Thread: The Mach Delivers ?!

I have always managed to get a really good shave with absolutely no irritation from a Mach and a Fusion. In fact I had no idea what Razor Burn was until I started shaving with a Straight. I'm sure it would still be the case If I used a Fusion again.

Having said that, I get a really good shave with a straight and it's much more satisfying, for all sorts of different reasons.

Whenever in doubt, just think of the cost of the replacement cartridges, and the packaging & waste they produce! I'm guilty of keeping a disposable around for shaving my chest, but I find the simple disposable works better than the Mach3.

Have you considered that you know a lot more about shaving properly in general now with regards to pre and post, grain direction stretching etc and that this is why your mach shave was much better?

As Tekbow mentions, and has been noted here before: Shave quality improves with improved technique, regardless of razor used. While my razors were getting their first hone, I was too anxious to wait around and began learning lather and applying shaving techniques to my Fusion/Mach 3 use, and shaves did improve significantly.

Also, while I could get a very fine shave with a Fusion, using soap and brush, and good technique, I could still only get about three good shaves with a cartridge before a rash of ingrown hairs and subsequent irritation set in. Then it was time to pop in a new cartridge. Using 8-10 cartridges a month was more expensive than I could stomach, so I tended to suffer with an irritated neck.

My straights on the other hand will shave for a good month without a touch up honing (which costs me nothing after spending $8 on a Swaty barber hone). I get a clean and irritation free neck for that whole time, and have the added satisfaction of not throwing so much money away each month.

So short answer: I get just as good of a shave with a Mach/Fusion as with my straights.
Long Answer: My shaves are financially, ecologically, and aesthetically superior with my straights.

Peace,
Jim

Originally Posted by BigJim

So short answer: I get just as good of a shave with a Mach/Fusion as with my straights.
Long Answer: My shaves are financially, ecologically, and aesthetically superior with my straights.

I would add DE's to this, but this is how I feel!

started straight shaving only about 2 months ago, but before that I shaved with my grandfathers Gillette Slim for a long while. about a month into straight shaving I was really REALLY late to work and decided to pick the DE instead. I got a superior shave to what I remembered from only a month before in terms of closeness, speed, irritation (none) and comfort. and that's using exactly the same DE, blades and cream and brush as before. what I figure is I learned a lot about stretching, prep, growth direction etc from wielding a straight, so that using a DE just got easier and better, too.
the Mach is the same as before. you're not.

Grizli

Originally Posted by groovyd

...I have an EJ89 DE I use to cleanup after the straight which I really enjoy too, gives a great smooth last pass with a feather blade.

+1 This is exactly what I do. I love shaving with both straights and double edge razors.

I generally do WTG and XTG with a straight followed by ATG with my EJ89 or Fatboy. Gives me the best of both worlds!

Originally Posted by tekbow

Have you considered that you know a lot more about shaving properly in general now with regards to pre and post, grain direction stretching etc and that this is why your mach shave was much better?

could very well be true and thankfully i do not forget so quickly what i have learned it almost felt too prepped though, like it could have given me the same quality shave without all the attention. i actually did consider though that a straight lather like MdC might in fact be too thick and cushioning for a cartridge, to gum up the blades before they even see the hair. I felt the need to rinse after every swipe which I never remember feeling the need for using ultra-x out of the can. Infact it almost felt like the lather was getting in the way of the petty contact of the blades.

Originally Posted by commiecat

I threw my cartridges out probably a month after using a straight and I've never had the need or desire to reconsider. Everybody is different but for me, cartridges yielded poor shaves (in retrospect) even going WTG-only.

I've since picked up a DE to shave my head with and for traveling. FYI: you can carry-on a DE but not the blades. Blades can be bought in pharmacies (e.g. CVS in the US).

I had the same question to the TSA during my last flight... they indicated a DE would be fine and actually said it probably would not even get noticed on the carry on which surprised me. I have a EJ89 but I really should branch out and try more. Would like to get a feather and an old school 60's fatboy adjustable. Would love to try the new SS feather str8 with the disposible blades.

I've been using my straight for a month now, but a few days ago used my old DE. I was amazed at how easy it was to use the DE. But it was easier even than when I used a DE on a daily basis. I also mentioned to my better half that I thought my beard was growing out a bit differently than when I used a DE. Seems more even. As a result of these two observations, I think that using a straight has either changed my beard or the way I shave.

I have too much fun with the straight to ever go back to using a DE on a regular basis.