Giving up on disposable blades for shaving-Advice needed

bobbyss

I have been using disposable blades for a long, long time and I am thinking of returning to the more traditional ones. The disposable ones were very much hit and miss. Even from the same package some were not as good as others and I end up cutting myself lots of times. I am fed up of the inconsistency.

The problem is I don't know which new good one to try as I don't understand the choices. I used to use the old Gillette G2 blade. I think at any rate that's what it was called. That was fine for me but then all of a sudden I found it more difficult to find the blades themselves until I think they stopped making them.Then I turned to the disposable ones.

Now I go into a supermarket and it is a bit bewildering to see the choice. I don't even know where to start. I see Fusion, Mach 2, Mach 3 and I don't know if one blade would fit into the other etc. I don't know what differences there are between them all or how many shaves would I get from one blade? I want to get a razor that has a plentiful supply of blades anywhere I shop. What would you recommend? I don't want anything fancy, just a good razor and blades. Any suggestions?

L1m1tless

Maybe try one of these value packs. They have them in most pharmacys

bobbyss

L1m1tless wrote: »

Maybe try one of these value packs. They have them in most pharmacys

Many thanks.
Now excuse my ignorance but as I said I have not used these in decades.

It says on top right hand corner 5+1 and bottom left hand corner 1+7. What do they mean?

If I wanted to get a refill of the blades what should I be looking for? The photo you have posted simply says Gillette Fusion. This is where I get confused. Is there Fusion 1 or Fusion 2 (as in Mach 1 and Mach 2 etc) or anything like that?

Just straightforward Gillette Fusion?

uck51js9zml2yt

bobbyss wrote: »

Many thanks.
Now excuse my ignorance but as I said I have not used these in decades.

It says on top right hand corner 5+1 and bottom left hand corner 1+7. What do they mean?

If I wanted to get a refill of the blades what should I be looking for? The photo you have posted simply says Gillette Fusion. This is where I get confused. Is there Fusion 1 or Fusion 2 (as in Mach 1 and Mach 2 etc) or anything like that?

Just straightforward Gillette Fusion?

Looks like a 7+1=8 cartridges.
Each has 5 cutting edges.

I switched to double edged blades years ago and wouldn't go back to these. It's saved me a fortune.

bobbyss

Jermaine Tinkling Bandana wrote: »

Looks like a 7+1=8 cartridges.
Each has 5 cutting edges.

I switched to double edged blades years ago and wouldn't go back to these. It's saved me a fortune.

What do you use and what is the cost factor?

uck51js9zml2yt

bobbyss wrote: »

What do you use and what is the cost factor?

Take a look at shaving.ie for costs.

A decent razor and brush. Soap and blades.
I got a batch of blades from Russia about 18 months ago from a BA in the shaving forum and am still using them.
I got a 1kg block of soap about the same time and am on the last of it.

A cut is a rare thing but when I bleed...I bleed due to blood thinners:(

khaldrogo

I have used the Gillette Fusion Power for years. I have sensitive skin on my neck and the vibration of the razor helps limit the irritation. Blades aren't cheap but I generally only shave my neck(I have a beard but the hair on the neck gets very annoying when it grows)and I only shave once a week.

khaldrogo

The 5 + 1 means

5 blades on the front and 1 blade on the rear from precise cutting/trimming/edgings

Stanford

These blades are a rip off and rarely last the number of shaves that they are advertised to last and are incredibly expensive especially if you have a heavy beard growth. I used to wetshave for years but eventually got sick of all the messing around and changed to a dry electric razor. It takes awhile to make the transition but its well worth it with no fuss is you persevere. If your skin is sensitive you can buy a waterproof electric foil razer and still use shaving cream like Gillette which will act as a lubricant and moisturiser.

Its more economical in the long run and gives a close shave provided you shave every day as foil razors are not good with dealing with a few days growth.

Stanford

bobbyss wrote: »

Many thanks.
Now excuse my ignorance but as I said I have not used these in decades.

It says on top right hand corner 5+1 and bottom left hand corner 1+7. What do they mean?

If I wanted to get a refill of the blades what should I be looking for? The photo you have posted simply says Gillette Fusion. This is where I get confused. Is there Fusion 1 or Fusion 2 (as in Mach 1 and Mach 2 etc) or anything like that?

Just straightforward Gillette Fusion?

All the Fusion blades are interchangeable, buy your replacement blades in Tescos/Dunnes as they are much cheaper than your local pharmacy

bobbyss

Stanford wrote:

All the Fusion blades are interchangeable, buy your replacement blades in Tescos/Dunnes as they are much cheaper than your local pharmacy

That's good thanks. I may go with that as I don't want to be caught out with not having enough blades.

bobbyss

Ok Well I went into Boots recently and I saw:


Gillette Fusion 5
Gillette Fusion 5 Power
Gillette Fusion 5 Pro Glide

There may have been one other.

And I am sure they all had the corresponding cartridges of blades.

So just for clarification. I can buy the Fusion 5 Power shaving head, for example, and use the Fusion 5 pro Glide blades?

Any and all Fusion stuff is interchangeable? I don't want to buy blades that won't fit.

franglan

I use the lidl 5 blade shaver, that’s roughly a fiver and you can buy a pack of replacement blades which has 4 or 5 additional blade cartridges for a fiver too. Might be called Shark?! Perfect, cheaper and I see no difference between these and your Wilkinson’s or Gillette’s outside of the expensive advertisements!

One_Of_Shanks

i use the old fashioned ones, someone else mentioned shaving.ie

I got a razor and a few packs of blades and I cant even remember when I last bought blades.

Saving a fortune compared to the usual gillette stuff.

Very close shave too. Definitely better, definitely cheaper

my opinion anyway.

shawki

I use Gillette Fusion blades.

18 Blades a year @3.25 each = €58.25
12 tubes of Palmolive shave cream @1.80 each = €21.60
Total = €79.85 a year

5 shaves a week works out at 31 cent a shave.

I know other methods are cheaper but the cost still seems fairly reasonable to me.

blackwave

franglan wrote: »

I use the lidl 5 blade shaver, that’s roughly a fiver and you can buy a pack of replacement blades which has 4 or 5 additional blade cartridges for a fiver too. Might be called Shark?! Perfect, cheaper and I see no difference between these and your Wilkinson’s or Gillette’s outside of the expensive advertisements!

Yeah they are called Shark. I use them as well and find them great and have converted one of my friends to them also because he saw no difference between them and his old Gillette

huggy15

I Swapped from a Gillette fusion to a d.e razor years ago because the Gillette was constantly leaving my neck irritated . I haven't looked back since swapping, not only am I getting a better closer shave but I am saving a serious amount of money considering the price of Gillette cartridges compared to d.e blades. I can pick up 100 blades for roughly 20 to 30 euro and this will keep me going a year, sometime longer.

I'd recommend visiting shaving.ie and buying maybe a merkur 34c hd razor as a starting razor. It's a good all round razor and great for beginners. Just buy a sampler pack of blades then and see which suits you best, you can just stick to your canned shaving gel or foam at the start as you will still get a good shave with them and maybe move to the brush and soaps if you feel like it then.

RandomUsername

I'd recommend these :

I think they are about €4 in pharmacys, bin the blades that come with it and buy 100 derby extra blades off shaving.ie or amazon.

I had one of the dearer Merkur handles and found it heavy and clunky, swapped to the cheapo handle and haven't looked back.

huggy15

RandomUsername wrote:

I think they are about €4 in pharmacys, bin the blades that come with it and buy 100 derby extra blades off shaving.ie or amazon.

No point telling him to go but 100 derby blades, what suits you might not suit someone else. He'd be better off getting a sampler pack and finding which blade he likes best.

RandomUsername

huggy15 wrote:

No point telling him to go but 100 derby blades, what suits you might not suit someone else. He'd be better off getting a sampler pack and finding which blade he likes best.

Fair point

yabadabado

Buy a DE razor,it will last you a lifetime.
The initial outlay will be more than going the multi blade route but we'll worth it.
Better shave and a lot cheaper in the long term.

If you are going for multi blade,I think Mach 3 is the best of the bunch imo. I've tried plenty over the years but Mach 3 would always be my preference.

I use DE razor and feather blades but have a Mach 3 for travelling or days I'm in a rush.

ill throw my lot behind the shark blade

no difference between it and mach 3 (or variants thereof) and much cheaper

maybe this is obvious standard practice to all but cleaning between the blades with an old toothbrush after each shave means they last a month no bother, shaving 3 times a week

yabadabado

Is Shark blade a DE blade?

smelly sock

bobbyss wrote: »

I have been using disposable blades for a long, long time and I am thinking of returning to the more traditional ones. The disposable ones were very much hit and miss. Even from the same package some were not as good as others and I end up cutting myself lots of times. I am fed up of the inconsistency.

The problem is I don't know which new good one to try as I don't understand the choices. I used to use the old Gillette G2 blade. I think at any rate that's what it was called. That was fine for me but then all of a sudden I found it more difficult to find the blades themselves until I think they stopped making them.Then I turned to the disposable ones.

Now I go into a supermarket and it is a bit bewildering to see the choice. I don't even know where to start. I see Fusion, Mach 2, Mach 3 and I don't know if one blade would fit into the other etc. I don't know what differences there are between them all or how many shaves would I get from one blade? I want to get a razor that has a plentiful supply of blades anywhere I shop. What would you recommend? I don't want anything fancy, just a good razor and blades. Any suggestions?

I use blades from lidl. Think they are called shark. Really good for the price. I wouldnt justify handing over the kind of money gillette look for.

artanevilla

I've been using an old fashion safety razor with DE blades for years now. Definatly a lot better for your skin as it takes off a bit at a time as opposed to one swoop.

You save money on the blades alright, but then you start buying all the fancy pre and post shave creams and balms, shaving soaps, brushes and bowls and holders and stands....

Esel

artanevilla wrote: »

I've been using an old fashion safety razor with DE blades for years now. Definatly a lot better for your skin as it takes off a bit at a time as opposed to one swoop.

You save money on the blades alright, but then you start buying all the fancy pre and post shave creams and balms, shaving soaps, brushes and bowls and holders and stands....

In other words, you become a shaving poseur.

Gbear

I bought this, a hundred blades for fiver, another fiver for the brush and a tub of cream about once a year suits me fine.

I don't shave that often - probably once a week, so I quite often have quite a lot of growth, but the DE razor shears it all off no bother without much in the way of irritation, and I have fairly sensitive skin.

I'd never go back to cartridge razors. Load of marketing ****e.

H3llR4iser

I would join the "Lidl bandwagon" - I have and use both the 3 and 5 blades version of them, and find little to no difference with the branded (and more expensive) stuff. I have the odd combination of sensitive skin and very harsh beard - it's a miracle if a razor lasts for more than one shave, be it Wilkinson, Gillette or Lidl ones.

smelly sock

H3llR4iser wrote: »

I would join the "Lidl bandwagon" - I have and use both the 3 and 5 blades version of them, and find little to no difference with the branded (and more expensive) stuff. I have the odd combination of sensitive skin and very harsh beard - it's a miracle if a razor lasts for more than one shave, be it Wilkinson, Gillette or Lidl ones.

Totally agree. And thats me coming from mach3 to lidl shark.

stormthecastle

Why not get an electric razor, not clean cut enough? I find it fine and a lot cheaper.