Gillette Fusion Power Razor

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Dubb
I got a fairly uneven shave with the unpowered version as well - I think it was that the blades are so close together, they clog very quickly. so it's "shave half an inch, rinse, shave half an inch, rinse...."

one of these days I'll have to try a DE...but I have very dry/sensitive skin, so I'm a little hesitant.

Go ahead and pull the trigger on a DE system (razor, brush, good creme).

 

[TheAudit]

Coming from a Mach3, I think the Fusion does a pretty decent job.
I try to be a puss about rinsing and keeping the blades as clean possible because they are a rip-off!

 

[Mani]

Originally posted by: mantic

Originally posted by: Mani
Winston, you are currently challenging Wduaqnug as my favorite alltime ATOT poster.

Question for you - got any recommendations on best bang/buck combo on badger brush, shaving cream, and DE razor? Also, how much time does a typical DE razor shave take vs. a typical runthrough with a Mach III?

Let me take a "IMHO" stab at this while Winston collects his thoughts. 🙂

Brush: Savile Row from QED and Vulfix from Classicshaving are generally considered to be the best values from well-known e-tailers. Pick a "super" badger grade in a size no more than 4" and you may not ever want to upgrade later ($50-75).

Shaving Cream: Taylor's of Old Bond Street is the "value leader" of the old-school, British shaving cream (~$12/tube). But if you have a Target department store locally, pick up a tube of Proraso shaving cream. Its very inexpensive (half the price of Taylor's) but excellent (if you don't mind eucalyptus).

Razor: If you don't mind going eBay, there's a guy selling Indian-made Parker DE's for under $20. Cotton Blossom Crafts sells a Chinese-made razor for under $20 as well. Both are considered "gentle" razors. The Merkur "HD" (or "Heavy Classic") is a little more expensive (~$30 from QED or Classicshaving) but very popular.

Blades: I think the most outrageous deal out there are the Isreali-made Personna blades you can get on eBay for about $15 for 100 (sample link). This is my preferred blade: much better than US-made Personna's and 15 cents per blade!

--Mark

Great stuff, thanks Mark. Is the Merkur HD a significant upgrade over the Indian or Chinese-made razors? Don't mind paying more for quality, especially if it gets a closer shave or cuts down on time.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Mani

Originally posted by: mantic

Originally posted by: Mani
Winston, you are currently challenging Wduaqnug as my favorite alltime ATOT poster.

Question for you - got any recommendations on best bang/buck combo on badger brush, shaving cream, and DE razor? Also, how much time does a typical DE razor shave take vs. a typical runthrough with a Mach III?

Let me take a "IMHO" stab at this while Winston collects his thoughts. 🙂

Brush: Savile Row from QED and Vulfix from Classicshaving are generally considered to be the best values from well-known e-tailers. Pick a "super" badger grade in a size no more than 4" and you may not ever want to upgrade later ($50-75).

Shaving Cream: Taylor's of Old Bond Street is the "value leader" of the old-school, British shaving cream (~$12/tube). But if you have a Target department store locally, pick up a tube of Proraso shaving cream. Its very inexpensive (half the price of Taylor's) but excellent (if you don't mind eucalyptus).

Razor: If you don't mind going eBay, there's a guy selling Indian-made Parker DE's for under $20. Cotton Blossom Crafts sells a Chinese-made razor for under $20 as well. Both are considered "gentle" razors. The Merkur "HD" (or "Heavy Classic") is a little more expensive (~$30 from QED or Classicshaving) but very popular.

Blades: I think the most outrageous deal out there are the Isreali-made Personna blades you can get on eBay for about $15 for 100 (sample link). This is my preferred blade: much better than US-made Personna's and 15 cents per blade!

--Mark

Great stuff, thanks Mark. Is the Merkur HD a significant upgrade over the Indian or Chinese-made razors? Don't mind paying more for quality, especially if it gets a closer shave or cuts down on time.

Viper GTS suggested this set and it is what I have switched to. I'll probably end up getting an adjustable DE of some sort (Merkur or vintage Gillette) and silvertip brush but so far it has been an excellent starter set.

 

[imported_mantic]

Originally posted by: Mani
Great stuff, thanks Mark. Is the Merkur HD a significant upgrade over the Indian or Chinese-made razors? Don't mind paying more for quality, especially if it gets a closer shave or cuts down on time.

There's no doubt that a Parker or Weishi razor is not as well made as a Merkur, but you were asking about "best bang for the buck." 🙂 The only "downside" of a Merkur is that they're multi-piece razors (you unscrew the top off to put a new blade in), vs. the old Gillette "twist-to-open" or "butterfly" head styles that (some) Parker and the Weishi razors have. Most folks don't have a problem with that. Also bear in mind that there are different blades; you can use an "aggressive" blade with a "mild" razor--or vice versa--to find your "sweet spot." For example, Israeli-made Personna blades have a repution of being good but "gentle" while Feather blades (from Japan) are ninja-assassin sharp. I use a Merkur "Progress" which is an adjustable razor--I can set the amount of blade exposure to create a more aggressive or less aggressive shave. Great little razor.

--Mark

 

[imported_mantic]

After half a week of sub-par shaves with the Fusion I went back to my regular kit this morning. And what a shave! Closer and more comfortable: the Progress is the beach muscle-man kicking sand in the face of the Fusion. I'll be "faceterbating" all day.

Today's shave:

Proraso Pre-Shave (I didn't shower this morning so this is prep "insurance")
Coates Tea Tree shave cream
Shavemac shave brush
Merkur Progess razor with an Israeli Personna blade
Thayers Witch Hazel to clean up and moisturize
Trumper's Skin Food to seal and protect