The Mach Delivers ?!

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Originally Posted by BigJim

When you think about your past shaves, it's good to remember that Gillette (and Schick, etc.) sells a SYSTEM. Some claim you don't even need a cream, the moisture strip is all you need to shave. When they do promote a cream, it's the canned gel. But in both cases what they're selling is a quick and easy system, no prep needed, no hassle, wipe and go. So I wouldn't feel guilty if I were you (I don't feel guilty!). Prep and lather and stretching will do a lot for any shave. But they're part of the wet-shave system, not Gillette's Mach X speed shave system.

FWIW!

Peace,
Jim

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would be interesting then after this experiment for me is over to try a couple weeks of using a straight but with gillettes can foam as compares to real soaps and cream.

Yeah, that thought's crossed my mind too; but I had long since burned through all the different canned creams trying to find one that would give me a better shave and less neck irritation...that's when I turned to criticizing the tool and eventually found my way into straight shaving.

Money. Main reason for me to str8 shave. Then I started shaving. skin hasn't been in better condition since I was an 11 year old boy. no spots, silky soft skin, more youthful looking, no ingrown hairs, no dreaded feeling of 'Oh crap I need to shave...', shaving with an 80 - 120 year old masterpiece, learning a skill (which I found quite a difficult one for me), if you at least make it to competent level in all aspects of str8 shaving - a feeling of accomplishment that your not relying on the supermarket down the road to give you a BOGOF offer before you plunge for another set of plastic disposables that are boring to shave with and over priced, and the knowledge that if you are recruited by MI5 to do recon for the british government against a evil dictator bent on destroying the worlds supply of disposable razors but on the way you get shot out of your plane and end up on a desert island with nothing else but a coticule, hanging strop, coconut tree with a notch in it, a puck of MWF, a straight razor and a full grown beard... you know you'll be clean shaven when the come to rescue you ;) "How did I shave myshelf you shay? I shaved with a shtraight rashzor and it wash sho shexy" (thats another reason)

Oh yeah, and its a great excuse to get away from the lady watching TV soaps

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Originally Posted by BigJim

Yeah, that thought's crossed my mind too; but I had long since burned through all the different canned creams trying to find one that would give me a better shave and less neck irritation...that's when I turned to criticizing the tool and eventually found my way into straight shaving.

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I think most people get irritation from a mach because they try to stretch the number of uses of the cartridge too much. And it is understandable since they aren't cheap. But then again nothing about wet shaving is really cheap either outside of the theory of it.

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Originally Posted by easyace

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.

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x2 I maybe once every 2 years got razor burn from my mach 3, and I used those things for months on end. Never bothered my face. Now with the straight, I get burn right on the jaw line almost every time. I'm chalking it up to technique and too much pressure, but hey, go with what works. For me I took to straight shaving like a duck to water, and except for my jaw line, my face is very forgiving. I can do 5 passes on my chin to get a true bbs and not feel the wrath of my W&B (Which is my most unforgiving yet sharpest razor).

Gimpyalex: you just inspired my next survival kit!


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.695856,-71.131395

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Originally Posted by groovyd

I think most people get irritation from a mach because they try to stretch the number of uses of the cartridge too much. And it is understandable since they aren't cheap. But then again nothing about wet shaving is really cheap either outside of the theory of it.

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Yup. I was one of the many that tried to "get the most" from a blade and learned to regret it. In the waning days of my Mach use I had learned that cartridge blades aren't made to last, which is in fact the trap that Gillette tries to get you in - the constant cycle of buying blades. Unbiased reports put the average number of shaves per blade at 3, after that the quality dropped drastically. After testing out that theory I found it to be 100% correct, at least to my sensitive skin, as my beard seemed to chew through them in record time. By that point I was more than disillusioned with the Mach 3, especially with the realization that 3 blades per shave is pretty expensive.

I could never understand the guys who could make cartridges last for days or weeks on end. Those gentlemen must have either light beards or skin like leather - perhaps both! :roflmao

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I could never understand the guys who could make cartridges last for days or weeks on end. Those gentlemen must have either light beards or skin like leather - perhaps both!

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I could only make mine last two before it started pulling. I worked out if I lived to 70 I would spend about £20,000 on cartridges if I shaved every day, thats not including gunk in a can, aftershave or anything else. So far I'm below £700 for the rest of my life and I have more razors, soaps, strops than I know what to do with. Now Imagine what you could buy with £20,000 in str8 razor terms...:idea:

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Gimpyalex: you just inspired my next survival kit!

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Don't forget to buy the Sean Connery accent how he is now, Young Sean Connery is creepy ;)

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

Yup. I was one of the many that tried to "get the most" from a blade and learned to regret it. In the waning days of my Mach use I had learned that cartridge blades aren't made to last, which is in fact the trap that Gillette tries to get you in - the constant cycle of buying blades. Unbiased reports put the average number of shaves per blade at 3, after that the quality dropped drastically. After testing out that theory I found it to be 100% correct, at least to my sensitive skin, as my beard seemed to chew through them in record time. By that point I was more than disillusioned with the Mach 3, especially with the realization that 3 blades per shave is pretty expensive.

I could never understand the guys who could make cartridges last for days or weeks on end. Those gentlemen must have either light beards or skin like leather - perhaps both! :roflmao

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While traveling the world I used a mach 3 and used to shave once a week and stretch the cartridge for 2-3 months, that is about 10 shaves. I was rugged and didn't care about a little irritation once a week since it was only once a week my face didn't really care anyway since it had an inch of sludge and dead skin on top. I noticed since the mach 3 the 4 and 5 have gotten me less shaves per cartridge and not really any closer either. I might put the Mach 3 as the best of the Machs in my history book.

Today was my second 3 pass shave with the new cartridge only having added a bit of nancy boy signature cream to the proraso soap as I normally do working my way through my 30 soap and cream rotation and I got more or less the same quality shave off it with only a slight sting of the alum on a few spots. Compared to the first shave this is just as close but there was some very minor irritation.

I can project from this that after 3 might be where it starts irritating to a significant level where you might notice it if you weren't hell bent on finding it and most likely the cartridge will be useable up to 6 shaves but the last few might be marginal. I will stop my experiment when the blade reaches a level of irritation similar to what I get normally with a str8 marking that as the water high mark since I should only get better and better at the str8 seems logical.

So essentially how many shaves would I get off a Mach before it compares negatively off my str8 with my current experience. I will then use that number to project on cost and value.

This conversation reminds me of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=bwh0S1K5hx0

Only...there's no tootsie roll at the end of a cartridge. :(