A quick summary of my shaving history:
- 1980: First shave with my father double edge safety razor. I was getting too much fuzz on my upper lip.
- 1981 - 90: Gillette Atra razor. $11.79 per 10 ($1.18/cart). While the military, I needed to shave 2x a day- I used a Panasonic Wet/Dry electric before evening formations.
- 1990 - 1998: Gillette Sensor / Sensor Excel. $16.99 for 10 ($1.70/cart).
- 1998 - 2006: Gillette Mach3/Mach3 Turbo. $17.99 per 8 for regular ($2.25/cart). $20.99 per 8 for Turbo ($2.62/cart).
- 2006: Gillette Fusion. $24.99 for 8 regular ($3.12/cart). $27.69 per 8 “Power” ($3.46/cart).
I thought the Mach 3 was an improvement. The blade set up was easy to clean, and the hinge for the cartridge was placed for better geometry. I bought the Fusion a couple of weeks ago and used it 5 or 6 times. There is no difference in the shaves between the M3 and Fusion. The M3 is easier to clean, while the +1 blade on the back of the fusion solves one of the biggest problems with the M3- shaving under the nose.
That said, after getting a peek of the price for the Fusion cartridges, screw Gillette and the horse they rode in on. I am now the proud owner of a 30 year old Schick M1 Injector Razor. Unlike double edge razors, mistakes don’t result in catastrophic blood loss and, coolest of all, the blade loading design was invented by Colonel Jacob Schick (inventor of the electric razor) based on the loading mechanism of the bolt action rifle (its original name was The Magazine Repeating Razor). The blades last at least a week and 11 of them loaded into the magazine take up as much space as one Fusion cartridge. Did I also mention the closest shave I’ve ever had? So:
- 2006 Schick Injector M1. $4.19 for 11 ($0.38/blade)
That is of course why the razor companies come up with this all this BS new technology. How profitable would they be if they sold a razor that lasted a lifetime with blades that only cost $0.38?