Personna Tri-Flexxx vs. Gillette Sensor

[Brutus]

This may be a question for the old hands (after all, we are talking 1990s here), who may remember the Gillette Sensor and Personna Tri-Flexxx cartridge razors. As it is so far in the past, I post my question here as some of the then Sensor or Tri-Flexx users may no longer use cartridge razors and may not frequent the Modern Shaving Systems sub-forum.

The novelty of the Gillette sensor when compared with the Atra (Contour in Europe) predecessor was the smaller head and the leaf springs that supported the individual blades.

The Personna Tri-Flexxx was and is sold as compatible with the Gillette Sensor, although Gillette likely tried to protect the leaf spring concept with some patent(s).


Would anyone know whether the Personna Tri-Flexxx had or has a similar spring support?
And while we’re at it; would you remember one being significantly better than the other?


Thanks for reading and replying…



B.

 

[Goatrope]

@Brutus I don't have an answer to your question, but I did own a Sensor that I never could get used to because of the perceived blade flexing and tugging sensation which I disliked. The 'leaf spring' description was something I never heard of and maybe explains the blade flexing I experienced. Got rid of it and never looked back. Never tried the Personna Tri-Flexxx.

Before that, I also owned a Gillette Trac II which I really liked and now regret getting rid of. It was a pretty good shaver for me, especially with lube strip carts.

 

[Galibier_Numero_Un]

I haven't done much experimentation with either of them (it's staged for later this Summer), but with one shave with each, I found the Gillette blade to be a bit smoother than the Personna blade. I treat this as preliminary, and wouldn't sign off on either of them at this point.

I did not compare them against my current travel razor - a Mach III which I find to have set a pretty high bar in the cartridge category.

My Track II is long gone, and it seems as if they're not as popular on eBay, so finding out that I like it may take me down the acquisition rabbit hole in terms of sourcing future supplies ;-)

I first picked up two Sensor handles along with some Sensor Excel 2 blades. The handles (locking mechanism) aren't very confidence inspiring, and I then picked up a Tri-Flex handle which was pretty much the same. Looking at both handles, I can see the plastic latching mechanism fatiguing and breaking over time.

While researching Sensors, and Sensor Excels, I learned of the handle interchangability between the Gillettes and Personnas.

I recall the cross-compatibility being workable but not perfect. I can't recall which one required a bit of forcing: Personna blade into Sensor handle or the reverse. It did work, however.

... Thom

 

[Mitzie]

The Personna TriFlex and its clones ie SuperMax etc... is still available here in the UK and non branded triple blades are available in Boots and leading supermarkets.

 

[Sabre]

The Personna cart did not have any springs, and wasn't a great shaving cart. I much preferred the Profile and the Sensor.

 

[Shaving like a boss]

I still have an original Sensor handle. Its got to be at least 35 years old by now. Having used both Personna and Gillette blades, I can say I didn't notice much different. These days the razor is delegated to a display piece however, as I found both blades to be tuggy and rough. For cart shaves my favorite is still the Trac II, or PII as it is now marketed from India. I also, contrary to many posted opinions, really like my Techmatic. Though carts for it are getting really hard to find. I was lucky enough to lay in a supply from a closing pharmacy years ago. As to the carts themselves, looking at the Personna vs the Gillette, it looks to me as if the Personna blades do not have the leaf spring system.

 

[Brutus]

The Personna cart did not have any springs, and wasn't a great shaving cart. I much preferred the Profile and the Sensor.

Thank you, that’s what I had thought.
We recently had a discussion about what to take along when flying with only a carry-on bag.
Usually, I take a disassembled three piece DE razor with me and never had any issues, but some people mentioned cartridges.

I got out of the cartridge game when Gillette introduced the Mach 3 that I found overly expensive for what it offered. The price of Sensor cartridges had already started pushing the envelope, but there were cheaper alternatives like Personna cartridges that I rarely used IIRC.
I had use Trac II (GII outside North America), Atra (Contour outside North America) and Sensor razors. I quite liked the Atra, but flying regularly the release button on top of the Atra handle frequently released the cartridge in my carry-on, so I switched to the Sensor that didn’t have this issue.

To get to the point; after all that time of DE and straight shaving, I was curious how good these razors actually performed in a 2 1/2 pass shave when combined with a solid pre-shave and technique.
In essence, better than I remembered from 30 years ago, but not much fun…


Again, thanks all for taking the time to respond.



B.

 

[Goatrope]

In essence, better than I remembered from 30 years ago, but not much fun…

Just curious, why not much fun? Uncomfortable? Care to elaborate?

 

[Sabre]

Thank you, that’s what I had thought.
We recently had a discussion about what to take along when flying with only a carry-on bag.
Usually, I take a disassembled three piece DE razor with me and never had any issues, but some people mentioned cartridges.

I got out of the cartridge game when Gillette introduced the Mach 3 that I found overly expensive for what it offered. The price of Sensor cartridges had already started pushing the envelope, but there were cheaper alternatives like Personna cartridges that I rarely used IIRC.
I had use Trac II (GII outside North America), Atra (Contour outside North America) and Sensor razors. I quite liked the Atra, but flying regularly the release button on top of the Atra handle frequently released the cartridge in my carry-on, so I switched to the Sensor that didn’t have this issue.

To get to the point; after all that time of DE and straight shaving, I was curious how good these razors actually performed in a 2 1/2 pass shave when combined with a solid pre-shave and technique.
In essence, better than I remembered from 30 years ago, but not much fun…


Again, thanks all for taking the time to respond.



B.

I am still using 70's and 80's razors in my shaves...

A 1986 Wilkinson Sword Profile. I have collected around 20 to 30.

 

[Brutus]

Me: In essence, {the shave with the cartridge razor went} better than I remembered from 30 years ago, but not much fun…

Goatrope: Just curious, why not much fun? Uncomfortable? Care to elaborate?


Wouldn’t you agree with me that a well executed shave with a straight or safety razor is a more satisfying experience than a shave with a cartridge razor?
If one doesn’t, the person might as well stick to cartridges or electrics…


B.