Shick injectors, are the newer ones all milder?

Hi all,

I have decided that I need to try injectors out, since I was forced to buy some disposable razors for an upcoming trip and found that they (Bic SE orange/white plastic) actually shaved really well...

I have a G that I have shaved with a couple times now and an I and J that are waiting in the wings.

My shaves with the G have been with a current production Schick blade (no made in on the package, but these are reputed to be Chinese), they haven't been *bad* but they have been a bit harsh on the chin and other less flat areas of my face. The issue I seem to be having is that the balancing act between pressure and angle is a bit different from that of a DE, a really low angle is super smooth, but not very close, whereas raising the angle even a small amount brings out the harshness (and closeness), but without the balance of comfort and closeness that a DE shave with one of my favored razor/blade combos gives.

So now that groundwork has been laid, are the newer Schick razors likely to have a more forgiving transition from smooth to harsh? Also, it seems like there are really only two readily available (new) blade options (Schick China and Personna), this sorta makes the whole DE mantra of "try all the blades in all the razors" a bit more limited...

I guess tomorrow with the J will give me a second reference point, but possibly not a valid test of anything due to the fact that the J is loaded with a Pella/Personna blade.

This is likely to take more than a few shaves to really figure out, but any sage advice from regular injector shavers is much appreciated!

Most gents feel that the further you progress in the Schick alphabet, the milder are the shaves. However, all of them give me smooth, close, and comfortable shaves. It is true that you must keep the blade almost parallel to your face, but that is the correct angle for an injector razor. If you tip the handle away from your face too far, the blade is lifted off your face by the safety bar.

xxvaleria said:

Most gents feel that the further you progress in the Schick alphabet, the milder are the shaves. However, all of them give me smooth, close, and comfortable shaves. It is true that you must keep the blade almost parallel to your face, but that is the correct angle for an injector razor. If you tip the handle away from your face too far, the blade is lifted off your face by the safety bar.

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+1-- I agree. They all shave well. I do prefer(in modern blades) the Chick over the Personna. Enjoy your shaves!

Although I would agree that the "E" I have is a hair more efficient than a "J" is, the G & I both seemed much the same and from E to J, the differences were minor, while the L and M were a larger scale jump away from those efficiency, and I've never tried anything older than an E, nor newer than an M.

For me, the G, I and J are in the sweet spot, and all pretty similar in terms of aggression. I find the E to be markedly more aggressive, and a little too much for me to enjoy regularly. As noted, the L and M are several notches down in efficiency from the I/J, and are too far to the mild end of the spectrum for my taste. I'm not sure what your DE standard of comparison is, but you should find your G, H and I to be in about the middle ground. A little different technique, for sure, but every bit as capable of delivering a high quality shave.

Have fun.

The J is *way* smoother than the G in this mornings shave, however it's not an apples-to-apples comparison as the J is loaded with a Pella/Personna as opposed to the G with a current production Schick blade. Once the blade in the J is done (how long do injector blades tend to last you guys), I'll switch to a Schick to see if it's the razor, the blade or a little of both...

The shave from the J/pella combo was smooth and as close as the best DE shave I can get (DFS++), with only the slightest bit more irritation than my best DE shaves. It was also much easier to find good angles than with the G, the chin and edge of mouth areas that were very harsh with the G were easy with J and I didn't need to apply any WH after the shave.

The only down sides I can see to this injector thing are the need to rinse the razor twice as often and the difficulty of getting the non-HydroMagic razors scrubbed out to perfect cleanliness inside... Guess I'll need to get a 500 Hydro-Magic huh?

Count me in as a new convert to injector shaving!

awa54 said:

The J is *way* smoother than the G in this mornings shave, however it's not an apples-to-apples comparison as the J is loaded with a Pella/Personna as opposed to the G with a current production Schick blade. Once the blade in the J is done (how long do injector blades tend to last you guys), I'll switch to a Schick to see if it's the razor, the blade or a little of both...

The shave from the J/pella combo was smooth and as close as the best DE shave I can get (DFS++), with only the slightest bit more irritation than my best DE shaves. It was also much easier to find good angles than with the G, the chin and edge of mouth areas that were very harsh with the G were easy with J and I didn't need to apply any WH after the shave.

The only down sides I can see to this injector thing are the need to rinse the razor twice as often and the difficulty of getting the non-HydroMagic razors scrubbed out to perfect cleanliness inside... Guess I'll need to get a 500 Hydro-Magic huh?

Count me in as a new convert to injector shaving!

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You might want to check your G for blade alignment or safety bar straightness issues. It is (IMO) a bit more aggressive than the J, but there really shouldn't be a night and day difference. Or, it could be a bad/damaged blade. If you load an injector when empty, this will frequently result in edge damage as the blade drags across the edge of the cap and the blade stops as it loads. When new, Schicks were sold with blanks in place to allow the first loaded blade to be installed without this problem. You might need to sacrifice a blade, and try a new one.

And yes, you really should get a Hydro-Magic. Everyone should have one.

Have fun.

Spang said:

You might want to check your G for blade alignment or safety bar straightness issues. It is (IMO) a bit more aggressive than the J, but there really shouldn't be a night and day difference. Or, it could be a bad/damaged blade. If you load an injector when empty, this will frequently result in edge damage as the blade drags across the edge of the cap and the blade stops as it loads. When new, Schicks were sold with blanks in place to allow the first loaded blade to be installed without this problem. You might need to sacrifice a blade, and try a new one.

And yes, you really should get a Hydro-Magic. Everyone should have one.

Have fun.

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Hmm, the G *was* empty when I put the new blade in... as far as the head alignment, it *looks* straight, but it also looks like the guard is rather farther from the blade than my J.

This is just an excuse to shave with the injectors until I figure it out right?

awa54 said:

Hmm, the G *was* empty when I put the new blade in... as far as the head alignment, it *looks* straight, but it also looks like the guard is rather farther from the blade than my J.

This is just an excuse to shave with the injectors until I figure it out right?

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Yes, it is.
You should see a little more gap on the G; that's normal, as it does have a bit more aggressive head geometry. I definitely suspect you might have experienced issues associated with blade damage from empty loading. Inject a new one in there and give it a go, then post a report.

Have fun.

Another great shave from the J! I thought that I might not like the J much since the handle is so long, but it turns out that the handle length doesn't bother me at all. And now I have the underside of my chin totally figured out, injector style that is

at least with injectors there are fewer razors and blades to have BAD and RAD bouts with...

awa54 said:

Another great shave from the J! I thought that I might not like the J much since the handle is so long, but it turns out that the handle length doesn't bother me at all. And now I have the underside of my chin totally figured out, injector style that is

at least with injectors there are fewer razors and blades to have BAD and RAD bouts with...

Click to expand...

Surely you're kiddin'.
and more . I love dem Schicks and Pals and.....

Uh Oh, that's a lot of injector goodies!

well, still fewer than if you look at everything DE and or Straight...

No surprises... the I shaves just like the J with a Pella/Personna blade installed.

That is to say great!