Thread: The Mach Delivers ?!

I never thought my one cartridge experiment would last so long and I am starting to really miss my straights. Am thinking to alternate shaves between the two to get a better feel for how they compare.

Awesome shave today with the Mach. Shave #9, identical to shave #2, BBS literally no irritation and just a memoir of sting in the Alum. Still using proraso pre and proraso for sensitive skin as a base but mixed in a dab of Maca Root cream and whipped it up in my new homemade Groovy Scuttle which I was also suprised did a great job keeping the lather warm.



To anyone out there looking for a cheap and impressively simple, easy to make, and well performing scuttle (beats my moss) give this a try. Order this quality double walled stainless mug Amazon.com: Brilliant Double-Walled Stainless Steel Tea Cup and Saucer Set (7 Fl Oz) - Quality StainlessLUX Drinkware for Your Enjoyment: Kitchen & Dining and using the barrel grinder that comes with a dremel tool cut a thumb sized notch in each side across from each other.



Fill sink with hot water and let it heat in the sink as you normally would while you shower. Then just take it out and put your thumb over the handle side notch and turn it upside down to empty the water from the bowl, the water will remain between the double walls keeping the lather warm. The space between the walls holds about 4+ ounces of hot water, depending on the temperature of your water enough to keep the lather warm for 3 passes. What allows it to work with such little water is the good thermal conduction of the metal. When you are done simply turn it upside down without closing the notch with your thumb and the water inside drains.

Cheap, very elegant polished stainless, indestructable, and takes all of 5 minutes to make. With this there is no longer a good reason anyone who would like a nice scuttle should be without and feel good about it since they made it themselves. The saucer that comes with it is also a nice touch.

Took today's shave with my new Les Tres Croix bought off a member here, great smooth shave. Lots of fun.

Today is a Mach day, my 10th 3-pass shave using the same fusion-pro-super-glide-whatever 5-blade cartridge. And once again an awesome smooth irritation free shave, DFS with only slight alum sting, very slight if any. I have to hand it to them, the thing is performing way better then I had expected. At least for me arguments of price or quality are getting harder and harder to justify. Even if the cartridge expired now it would factor down to $30 / 8 / 10 = $.38 per shave x 180 = $67 per year for me to get 3-pass DFS or better shaves.

Having said that I think the principle reason it is lasting so long is in the proper wet-shave prep, products, and the added stretching skills learned through straight razor shaving. In fact from a time argument shaving by cartridge in this way takes every bit as long as with a straight, there is no savings there assuming the same prep and passes, as well there is no saving in product. What I have found that is being saved however is (besides the fact that scarring yourself is very unlikely) the excitement factor and feeling of tradition is what is lacking.

Personally I like the fact that with a straight razor is nothing to throwaway which I did for many years with my disposables.... you could call em "eco razors"

But if you wanna try a nice Gillette razor..the Gillette "Guard" s a single edge with bar on it...all plastic..only made in India... very cheap on the bay or WSC

Today was a day for my new TI Grelot bought off a member here, very nice shave with a slight nick directly under my nostril which seems to be a recurring place for me because of the angle of the blade trying to get as close and high up as i can. I have been stretching my upper lip down over my teeth and trying to be careful about the angle, any tricks to make this area easier? It is in the first mm or two under the nose on each side, the middle never seems to cause a problem.

11th shave and one of the best shaves of my life, but I would have to give the cartridge only half the credit for this one. The other half goes to a steaming hot bath loaded with coconut oil, shea butter, and fresh rosemary picked right off the plant. Mixed in a dose of indian chandrika ayurvedic soap carried back from my trip to india some years ago and sublimed into nirvana for a half hour. Hot water rinse with Dr. Bronners citrus soap before stepping out to fill up the Moss scuttle. Proraso pre, skipping the hot towel today since I was pretty sure my bath took care of the prep still steaming off my face and slick with the bath oils. Cracked open a new tube of Proraso Cream and lathered up. 3 passes all irritation free and with absolutely no tug whatsoever. Osmo left not even a touch of sting. Very cold cold rinse... Thayers Original... Nivea Performance Balm (milky jade cream with awesome smell) for sensitive skin to top it all off. A most awesome shave!

Feeling like a billion bucks gentlemen

Groovy, I just realized you were using a Fusion Proglide and not a Mach III lol - since the title of this thread has 'Mach' in it I guess I assumed it was the 3 blade model. Ever consider replicating this experiment with a Mach III and see if the results are repeatable? I have my doubts, but you never know...

I no longer have a mach 3, just the pro glide. From my memory the Mach 3 was my best shave with a cartridge but I had never shaved using the new Pro glide blades and I can see they seem to be beating the Mach 3. They are indeed thinner and coated with something as the ads say. They seem to last forever with the right prep.

I think the couple marginal shaves early on were due to allergic reaction with MWF and Trumpers Sandalwood Skin Food which I have had irritation with before but never gave it so much thought until now. I am allergic to animal fibers like wool and most traditional tallow based shower soaps like ivory and it's thousand variations also cause me to itch and irritate especially in the dry winter.

I have one Fusion 5 blade the model before the Pro Glide which I could also try this using but the Pro Glide does seem better then my previous Fusion shaves; however, I have never done any cartridge shaving with good prep until now so it might make sense to back up and try them all.

NOS Fila 14 day for me... great shave gentlemen!