respective pros and cons. I use whichever one is appropriate for the situation. I owe no more loyalty to the DE industry than I did to the carts and cans industry.

 

[Milhaus]

I still have my Gillette Fusion and am on my last cartridge. I've been on my last cartridge for probalby about 6 months now. I rarely use it. The only time I do is when I am pressed for time...like today, for instance. Stayed up a bit late last night, slept in a bit longer than usual, so I had to do a quick in-shower shave with the cart. I have to admit one thing - - - I got a pretty damn smooth shave. Armed with the knowledge and technique that comes from DE shaving, I got a good shave with the cart. Once this last cartridge is no longer usable, I guess I'll throw away the whole thing. Going forward, when I am pressed on time, I'll use a single-blade disposable razor such as a Bic Sensitive.

Ive often wondered, if, as you illustrate, men put as much thought, care and time into shaving with carts as they do with DE's, if the difference in shave quality would be quite so dramatic. I almost think the DE is most valuable as a training/re-training tool.

 

[Montanan]

Ive often wondered, if, as you illustrate, men put as much thought, care and time into shaving with carts as they do with DE's, if the difference in shave quality would be quite so dramatic. I almost think the DE is most valuable as a training/re-training tool.

Yep. It's posible to complete a cartridge shave with one's brain turned nearly completely off, and that's probably one of the reasons it appeals to some people. You need to be a bit more conscious to do a successful DE shave, which is a good thing.

 

[Milhaus]

Yep. It's posible to complete a cartridge shave with one's brain turned nearly completely off, and that's probably one of the reasons it appeals to some people. You need to be a bit more conscious to do a successful DE shave, which is a good thing.

lol...ya, it totally plays to the lazy side in most of us.
After all, we live in a society where people buy pre-cut carrots and lettuce in bags so we wont have to spend 60 seconds cuting them ourselves...all part of the "...these days we're all so busy..." mantra that advertisers use to sell us more expensive products that will put more time back in our hectic lives.
funny thing is, watching people in a Starbucks texting back and forth for hours, when a 5 min phone call would accomplish as much, leads me to wonder if we're really all that busy or we just prefer to waste our time differently "these days".

in my own case, Im not a morning person, and never will be. Im still half asleep by the time I leave the house on early mornings, so my choices are either a DE shave the night before, which unfortunately feels a little weird to me at bedtime, or a safe, robotic 5min cart pass with my eyes half open in the morning.

 

[theturducken]

Always. Either a Mach 3 or a Dorco Comfort Twin. Still use a soap and brush or cream. Rarely I'll use some Barbasol if I'm feeling it.

 

[crleftwich]

Ive often wondered, if, as you illustrate, men put as much thought, care and time into shaving with carts as they do with DE's, if the difference in shave quality would be quite so dramatic. I almost think the DE is most valuable as a training/re-training tool.

I'd say yes, indeed. Razors these days are made to be so easy to use, what with all the pivoting heads, the lube strips, etc. People don't really need technique to shave anymore. Just drag that thing across your face and voila! But, it's to the suffering of razor burn and irritation that is often associated with these razors. If more focus was placed into the right way to shave, you can still achieve a nice shave with ANY razor, cartridge or not.

I remember when my dad taught me to shave. My first few shaves, I had such a deep level of concentration that it was almost a mental challenge to bring a razor across my face. Then, along came three blades, then four, then five, and all kinds of vibrating handles and pivoting heads. I could do a speed shave in under a minute but would suffer with face pain for an entire day - which I came think of as being normal.

Now, that's all a thing of the past because I use the things of the past. Shaving is fun again when you do it the right way. You can get a good, quality shave with almost anything sharp as long as you maintain a proper technique.

 

[sub vet]

Inherited a heavy, chromed TracII handle so I ordered some carts for it. I'll probably try it after the carts arrive.