Thoughts on new Gillette Flexball

[dieselfuel79]

After reading all of these posts about the cart with the flexball technology, vs the straights razor in the video (*cough cough* shavette...) I've decided that I am going to methodically yank every one of my whiskers out of my face with a set of tweezers....and not some sissy tweezers either. Nope, these are black tweezers...which automatically makes them manly. (I'm puffing out my chest right now, you just can't see it.)

Think about that while you continue to banter about which one is better or more manly...cart or shavette! HA! Don't make me laugh.

I'll be at my sink, trying not to cry in front of my children, while I RRRRRRIP my beard out, follicle after follicle.

*Sniff* .... I'll likely follow up with a nice mild, MANLY aftershave... like tequila....or hydrochloric acid. I haven't decided yet, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

(**This is what I come up with when living with a 2 year old and a 3 day old new born...and having about 4 hours of sleep.**)

In all seriousness, use whatever works for you....cart, straight, dyson vacuum cleaner, turpentine, tweezers...whatever!


Brad

 

[rxonmymind]

For one second that AOS handle which looks spiffy btw, had me wishing that it was an adjustable. When I saw the bottom I thought how hard would it be to have those blades move up and down like wooden blinds to adjust for a shave. To me THEN there would be a cool factor. An adjustable cart? Meh,.....let me think about that some more.

 

[Toothpick]

This thing not out yet? Went looking and couldn't find.

 

[dabrock]

This thing not out yet? Went looking and couldn't find.

I have a feeling it's only at the AOS stores with the $90 model. I have yet to see any advertising, other than YouTube, let alone a handle in stores here.

 

[Toothpick]

Well in that case I shall wait patiently

 

[JerYnkFan]

I have a feeling it's only at the AOS stores with the $90 model. I have yet to see any advertising, other than YouTube, let alone a handle in stores here.

I got an email from CVS about 2 weeks ago that I could pre-order the razor, but don't remember a release date in the email.

 

[Usascot]

I checked out a few stores in Arizona & New Mexico on a trip but no "Dyson shaver"
spotted.

 

[oldspiceboy]

Its coming out on June 18th I believe.

 

[Toothpick]

Its coming out on June 18th I believe.

wow a launch date! I better get in line at Walmart early.

 

[Jalapeno]

Here's an article ya might wanna read before purchasin:



http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/gillettes-razor-everything-wrong-with-america.html

 

[kingfisher]

As far as B&B'ers buying it but not admitting it, I'll tell you right now that I'm not going to buy it. I never bought the current Fusion (whatever they call the thing now). I did buy the original Fusion and used it for a while. This was before I got to B&B. I had Mach 3 in standard and in power, and then when the Fusion came out I bought one. I still had a Sensor lying around and a Schick or two, also, at the time.

But by the time the Proglide came out (I remembered the name just now) I never bought it. Haven't missed it. About a year ago I threw my Fusion in the trash. About three months ago I threw away all my remaining cartridge razors that have more than two blades, so the Mach 3's went into the trash, too.

Anybody who buys it, enjoy it, have fun. I won't be joining you.

 

[Toothpick]

Here's an article ya might wanna read before purchasin:



http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/gillettes-razor-everything-wrong-with-america.html

cool read. I pretty much agree with the article. It's a marketing gimmick.
I'm not buying it to replace my old Gillette multi-blade. Nor will I stick with it after the initial cartridge dulls.
I'm going to buy it as a novelty. Try it out until the blade goes dull, see how long it lasts, how good a shave it gives with the ball design.

why not try it out just for fun.

 

[daedpa]

I am going to try it too just out of curiosity.

I shaved with electric razors all my life and never used a cartridge razor until last year so I am making up for not having used cartridge razors by trying all the main ones while also using vintage razors. 5 to 10 days a month I use a cartridge and the rest of the month I use DE razors, SE razors, and sometimes a straight razor.

 

[sarimento1]

OK, shave #2 with this Flexball this afternoon.
And since I haven't been a regular cart user for a couple years, it will be hard for me to give an informed comparison.
Also, I did the shave-in-the-shower thing, also which I've not done for over a decade!
But with this new cart razor, it seemed like something worth trying again.
Soaped with a sample puck of Mike's Barbershop and a nice badger brush.
Mike accommodated with heavy face-lathering to generate a thick, slick cushion.
The Flexball and Fusion scraped away almost effortlessly; it felt and sounded more like a sanding block rather than a razor.
Perhaps a tad more drag than the first shave; I'm wondering if this cartridge will last beyond a third shave.
Anyway, two passes and totally BBS.
I have to admit, it was an excellent shave.
After the shower, finished off with splash of Pashana.
Cannot complain.

 

[dabrock]

OK, shave #2 with this Flexball this afternoon.
And since I haven't been a regular cart user for a couple years, it will be hard for me to give an informed comparison.
Also, I did the shave-in-the-shower thing, also which I've not done for over a decade!
But with this new cart razor, it seemed like something worth trying again.
Soaped with a sample puck of Mike's Barbershop and a nice badger brush.
Mike accommodated with heavy face-lathering to generate a thick, slick cushion.
The Flexball and Fusion scraped away almost effortlessly; it felt and sounded more like a sanding block rather than a razor.
Perhaps a tad more drag than the first shave; I'm wondering if this cartridge will last beyond a third shave.
Anyway, two passes and totally BBS.
I have to admit, it was an excellent shave.
After the shower, finished off with splash of Pashana.
Cannot complain.

Thanks for the update. Looks like it's performing well but 3 shaves on a cart would be very expensive. Hopefully, you can get at least 10.

 

[TxNessie84]

I will be interested in someone who uses cartridges still doing a comparison. I switched to DE razors because of the cost of cartridges and the irritation I was getting from them and don't see myself going back to them anytime soon.

 

[sarimento1]

I will be interested in someone who uses cartridges still doing a comparison. I switched to DE razors because of the cost of cartridges and the irritation I was getting from them and don't see myself going back to them anytime soon.

My opinion, the downside of these cartridges is the extremely tight tolerances and that they get so easily gunked up. Especially with a shave soap that does not rinse fully and with dead skin if you use a lot of pressure while shaving. I'm using very little pressure, a quality shave soap that rinses fully, and giving the cart an alcohol bath afterwards to rinse out debris. Even so, I still cannot see more than 4 or perhaps 5 'clean' shaves per cartridge. Yes, I know there are guys who are pushing these to 10 or 20 uses. In my mind, it's not worth the potential for irritation, plus I have so many other DE, shavette and straight options waiting in the rotation, that replacing a cartridge once in a blue moon is no big deal. Agree, however, that if I were shaving with it every day and on the tighter budget of my earlier days, it might be a different issue.

 

[dabrock]

My opinion, the downside of these cartridges is the extremely tight tolerances and that they get so easily gunked up. Especially with a shave soap that does not rinse fully and with dead skin if you use a lot of pressure while shaving.

This was always my big issue when I was shaving with carts. When I was in the military I had to shave every day and I had to go electric because I just couldn't handle blades every day. When I left the military and started using carts again I was only shaving every other or every third day, but if I went more than a couple days I would dread the shave I was going to get. It was a horrible tug fest and I would take a lot of wheepers.

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

I wonder, if you pump the 'ball' do the blades increase in size? This may be the easy gunking up they get? Try letting some air out so they fit the razor head a little better.

 

[sarimento1]

I wonder, if you pump the 'ball' do the blades increase in size? This may be the easy gunking up they get? Try letting some air out so they fit the razor head a little better.

Great idea, will try that next shave!