Thoughts on new Gillette Flexball

[J743]

I saw the ad about the one stroke shave too--you can't shortcut a ritual.

What's worked for me, in my transition to DE's and then again to Straights, was the presiding thought that if my shaves were no good I was no good at shaving. It's that simple. It's not the machine's fault for manufacturing a blunt blade (ahem, proglide, ahem), it was my inability to correctly maneuver it. I have yet to be given a refund on any such purchases, though I suspect MWF would go out of business if they tended to such policy.

I have kept this attitude, because it has kept from the ingrown-prone, quick-fix razors. My techniques have improved considerably, all that is left to do is build the second tier of confidence that allows for quicker strokes. That's really about it. You cannot learn wet shaving without a degree of humility and a willingness to learn. We talk a lot about disorders on Badger and Blade--the real one is our sense of entitlement, that we deserve the best reward for the least work. I don't want anything to do with that. There's nothing exceptional about yet another piece of plastic from CVS.

My over analytical 2 cents.

 

[AngryGreek]

You are a cart lover! Just admit it

 

[J743]

I wouldn't touch one at gun point. I used to get golf ball sized ingrown-bumps because of cart razors. There's too many options in traditional wet shaving to feel like I HAVE to go back to it.

 

[Marc999]

Here are my thoughts:

I could spend $50 on the handle & carts and have enough to last a year (assuming one cart per month, buying a dozen on Amazon at $37...the new handles will retail for around $13, I read).

OR

I could spend $42 on a razor and 100 blades (assuming a $30 razor budget, and Israeli Personnas with UK packaging from WCS [my preferred blade] at $12 for 100). This would be enough blades to last for at least 2 years, if you use one blade per week.

Why would I essentially spend twice as much to get a shave that's the same, or slightly worse?

Easy answer - it saves time to use a cartridge razor, any cartridge razor. For some people - that's worth the price of admission. Not me anymore, that would be blasphemous and I should be hung upside down, tickled for 8 hours and force fed spam, etc. Just saying
Besides, most people don't even know about de razors. We usually only know about what is in front of our eyes.

 

[Cosmos Mariner]

Easy answer - it saves time to use a cartridge razor, any cartridge razor.

Doesn't take me any extra time from a cart to a DE. I can get a equal 1 pass shave from my Tech or my Mach 3. It's just that I don't get as many ingrown hairs with the Tech as I do with the Mach 3.

 

[Elmo]

I love it!

I shave 2-3X weekly--head and face while in the shower.

A noticeably "easier " and nick free shave. I find the cartridge together with the "improved" razor a great improvement. The extra dimension of movement in the flex ball is a significant improvement.

I got over my religious attachment to straight razors a few years ago. for the many skeptics here, I suggest you test it before knocking it.