Chaving witha cartridge razor isn't all that expensive

**Bruce Wayne** · 03-02-2011, 12:12 PM

The other day I was in the grocery store & I made a sweeping pass thru the soaps/deodorant/cologne aisle & I noticed the price on a package of 8 Gillette Fusion replace cartridges. The price was $26 for 8.

Let's do some math.

426/8=$3.25 per cartridge

Now when I was using my Fusion, I could get at least 21 shaves per cartridge with no ill effects.

$3.25/21=$0.15

Now, If you can get 28 shaves (one month) out of one cartridge, it costs less.

$3.25/28=$0.12

If you use a Mach 3 razor I am sure the cost would be even less.

So using a cartridge razor will cost you less than 20 cents a shave.

Some members on this board have said that they could only get 3 or 4 shaves out of a cartridge razor. I find this hard to believe in so much as most cartridge razors these days are idiot proof. I remember I was in a hurry one night leaving work & I used a Fusion Razor with a new cartridge & NO SOAP & shaved my goatee right off. No nick, no scrapes, no weepers. If I can shave a goatee & a weeks worth of stubble off without using soap or cream then I find it hard to belive that someone can only get 3 or 4 shaves out of a cartridge system using canned goo.

Just some food for thought.

Thanx!!!
Charlie

**franz** · 03-02-2011, 12:20 PM

No offense, but I'm amazed that anyone would contemplate 21 shaves, let alone 28, out of a cartridge. Actually, scratch that -- my girlfriend probably gets 21 shaves out of her Venus cartridge. But women are nuts.

**probesport** · 03-02-2011, 12:21 PM

Blasphemy!

**maxman** · 03-02-2011, 12:32 PM

You make a good point.
However I must also join the mob with the torches and pitchforks.

I dumped the carts originally because of irritation.
Cost was also a factor. If I use a cart now, it feels like I haven't shaved at all on my neck.

They could give them to me for free and I wouldn't use them.

**kingfisher** · 03-02-2011, 12:33 PM

I can get 7 shaves, at most, out of a cartridge blade. The first 4 or 5 are fine, and then the quality deteriorates.

My 17-year-old son, on the other hand, has been using the same Atra cartridge for about six months. His hairs are fine, few, and far between. Mine are dense, thick, coarse, and rapidly growing.

Currently I'm using Wilkinson Sword cartridges with my Trac II. Five shaves is pretty much the max. Sometimes I throw them out after four.

So, you can believe or disbelieve whatever you want, but for me shaving with a Mach 3 or Fusion is very expensive.

**Bruce Wayne** · 03-02-2011, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by franz

No offense, but I'm amazed that anyone would contemplate 21 shaves, let alone 28, out of a cartridge. Actually, scratch that -- my girlfriend probably gets 21 shaves out of her Venus cartridge. But women are nuts.

I'm amazed that people can't.

**Greglam** · 03-02-2011, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by Bruce Wayne

I'm amazed that people can't.

I'm amazed that people can.

**nlatham19** · 03-02-2011, 12:37 PM

I might could get a lot of shaves from one cart. But I never got one comfortable shave.

**Greyfox** · 03-02-2011, 12:39 PM

Well Charlie sounds as if you should just go back to the cartridge. I am one of the ones who could only get 3 shaves out of them and they were lousy shaves at that. That's the reason I only used them for 2 packs of cartridges. Lousy,expensive shaves. If they work for you then you should save a lot of money over the next few years.

**klm099** · 03-02-2011, 12:39 PM

I don't know where the chaving board is located, but few here really expect to save money with this obsession of ours.

I don't care if carts were free I would still live in the world of shinny sharp objects, warm steel, satisfying crunch of whisker whacking, and all the wonderful scents of soaps, creams, etc. plus I get to rub boar hair all over my face everyday

ken

**djboring** · 03-02-2011, 12:41 PM

I used to get probably 3-4 weeks out of my M3 (sometimes shaving every other day) and it was fine, but it was never as pleasurable of an experience as my DE.

**jwcarlson** · 03-02-2011, 12:42 PM

I never thought the cartridges felt very sharp to begin with but I would get several shaves out of them. But I wouldn't shave very often anyway so I didn't go through many cartridges.

But if you're shaving with a DE, Arko, and decent blades you're spending a lot less than Gilette Gel and Cartridge in the long term.
It's when you start buying 20 razors, 20 soaps, and 50 different types of blades that you get into some expense.

**mrkiii** · 03-02-2011, 12:44 PM

Isn't there an acronym for this?

I believe it's YMMV

**drews50** · 03-02-2011, 12:46 PM

If DE/SE shavers are miserly when it comes to blades, it's because we have to be. We blew all our money on razors, soaps, brushes, etc. Heck I've started hand stropping my blades.

**mrkiii** · 03-02-2011, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by jwcarlson

I never thought the cartridges felt very sharp to begin with but I would get several shaves out of them. But I wouldn't shave very often anyway so I didn't go through many cartridges.

But if you're shaving with a DE, Arko, and decent blades you're spending a lot less than Gilette Gel and Cartridge in the long term.
It's when you start buying 20 razors, 20 soaps, and 50 different types of blades that you get into some expense.

Or a Futur with matching stand and brush. It would take quite a few cartridges & goo cans to have an equivalent for this beauty (IMO) http://www.shaving.ie/products/Merku...Piece-Set.html

But then again, I'd also miss the joy I hopefully will have once it arrives.

**franz** · 03-02-2011, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by mrkiii

Isn't there an acronym for this?

I believe it's YMMV

And 28 cart shaves really put the mileage in "your mileage may vary"!

**JBagKY** · 03-02-2011, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by djboring

I used to get probably 3-4 weeks out of my M3 (sometimes shaving every other day) and it was fine, but it was never as pleasurable of an experience as my DE.

This. I usually got 3-4 weeks worth out of a cartridge (though its hard for me to remember now), but I don't think that I have ever looked forward to, enjoyed, or talked about shaving as much as I have since starting with my DE. If this is a part of my grooming, then I am glad to spend what might end up being a little more to do something that I like rather than something that I just have to do.

**FL shaver** · 03-02-2011, 12:53 PM

Tugging and pulling from the fourth shave on...

**Absolute Mustard** · 03-02-2011, 12:54 PM

3-4 weeks is amazing

If you could do that and get a great shave that lasted all day....then why would anyone switch

The majority of us couldnt go that long, and even with new ones the shaves wouldnt last that long

**Shavely Manden** · 03-02-2011, 12:56 PM

That's not impossible, but I'd also wonder if the price difference caused you to notice fewer problems with the cartridges than the DEs. I.e., if the cartridge you'd been shaving with had been $0.20 rather than $3.25, would you have noticed pulling earlier? The financial incentive might've caused you to discount pulling / discomfort with the carts you wouldn't have stood with DEs...nicks & weepers aren't the only measure of comfort, after all. (And I can't imagine shaving off a goatee sans soap without massive pain, even if no blood were drawn.)

Also, were you using the same technique with both the cart and the DE? I can believe that you were getting 21 one-pass shaves out of the cart, but that'd come to seven three-pass shaves. And, even with a cart, you can't get a proper, smooth shave with just one pass & no pressure. (So many men just look half-shaved these days...)