The Fascinating Development Story Of The Gillette Mach 3, The 'Best' Cartridge Razor Ever (?)

[Alum Ladd]

I recieved a Gillette Mach 3 some time ago, and still unused, I have been examining it.

It's the Gillette Turbo Mach 3, made in Germany, a solid metal handle. Nice uncluttered feel. I may start using it as my main non DE.

Here is a very interesting detailed article on the Mach 3, it's development, and just how a military/scientific campaign - like feel Gillette used in the early 90's to bring this to fruition and to market.

MACH 3: Anatomy of Gillette's Latest Global Launch - https://www.strategy-business.com/article/16651

Anyone else enjoy their Mach 3?

 

[Sabre]

I generally just use the Mach 3 disposables when using a Mach 3. I have all the metal versions including the M3 Power etc. But the disposables are fine enough.

 

[FarmerTan]

Well done @Alum Ladd !

I never tried the Mach 3, in any of it's iterations. I was a solid "Sensor" man though. The price and scarcity of the blades in brick and mortar stores is what brought me to Badger and Blade, and I am so glad!

Who knew I would "meet" so many people who quickly became fast friends?!

 

[jason2]

It's still my favorite overall for shaving my head. Easy, carefree, quick, efficient, handles great, no thought needed, etc.

Being used to shave my head only a cartridge will last me over a month. So, relatively cheap.

 

[Hair Scraper]

I picked up a 3-pack of the Mach 3 Sensitive razors a couple of months ago and they work fast, close, and comfortable on me.

 

[Alum Ladd]

I wonder if Gillette/P&G's patents on the Mach 3 have expired?

The corporation are probably quite content raking in absurd amounts of profit from the Fusion menagerie and the new heated thing.

My new favourite UK chain is doing it's own branded 4 pack of - quite clearly marked - 3 bladed carts specifically designed to fit the Mach 3 for £4 for 4. A very, very significant saving on the Gillette offering, which retail for £8.75

https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-three-blade-razor-cartridges-4-pack/p/0455086

 

[ShavingPrimate]

I used one for years. I basically like the design and it has a genetic shave without any effort.

But during those years, I mostly wore a beard. Because of this, I could get a lot of mileage out of blades.

My main dislike for cartridge razors is that while they do last a while, they are not necessarily that great to shave with the with the entire time.

This year, I'm doing a weekly rotation of DE blades. I do intend to throw a week here and there with the Mach 3 for comparison.

One attribute I have never cared for is the "goo" lubricating strip. I want to be able to use my own shaving product and not have a trail of Gillette slime on my face.

The older Trac II was always a favorite of mine. They make an authorized Gillette reproduction of it in India under the 7 O'Clock name, all also the blades.

You can buy the PII and blades through Walmart. The handle itself is $7.49. In comparison, the Mach III handle is $9.98.

The PII blades run $15.21 for three packages of five blades each.

Between the PII (Trac II) and the Mach III, you have a half century's worth of alternatives to the other cartridge shaving systems of today.

Nice article, very informative.

 

[Alum Ladd]

I used one for years. I basically like the design and it has a genetic shave without any effort.

But during those years, I mostly wore a beard. Because of this, I could get a lot of mileage out of blades.

My main dislike for cartridge razors is that while they do last a while, they are not necessarily that great to shave with the with the entire time.

This year, I'm doing a weekly rotation of DE blades. I do intend to throw a week here and there with the Mach 3 for comparison.

One attribute I have never cared for is the "goo" lubricating strip. I want to be able to use my own shaving product and not have a trail of Gillette slime on my face.

The older Trac II was always a favorite of mine. They make an authorized Gillette reproduction of it in India under the 7 O'Clock name, all also the blades.

You can buy the PII and blades through Walmart. The handle itself is $7.49. In comparison, the Mach III handle is $9.98.

The PII blades run $15.21 for three packages of five blades each.

Between the PII (Trac II) and the Mach III, you have a half century's worth of alternatives to the other cartridge shaving systems of today.

Nice article, very informative.

Great post.

I was given the Mach 3 last year. I think it cost £5.99.

The PII's actually run suprisingly expensive in the UK. I was looking at them and the handle goes for £7-£14 here off a bay. Carts seem quite steep too.

I calculate I can get 20-25 shaves from a Mach 3 cart, of a DFS+ calibre using my usual brushes, soaps and methodology.

It won't really fall into a concrete category except as a crisis razor.

Funny thing but if I am stressed out etc, I get most times a badly sub-optimal shave from my usual gear. This Mach 3 will be the mindless shaver.

It may fall in and out of the travel razor category, although I mostly don't fly and for camping which is our main vacation and outdoor hobby I use my lovely 30gm vintage English Souplex OC which handles & shaves like a Tech on Olympic Soviet-era steroids. The FBT or English 50's Alu handled Tech are also in 'travel'. It depends on what I feel like when I'm packing the ruck.

The Mach 3 is just another tool in the box to fill a shaving need and cover an emotion. It also seems very fondly regarded here on B&B and maybe the last of the 'Respected' cartridge systems.

 

[jason2]

Mach 3 is my flying travel razor. Works great for that. I don't like shaving my face with it. Gives my neck ingrown hairs and pulls on my mustache area. After a few days it hurts there if shaving every day. So I usually skip days when traveling with it.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

It also seems very fondly regarded here on B&B and maybe the last of the 'Respected' cartridge systems.

I expect that many of us used the Trac II during the quarter century before the MACH 3. When the MACH 3 arrived on the scene, many already had the basic familiarity with a cartridge razor.

The MACH 3 was in this way, incremental. One more blade, a few more features, at a modest increase in price.

After the MACH 3, the entire cartridge scene became really stupid, really quickly.

As DE shavers, we can look back on these products as the last vestiges of sanity!

 

[FarmerTan]

I expect that many of us used the Trac II during the quarter century before the MACH 3. When the MACH 3 arrived on the scene, many already had the basic familiarity with a cartridge razor.

The MACH 3 was in this way, incremental. One more blade, a few more features, at a modest increase in price.

After the MACH 3, the entire cartridge scene became really stupid, really quickly.

As DE shavers, we can look back on these products as the last vestiges of sanity!

Well said. I started out on DE and wish I'd never fallen for the cartridge system!

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Well said. I started out on DE and wish I'd never fallen for the cartridge system!

Well, I don't think any of us realized where it would end up. Like other things, it started out innocently enough!

We should consider us very fortunate that we have the Internet and the DE blades to fall back on.

In other areas of our lives, big "everything" has such a look grip on virtually every segment of the market, that we are left with few or no options!

 

[Alum Ladd]

I expect that many of us used the Trac II during the quarter century before the MACH 3. When the MACH 3 arrived on the scene, many already had the basic familiarity with a cartridge razor.

The MACH 3 was in this way, incremental. One more blade, a few more features, at a modest increase in price.

After the MACH 3, the entire cartridge scene became really stupid, really quickly.

As DE shavers, we can look back on these products as the last vestiges of sanity!

"At Gillette, there is no such concept as getting ahead of oneself. New products go on the drawing board as much as a decade before they are introduced, and it is a safe bet that even as Mach 3 was hitting retail store shelves, Mach 4 or Mach Excel or whatever the company calls its next breakthrough razor was well along in its development cycle".

Strategy And Business April 1 1999.

Seven Years Later...

Sept. 14, 2005, 6:18 PM BST / Source: Reuters
Gillette Co. Wednesday unveiled its newest shaving system, a five-bladed razor called Fusion with a trimmer on the back of the cartridge aimed at the 50 percent of men who have mustaches and beards.
Fusion is Gillette's latest product geared at maintaining the company's leading share of the world's razor and blade market.

It has one more blade than the Quattro sold by rival Schick, a unit of Energizer Holdings Inc., plus a trimming blade on the back of the pivoting cartridge for shaping facial hair, trimming sideburns and shaving under the nose.
Gillette was the first company to sell a three-bladed razor, Mach3, in 1998. Five years later, Schick followed with the four-bladed Quattro.
Schick is adding a battery-powered Quattro to its lineup this month, while Gillette's Fusion — in both manual and battery-powered models — won't hit North American stores until early next year.
"The Schick launch has nothing to do with this, it's like comparing a Ferrari to a Volkswagen as far as we're concerned," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive James Kilts.
Some had expected Gillette to bring out a four-bladed razor, perhaps a self-lubricating one. Instead, it jumped to five blades, or six including the trimmer, and will sell Fusion-branded shaving gels and after shave balm.
"There was never a plan to go to four," he said. said Peter Hoffman, president of Gillette's blades and razors business, who said Fusion was in the development pipeline for several years.

NBC News September 14 2005

Old, seasoned rivals, still battling it out. Ancient classic giants in their own right in the wet shaving world, now just empty brand names, bought up by bigger fish. ASRC had morphed with Schick at this point, eaten up by Energiser.

Oddly, Duracell was a P&G brand, which had eaten up the Gillette name. What is it with battery companies and classic shaving brands?

1920's, 1930's, 1998, 2003, 2005.

I love the nostalgic rivalry still so apparent here.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Great posts, @Alum Ladd . I found the article interesting indeed.

 

[Merchant Seaman Z]

Back in 99’. Got a M3 in the mail. Used that through High School. Didn’t really care for the clean shaven look. Joined the US navy in AUG’01. Paid for the M3 again. Better than the NEX single blade. 1N/S pass wasn’t good enough for the RDC’s. Only against the grain passed. this included A school. Used M3 for about 5+ months, then discovered an electric in the fleet. Got out ‘07 discovered DE due to cheapness. Using DE since ‘09.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

I wonder if Gillette/P&G's patents on the Mach 3 have expired?

Patent protection lasts for a period of 20-years and cannot be renewed. After the 20-years have expired, the product design is now in the public domain.

So yes...

 

[DougK]

I used the Mach 3 for a long time and it is, for the most part, an excellent razor. I still use one occasionally, but for the most part I now prefer the Gillette Guard, UNO Shave Co., or the Bic Flex 5 Hybrid razors.

 

[ChriWilson]

Great post Simon
I just stumbled upon this tonight and will aim to read it through while I prepare the shredded chicken tacos for supper. Just got through playing tennis; in my mind I was back in my 20s - ha ha ha

On topic - Gillette absolutely nailed it with the Mach III. Far and away my favorite cart, I still keep them in the arsenal. My only other regular cart are the 6-blades from DSC/Dorco. Both are really smooth and pretty much autopilot.

They stay comfortable and last forever

 

[steveclarkus]

Best cart I ever used. If I get too enfeebled to use a straight razor, that is what I’ll be going back too

 

[Alexland]

Mach3 is the only cartridge razor I kept for travel when not allowed to take DE blades on planes etc. I prefered the original handle as it was easier to clean than the later ones which had small deep grooves. I tried a few third party handles as I didn't like the rubber bits which degrade with use but the build quality on all of them was poor. I still use an official zip up travel case from a Christmas boxset.