A few months ago, my buddy Paul mentioned the fascination with multi-bladed razors.
I recently ran out of my regular razors and stopped by the supermarket to pick up some new ones. I was surprised to see a FOUR BLADED RAZOR.
Yep, you read that right, four effing blades! Of course, I had to buy it.
When I got home, I examined the package a little closer. I was happy to read all the vital info.
I’m just the kind of man that needs “maximum shaving power” from “The Most Souped Up Disposable Razor — Ever!“. Four blades AND four lube zones! Who can ask for more?
You simply must love the terminology that has found it’s way into razor advertising. Note that this is an ‘All Terrain Shaver’ and has ‘High Endurance’. What these two things have to do with shaving I don’t know, but they do make you feel more manly if you buy it.
Some light shavers or women may not know what a lube zone is, so I will explain. To make razors more complicated, manufacturers have added these little strips of gel to the tops of razors. When the razor gets wet, the gel dissolves slightly and leaves some sort of coating on the skin. It never made sense to me because anyone that is shaving with a razor has shaving creme slathered on their face already. But hey, it ‘soups up’ the razor, so whatever.
Take a look at the razor head and indeed, there are four blades.
That stuff in pale green are the ‘lube zones’.
I’ve shaved with the razor twice, and to put it succinctly, it sucks.
The blades really don’t shave that well and I had to go over areas a couple times to get things smooth. This is bad since it leads to razor burn. When using a good razor, you can feel it cutting and know that it’s working. This razor feels like a plastic bar moving over the skin and you aren’t sure if it’s actually shaving.
The lube zones turned my face into a slimy mess. All the green crap covered my face and I literally had to scrub it off with a washcloth. Way too much slime.
Now that I’ve tried one kind of four blade razor, I guess I have to review the others…
Next you should try the new battery powered Mach3!
I find it somehow bothersome than razor technology is going the way of the toothbrush. I mean, friggin replacement blades for my trusty (non powered) Mach3 are like 3 bucks each!
Thats why I grew a beard.
I misplaced my Mach3 this past semester, so I went shopping for disposable razors. Since I love my Mach3 so much, I got Gilette’s three-bladed disposables. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t use those darned razors without slicing my neck open. I had to shave hours ahead of time just so the blood would have time to clot. Conclusion: I think disposable razors should stick to single blades.
I guess your razor isn’t “trail rated”.
There are at least 2 other 4-blade razors, but I haven’t tried them yet. I’m a little bit afraid to.
The battery-operated thing isn’t as crazy as it sounds. I was watching a show with some razor designers, and they were saying the only way to get significant improvements in shaving technology now is to rely on vibration, which can vastly improve cutting. It’s like the razor equivalent of hitting the limits on Moore’s law.
It just grows back in a few hours anyway.
I’m waiting for the marketing to make that inevitable shift to “Classic” mode.
“For the male that doesn’t need multiple blades to achieve shaving satisfaction. All he needs [show sexy woman stoking his face] is one, big, hard-working blade. Introducing, the new Gillette Unit!!! One man, One Blade, One smooth face.”
The return of the straight-razor and strop?
Why not take your grooming to new levels?
http://www.headblade.com/default23.htm
My absolute, very first blog post ever was regarding how stupid is was that we have “technological breakthroughs” with toothbrushes. The same argument holds for razors. Mankind pretty much perfected the disposable razor decades ago. We’re done.
http://misterp.blogspot.com/2002_06_23_misterp_archive.html
Well – I use the Gillette 3 bladers (Mach 3 – Sounds wicked fast!). Now I cannot go back to the two-bladers (Excel) or one bladers (Sensor). There is a perceptable difference. And forget about the cheap disposable (i.e. throwaway) razors – I cannot even get one decent shave out of those things.
I think 3 blades is enough (but then again, two blades seemed adequate until the Mach 3). But I suppose if Gillette can further improve the shaving experience (with more blades, vibro, lube zones, etc) I’ll go along with the ride.
Regarding the Old Spice Quatro 4×4 razor, I’m not surprized it sucked. It is obviously a case of using (very funny) marketing hype to sell inferior shaving technology. I doubt they invest the zillions in R&D and testing that Gillette does in addition to the quality control of the manufacturing processes.
Gillette seems to have this sh*t tooled out pretty good. Have not tried the vibro shave yet (what – now i’ve got to buy batteries AND blades?). But if it works better…
The cost of blades bites, but I can get usually get a lot of shaves out of each unit before disposal (like a month). I can’t imagine using a new one every day.
[By the way: I do not work for Gillette, I am only a customer.]
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Survey:
How many shaves do you usually get out of each unit (before disposal)?
Do you shave “up”, “down”, or “both”?
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I picked up a Mach 3 powered razor last week (I’ve been a Mach 3 fan for some time now)… Works well, but honestly, so far, I’m not noticing any real improvment over the non-powered Mach 3. So far, it seems like hype. I don’t see any real shaving improvement not that my Mach 3 is wiggling while I shave with it…
“Cruft: Four blades”
I haven’t tried the 4 blade razors yet since my Mach 3 works just fine (although I still don’t see it as having much of an improvement from the Sensor XL or older Gilette razors).
This guy actually tried the things. The marketing stupidity on the …
I changed to the Mach3Power for the heck of it and I couldnt believe it. I actually was smilling in the mirror. I have a real tough beard and I liked the mach3. I cant go back now. feeling that vibration and babyskin when I am done still amazes me. I have laughed out loud every time they come up with something and assume the marketing was a bunch of bs. But this has me stunned. It shaves like a new blade longer. I have had mine for a month and the battery is still humming along.
I use the new Gillette M3 vibrating razor and it makes me sick to my stomach to purchase $16 replacement blades every 2 months. My friend, who claims to be an expert on shaving becasue he shaves his head, recommended a product call Edgesaver to extend blade life. He claims it works very well but want to get some other opinions. Has anyone used this prodcut? If yes, please email me and provide feedback on performance. -Mike J