1st Injector Shave & 2 questions

Hi All,

I'm the proud new papa of an "L" style injector gotten off the "bay" recently. It was in great shape, but needed a bit of cleaning (some rust spots from the old blade) and I needed some fairly minor first aid (didn't realize the blade was still in there! Thankfully, I had some superglue near at hand (it's better than a bandaid)). But, it cleaned up beautifully and after I adjusted my technique slightly, got a great shave. I'm not abandoning my DEs, but the Injector makes for some nice variety and will definitely be a keeper. (Of course, I leave open the posibility of injector RAD setting in, except that I don't really care for the style of the pre-'70s ones).

Anyhow, two quick questions. 1) Since I get 3-4 shaves out of a DE blade (IP or Derby), do I assume correctly that I'll get about the same out of an injector blade. I know, YMMV and all that, but what's the common experience?

2) Based on what I can dig up, this is an "L" style injector (70s styling and not adjustable). Yet, the backside of the head is marked "M10." Is this right or a mismark?

Thanks in advance & best to all,

PS: I'm getting my blades from CVS (CVS brand).

Richard, I also like my injector. It's a nice change from the DE. I usually get about 6 or 7 shave from my injector. This is due to the blade being thicker than regular blades. Of course thats with a quality injector blade. I buy Ted Pella blades.

Rich - I'm a newbie injector user as well. I just got 3 shaves out of a new Personna blade. I probably could have gotten 1 or 2 more but I didn't want to push it and the injector blades are fairly inexpensive. I'm guessing I'll get about 1 shave less per blade with an injector than I do with a DE but as you said YMMV.

I am not sure about the date codes.

Good luck with your injector shaving!

I use Schick brand blades & get about 3-4 shaves per blade. I've never used them but I do not hear good things about the drug store brand injector blades. YMMV

I love injectors, especially the old bakelite handles (shame you dont like them they are great shavers) and the adjestables, But all offer great shaves glad to see you enjoyed useing yours. I use Schick and Personna blades, I have to order the Schicks as no local stores carry them so if i let myself run out of Schicks i can pick up the personnas locally, but both are great blades and i normally get about 5 or 6 shaves out of one.

Rich,

I use CVS injector blades and I get a week out of them. My beard, is not particularly thick or course, so it is a case of YMMV.

Gentlemen, sorry for asking, but is there a difference between the TedPella and the Personna blades??

I have an Injector type "E" and an Eversharp Hydromagic, the use the same blades.
But these blades are so hard to find here in Germany, so if I'm out of blades I think I must sell my razors... , no, no, no, I think I'll kept them...

Thomas - I am new to using Injectors but the two injectors I have are Personna and Ted Pella. Both appear to be identical with the same look, marking and such.

Thanks for the information Rob, are they easy to get in the USA??

I'm with Austin, I get almost double the shaves from an injector blade than a DE blade.

Thomas - Ted Pella blades are easy to get here.
Personna's here, but I think you can find better deals elsewhere on the Personna's. At least that is what I am looking for.

The Pella blades are great I was very surprised by the quality and they do last longer then DE blades IMHO

Limey said:

Thomas - Ted Pella blades are easy to get here.
Personna's here, but I think you can find better deals elsewhere on the Personna's. At least that is what I am looking for.

Click to expand...

Hi there,
Appleton Barber Supply has em listed 7 blades@ $2.75. They were previously labeled under their house name ( Barber) I believe, but the personna named ones are now being shipped out. I've had good luck with those blades in the past, and would suggest those to order if looking for alternatives. It seems like the pella blades MUST be different than these personnas, since the personnas are platinum rather than teflon coated. No idea regarding the personnas being CVS or any other chain's own repackaged brand.
Martin

TomH said:

Gentlemen, sorry for asking, but is there a difference between the TedPella and the Personna blades??

Click to expand...

Here is a picture of Ted Pella Injector on the left and Personna Injector on the right as you can see they are the same.

Limey said:

Here is a picture of Ted Pella Injector on the left and Personna Injector on the right as you can see they are the same.

Click to expand...

Hi Rob,
I agree the dispensers look alike...might even have the same serial # on em. I have a feeling those things are generic and many different types of blades can be put into the same looking package. I doubt there's any markings on the blades themselves which would more accurately identify what they really are. I could be wrong here................just what it seems like to me. I tend to think those two types of injector blades in your pic have to be totally different from each other.

I agree. The dispensers are probably generic.

I think that almost all of the commonly available injector blades here in the U.S. -- Pella, EMS, Personna, CVS, etc. -- have the same source: American Safety Razor.

The single best bit of advice regarding injectors was a post by JBHoren.

The conventional wisdom for DE's is not to "choke up" on the handle- see Kyle's terrific pic of a proper grip. I get much better results with JBHoren's technique of grasping the injector between thumb and forefinger just below the head, with the remaining fingers resting on the handle.