Gillette Sensor 2 & More Clubman:

Earlier today, I ran out of something that I needed. So while I was out and about, I grabbed a pack of Gillette Sensor 2 disposables which was less than $5 U.S. Dollars and since I was extremely low, I also grabbed another bottle of Pinaud's Clubman original formula which was also less than $5 U.S. Dollars. These disposables will be next:

Even though I got a comfortable shave with my 38C, I could have made 4 passes easy and that's way too much for my skin to handle. I have thought about getting a Muhle R41 DE safety razor and just doing 2 with the grain passes but I don't know if that would be a good idea or not. I'll look into it after I finish my Retro Gaming build project.

TTFFC Mixed & The 38C:

Today's shave was good & comfortable. Today I went with my Through The Fire Fine Craft by Maria Arman which I desperately need to restock immediately because I'm nearly out. This is my mixed soap container and the scent that sticks out would be her "Play it Again Sam" which is a lime & ginger ale scent. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with good old Clubman:

The 38C was great & super comfortable but I didn't get a close enough shave to amount to anything. The good news is that I had minimal irritation which came mostly from yesterday's shave so that's a good thing. There may be some hope of me using DE safety razors after all. What I did differently this time around was that I did 2 passes with the grain only. I've got more cartridge razors to review but I do plan on trying this with my other DE safety razors & maybe my straight razors to see what happens. I have a feeling that my best bet will be the cartridge & disposable razors.

Gillette Guard Initial Review:

Earlier tonight, I shaved for the 1st time with a Gillette Guard which is a single edge cartridge razor. My friend Mark Hutchison sent this to me from the United Kingdom. Thanks again Mark. First thing I noticed was the weight. It's extremely light weight so if you have a thick & heavy beard like I do, you will need this blade to be extremely sharp to be able to pass through your whiskers. The head of the razor is a pivoting head type of razor which does make it easier getting the correct angle. The guard itself was a little bit troublesome specifically around my moustache & neck areas. I had to go back in and do some buffing strokes which helped some but not a lot:

I agree with Mark Hutison's assessment in his video about this razor. The blade itself is okay at best mainly because it's not sharp enough specifically if you are 40 years of age & older and have an extremely tough & thick beard. I ended up doing 3 full passes and I still didn't get a close enough shave compared to my other cartridge razors. 3 passes with any of my other cartridge razors equals a BBS every single time. I also got quite a bit of feedback from my alum block & aftershave. Now I did take a moment to strop it but I'm honestly considering another razor for tomorrow's shave. It left a lot behind after 3 passes & the comfort level was just not there either. But on a positive note, these are dirt cheap at only $.09 cents per cartridge. I recommend these for light beards at the most.

Mountain Man & The Guard:

Tonight's shave was pretty good. More on that in a moment. For tonight's shave I went with Stirling Soaps which performs flawlessly each time I use it and I chose their Mountain Man scent. The scent is Stirling's take on Creed's Silver Mountain Water cologne which is stupid expensive. So if you want the next best thing to Creed's Silver Mountain Water cologne that won't break the bank, then this soap is definitely for you. And to finish off the shave, I paired it with good old Clubman:

The Gillette Guard was okay at best. I did have to make 3 passes and I still didn't get a close enough shave to suit my needs. More details to come in another blog post. I also got quite a bit of feed back from my alum block and my aftershave. We will see if tomorrow's shave is any better because I did take the time to strop it on both the rough & smooth leather of my strop. Maybe that will help it out some. So if you see another razor in tomorrow's shave don't be surprised.

Mail Call! (Gillette Guard) :

Today's mail call is from a friend Mark Hutchison over in the United Kingdom. Thank you sir for sending this Gillette Guard Single Edge cartridge razor. This was developed by Gillette India and unfortunately I can NOT find a release date on this specific item. It took roughly about a week and a half to get here:

The razor came with 6 cartridges & they can be found on Amazon & West Coast Shaving Supplies. I seen some where that the costs are only $.09 cents per cartridge:

I'll need to shave with it and do some more research but so far I'm liking the looks of this razor which is also extremely light weight but the grip is excellent. To load the cartridge you simply squeeze top of the razor handle and gently snap one in place. I don't know how it's going to shave but I will let you all know tomorrow and it will more than likely be tomorrow evening after I finish doing some yard work. I've got to get started on the leaf clean up which is epic.

Renewal & The Quattro:

Today's shave was great. I was craving Soap Commander today so I grab their "Renewal" scent which is a phenomenal floral Fougere' scent. And to finish off this shave, I went with a good healthy does of Brut followed by a nice healthy dose of Soap Commander's matching balm:

The Schick Quattro was great. I managed to get a squeaky clean post shave feel that resembles a sheet of ice in just 3 passes. My next shave with this razor will be interesting because on the last pass, I felt a slight amount of tugging. So after drying the blades off, I went ahead and did 12 strokes on the rough leather of my strop followed by 24 strokes on the smooth leather. That's usually more than enough to wake up the blades inside the cartridge. To strop these razors along with disposables, you simply go in the opposite direction than you would when you shave. And if you don't have a strop, just use a pair of old blue jeans. I went from just getting 2 or 3 shaves per cartridge up to 12+ shaves per cartridge which lowers your costs quite a bit.

Proraso Green & The Shield:

Today's shave was phenomenal. After a nice, hot & relaxing shower, I went with a modern day classic, Proraso green. The scent is Menthol & Eucalyptus and it's awesome. And to finish off the already epic post shave feel, I paired it with Osage Rub which was literally like the icing on the cake. Wow what a shave:

And of course no shave would be complete without a fresh brewed cup of Dunkin Donuts Original Blend black coffee. Rinse the filter before you add your coffee and boiling water is the best for pour over brewing in my humble opinion. You can smell it through out the house:

The Gillette Shield was perfect and has become my top razor. Every shave with it has been nothing short of phenomenal and I also get no stinging and/or burning from any of my aftershave products including my alum block which is a good thing. I'm also looking at getting into Retro Gaming and have been looking really hard at doing a Retropie build.

Turkish Bath & The Quattro:

Today's shave was excellent. Today I went with Jeeves of Hudson Street and their Turkish Bath scented soap. Which is a "1920's style Barbershop scent with heavy premium pipe tobacco top note". They have also changed the name to Barbershop now that they offer some aftershave splashes which is pretty cool. And to finish off this shave, I went with Stirling Soap's barbershop scented splash which adds a touch of sweetness to the scent:

The Schick Quattro was great. I did NOT get a BBS shave but I only made 2 with the grain passes and touched up a rough spot or 2 because my face is currently sunburned at the moment from doing some weed eating yesterday. So here in a bit, I'm going to look at getting a "Boonie hat" which will do a much better job at protecting my face, head & neck from getting sunburned than my current plain black baseball cap does. That's the ONLY reason I wear a hat today. To keep my head protected from the elements & getting sunburned.

366 & The Shield:

That was one really sweet shave. Today's shave is in honor of Kelly Daugherty half owner of KShave Worx. Happy birthday Kelly. I went with their 366 scented soap which has a phenomenal sweet cherry almond scent to it. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with my usual splash:

The Gillette Shield was epic. I managed to get that sheet of ice post shave feel in 3 passes which is about normal for me. I'm pretty much committed to daily shaving for those wondering. My beard grows way too fast to let it go for about 3 to 4 days.

TTFFC Mixed & The Track 2:

Today's shave was great. I went with my Through The Fire Fine Craft mixed soap made by Maria Arman. I've got a ton of soaps in here but the scent that stands out is the "Play it Again Sam" scent that she does which is citrus & ginger ale. And to finish off this shave, I paired with good old Clubman which seems to work well with this scent:

As suspected the real deal Gillette Track 2 was even better than the blade that came with the razor. No wonder they still make them & I now know why people don't want to give them up either. This was probably the best shave I've ever gotten from this razor.

Honor & The Track 2:

Today's shave was really good. For today's brush, I went with my RazoRock Plissoft 24 mm Synthetic which builds an excellent if not epic lather. And since today is Sunday, that means Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect. I went with their "Honor" scented line today which is their Barbershop scent. To my nose it's like you combined Phoenix Shaving's C.a.D. which is a stronger version of a 1970's & 1980's certain "canned shave foam" scent and Fine's American Blend which is their take on YSL Rive Gauche Pour Homme 2003 and both combined smell excellent. Soap Commander nailed the scent on this one. And to finish off today's shave I went the matching aftershave balm which adds a tiny bit of menthol to the already epic post shave feel:

I noticed something today with my 1971 Gillette Track 2 razor. It was the last shave on this specific cartridge that came with the razor which is NOT a Gillette Track 2 cartridge so my initial review may be way off. When I went to install an actual Gillette Track 2 Plus cartridge, it was smaller than the one that came with the razor handle and wasn't easy to install either and the clear plastic cover that came with the 1st cartridge didn't fit. So tomorrow's shave will be interesting. But I still got a really good 2.5 pass shave that I'm more than happy with. And I will be getting a brand new strop. My 3 inch black latigo is too big for a cartridge razor & has seen its better days. When you get a new strop, DO NOT USE LEATHER BALMS AND/OR STROP DRESSINGS. It cuts the life of a strop down by half & once you do use them, YOU CAN'T STOP. If you do the strop will dry out and become very brittle and be extremely easy to nick. Just use CLEAN BUT OILY HANDS ONLY and you will be fine.

Proraso Green & The Turbo:

Man that shave was epic, wow. For today's brush, I went with my RazoRock Plissoft 24 mm synthetic and the lather it builds is awesome & unlike my now retired Boar & Silver Tipped Badger brushes, it doesn't absorb my lather half way through the shave. Plus if you are traveling, synthetics dry faster which is usually around 2 to 3 hours give or take a little & it will also depend on where you are at. For today's shave I was craving menthol again so I went with modern day classic, Proraso Green which has an incredible Menthol & Eucalyptus scent to it. And I finished it off with Pinaud's Osage Rub which is like the icing on a cake:

The Gillette Mach 3 Turbo was absolutely flawless today. My post shave feel resembles a sheet of ice and I got that in just 2.5 passes which is perfect for me. No stinging or burning from any of my aftershave products including the alum block that I use after each shave. I've not been using my witch hazel here lately either mainly because I've not needed it as of late.

Pipe Smoke & The Mach 3:

Man oh man what a great shave 😀. For today's brush, I went with my RazoRock Plissoft 24 mm synthetic which is now my new "go to" brush. I got to craving a tobacco scented soap, so I grabbed a modern day and well loved classic, Uncle Jon's Pipe Smoke. The scent is a premium cherry pipe tobacco, sweet vanilla & aromatic spices and it's nothing short of phenomenal. And to finish off this epic shave, I went with my usual go to splash Aqua Velva classic ice blue :

The Mach 3 was excellent. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in just 3 passes. No burn from any of my post shave products which is always a good thing. My plissoft brush didn't absorb the lather today either which is definitely what I like as well.

Retiring A Brush:

After much reflection & thought, I've decided to retire my old Omega 10049 Professional Boar brush. The first reason is that it does tend to eat a lot of soap even with just loading the tips. That's why I've only finished off 5 soaps this year as opposed to 2016 where I ended up finishing off 25. I stopped posting about it after I got to #20 last year. The second reason has been due to the last couple of shaves. Even though they were great shaves, my last pass was with almost no lather. The brush had absorbed the lather during the shaves which I don't like at all. The last reason is that I don't need an excessively tall brush which was my only complaint when I first got it 3 years ago:

Now I have been looking at several synthetic brushes including Omega's "S" brushes. I do have 2 silver tipped badger brushes but they shed very badly. My beard also itches pretty bad and I prefer that minor scratchy feeling when I'm face lathering. My RazoRock Plissoft 24 mm is some where in between a boar and badger brush which is what will be replacing my Omega 10049 Boar brush with. It satisfies that itchy beard feeling and yet is as soft as a badger brush is. Plus in terms of lathering, it's the perfect size for me and since it's a synthetic, no soaking is required before use. But I do it any way out of habit while I bloom my soaps. Now the hard part is choosing which brush to buy first. Decisions, decisions. This was and is a great brush but time to move on from it.

#5 of 2017:

Well all good things must come to an end. Say hello to my 5th soap that I've finished off in 2017. This one was really good and I'm currently debating on whether or not to get this one again. They've got more scents that I want to try & I've got enough citrus based scents so I'll see what I can scratch up. My budget is okay but I do have some other expenses to take care of first:

Le Mans & The Quattro:

Today's shave was great. For today's brush, I went with my Omega 10049 Boar which I plan on replacing. It's had it and I'm really getting into the synthetic brushes as of late. For today's soap I went with Deluxe Shaving Company's Le Mans scented soap. The scent to my nose is a fresh but masculine citrus cologne type scent which I think pairs extremely well with good old Pinaud's Clumban Original aftershave splash which is what I finished today's shave off with:

The Schick Quattro was excellent. I managed to get an extremely close & comfortable shave in just 3 passes and once again, I got ZERO burning & stinging from both the alum block & the aftershave which is exactly what I like. You can't beat a sheet of ice for a post shave feel & zero burning & stinging from both the alum block & aftershave splash on top of that. That's what you would call a perfect and enjoyable shave in my opinion.

Optimism & The Track 2:

Today's shave was excellent. Possibly one of my best shaves of all time. For today's brush, I went with my Omega 10049 Professional Boar brush. And I got to craving something sweet, so I went with Soap Commander and their classic "optimism" scented soap which has an incredible Pear, Plum & Bergamot scent to it. And to finish off this shave, I went with the matching aftershave balm which adds a touch of menthol to the already exceptional post shave feel:

The 1971 Gillette Track 2 was epic and just what the doctor ordered. I was squeaky clean after doing 3 passes which is just about where I wanted it. This was the 3rd shave on this specific cartridge and it's NOT showing any signs of slowing down either. Normally about this time I'd have to hit the rough leather side of my strop but I didn't have to which is really cool. 

Proraso Green & The Doc:

Today's shave was pretty good but very satisfying. For today's brush, I went with my RazoRock Plissoft 24 mm synthetic which is an amazing brush. I wasn't planning on shaving today but my beard growth said otherwise which I took some photos of today. I took one before, during & after I had finished the shave. I was craving menthol today so I grabbed good old Proraso Green for today's soap. The scent is menthol & eucalyptus. And to finish off this shave, I went with a nice healthy dose of witch hazel and followed that up with Osage Rub which burned extremely well today:

People have been very supportive of my decision to go back to cartridge razors which is NOT changing. But several people have asked that I use a DE safety razor every now & then which I can consider to be a reasonable request. The photo you see below is before the shave:

The photo below was during my shave in which the menthol had a little extra time to kick in and it was very sweet too. My face had started itching pretty bad this evening and the chill of Proraso green put an end to the itching & was very satisfying:

This last photo was after the shave and I got a couple of weepers but that's to be expected considering that it was a fresh Feather DE blade in the razor:

The doc razor done good but I got a couple of weepers around the corners of my mouth along with a couple in my neck area specifically to the right of my Adam's apple. And I really knew it when I used my Proraso styptic gel & my alum block. The Osage Rub also really stood out today as well. The burning & stinging really was epic after this shave. This is why I prefer cartridge razors. I wouldn't have had ANY of these issues if I used a cartridge razor.

High Jump 47 & The Shield:

Today's shave was great. For today's brush, I went with my Omega 10049 Professional Boar brush. And I got to craving Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements pretty bad so I grabbed the only one in my collection at the moment which is High Jump 47. The scent is a 1930's era barbershop with a masculine citrus cologne & notes of fresh talcum powder. Think of walking into Admiral Byrd's personal barbershop. And to finish off this shave, I went with a nice rub down with my Alum block, then a healthy splash of witch hazel and good old Clubman aftershave splash:

The Gillette Shield did great. I was squeaky clean after 2.5 passes. I might do either a straight razor or a DE safety razor shave tomorrow. I'm not really sure just yet. Oh and my Edwin Jagger DE 89 needs a new handle. The original took a crap when I took it apart to remove the blade.

The Schick Quattro:

Yesterday I came across this razor at Ollie's which just opened here locally for about half of what it normally costs so I went ahead and got it and man oh man am I glad that I did. This was one really sweet razor that I used earlier today. I got it for $6 U.S. Dollars and normally when you go to the name branded big box stores, you are looking at nearly $13 U.S. Dollars instead of what I paid for it. The refills are decently priced which is about the same as the Gillette Fusion Proglides:

The blades load almost like a Gillette Atra & this one came with a blade storage compartment on the display stand which is pretty cool and will save me some space:

Didn't really need the plastic display case/stand but I'm cool with it:

As I mentioned earlier, the blades are fairly inexpensive:

The lubrication strip is awesome and it held up extremely well during stropping. The glide of these blades was also off the page. Really comfortable blades. Quite possibly my top razor now behind my Gillette Track 2 which I found out that Schick does make cartridges for it which I'm eager to try as well. But these are totally worth buying and keeping in your shave arsenal. I also found out that Feather makes cartridge razors. If they're anything like their blades are then I am in for a real treat.

Vision & The Quattro:

Today's shave was epic. For today's brush, I went my Omega 10049 Boar brush which always performs extremely well. And it's Sunday which means Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect. I went with their "Vision" scent which is my all time favorite. The scent is Aqua, Amber & Mint and the post shave feel is awesome. Even though there's no menthol in the soap itself, you really get a nice chill factor that lasts. And to finish off this shave, I went with a double dose of Aqua Velva classic ice blue aftershave splash followed by Soap Commander's Vision scented balm which does have a touch of menthol and puts the shave over the top:

My oh my, the Schick Quattro stole the show in terms of comfort. My face resembles a sheet of ice and I got no burn from the aftershave splash either. And the glide is off the page. I was almost squeaking after the first pass. The last time I tried these, I was still using the canned foam & goo and didn't like them. But with an actual shave soap & brush these are epic.

TTFFC & The Mach 3:

Today's shave was great. For today's brush, I went with my Omega 10049 Pro boar brush. And since it has been a while, I also went with Maria Arman's Through The Fire Fine Craft mixed soap. I've got several scents in here but the one that stands out is the "Play it Again Sam" which has a lime & ginger ale scent. And to my nose, it pairs perfectly with Clubman which is what I finished off today's shave with. I didn't use any witch hazel this time but I have been using my Maggard Razors alum block after each shave which is not pictured:

The Mach 3 was epic. To give you guys a clue as to how good of a shave I got, my face will remind you of a sheet of ice after just 2.5 passes and yet I got zero stinging & burn from the alum block & Clubman aftershave and Clubman is loaded with alcohol. That's the kind of shaves I love to get. A sheet of ice post feel with no burn from ANY aftershaves and/or cologne. Wow what shave.

Proraso Green & The Gillette Fusion:

This morning's shave was great. For today's brush, I went my Omega 10049 Professional Boar brush which builds one of the best lathers you will ever see once it gets broken in and use extra water when building a lather. I also got to craving Proraso green this morning so I grabbed it and man oh man it was very satisfying and then some. And to finish off this shave, I went with a nice healthy dose of Osage Rub. I didn't need the witch hazel this morning plus I had forgotten it:

The Gillette Fusion was great this morning. I ended up getting another "ice hockey rink" post shave feel after 3 passes. That's what I'm going call the Proglide razor from now on, the Fusion and I'm going to call the Proshield just the shield so people will know the difference. A new strop is also needed. I believe I'm going to go with the one you can find at my friend, Keith V. Johnson's website Tomo Nagura over on Etsy. I'm going for the vintage fire hose strop.

Turkish Bath & The Track 2:

This morning's shave was phenomenal. For my prep, I started off with a nice, hot and relaxing shower & I'm on my 2nd cup of Dunkin Donuts decaf coffee brewed in my Kuerig coffee brewer. I had a little too much of the regular coffee yesterday and was jittery all day as a result. For today's brush, I went with my Omega 10049 Professional boar which is my personal favorite. And for today's soap I was craving Jeeves of Hudson Street and went with their "Turkish Bath" scent which is incredible. The scent is a 1920's era Barbershop scent with a top note of premium pipe tobacco. I finished off today's shave with a nice healthy dose of TN Dickinson's Witch Hazel & Stirling Soap's Barbershop scented aftershave splash which adds a tiny bit of sweetness to the post shave scent:

The Gillette Track 2 was phenomenal and has become my personal favorite razor of all time. I was squeaky clean after performing 2.5 passes and the razor was even more comfortable than the 1st time I used it which is really cool. I have a feeling that I will be getting a lot of shaves out of these which is a really good thing. The perfect stone size you will need to hone ANY cartridge and leave the metal tabs on the sides intact is 1 and 3/8's inch wide by 4 inches long or 9.1 mm wide by 102 mm long. So if you can find the stones in this size or a touch smaller you will fine at re honing your cartridge razors. With my Mach 3's, Mach 3 Turbos and these blades, re honing them doesn't matter because they're just about as economical as DE blades are and Gillette's Proglides aren't too far from that either. I've already found 100 track 2 blades by Personna for less than $15 dollars.

Collection Nearly Complete:

One of my friends over on Instagram just pointed out that I'm only a few razors short of having a version of every Gillette safety razor that was produced and yes these are safety razors. When I get the entire collection, I will post a photo up of them. Now there will be 2 razors that I don't want to get and those would be a Gillette Fatboy from the 1960's and a Black Beauty from the mid to late 70's. The only reason I don't want them is because I've already got a Gillette Slim Adjustable and since I'm no longer using DE's, it would be pointless to acquire these 2 specific razors: 

So technically I only need to get 2 razors to have one from each product line and those are the Gillette Atra which is my birth year razor (1977) and I intend to get it. And the other is the Gillette Sensor which was a huge hit in the 1980's that I fondly remember. The Gillette Sensor was out when I started shaving but my first shave was with a Gillette Track 2 cart after I got in a few strokes in with both my grandfather's Gillette Super Speed & his prized Schick Injector razor. He wasn't too happy about that and gave me his Track 2 instead. Sadly that razor was lost in a flood many years ago.

Gillette Mach 3 Turbo:

An old favorite of mine is now back in my shave cave after an extremely long absence. So before I get started, let me give you a little back ground on Gillette's Mach 3 series. On April 14, 1998, Gillette released their new Mach 3 system which was the 1st ever triple bladed cartridge system and back then when they was first released, they cost about what their newest product does now. The regular Mach 3's wasn't too good at all for me back then mainly because I was still using the canned foam which will remain nameless. That was the initial launch date for the regular version. Later that same year they came out with this version, the Gillette Mach 3 Turbo which was advertised as being more comfortable and more suitable to sensitive skin and they were correct because these didn't cut me up any where near as bad as the regular version did when I was using canned foam & goo which will NEVER be back in this house:

The main differences between the 2 other than the color is that the Mach 3 Turbos on the right have a much better lubrication strip and a coating on each of the blades themselves. Think of getting an extra protective coating on your favorite DE blades:

The comfort level was off the page with these compared to the standard version of the Mach 3 cartridges. The cost is about $.30 cents more for the Turbos which is really not enough to even worry about. These are pretty easy to find and Gillette does offer these with their subscription services. I'll go over to their website to see what all blades they offer with that service later:

I had no problems at all with this razor using an actual shave soap and brush. And based upon my experiences over the last few months, the canned foam & goo was the only problem in my shave routine back in the day. Of course I also didn't know anything about stretching the skin like I do now and I also didn't know anything about stropping either which triples the longevity of your blades. As it stands with my shave routine today using everything I mentioned earlier, the only problem was the razor itself and these cartridges have seriously helped in terms of both comfort & clearing my skin up. I don't regret going back to cartridges at all.

Mountain Man & The Turbo:

This morning's shave was fantastic. For today's brush, I went with my Omega 10049 professional boar brush. And for today's soap I went with Stirling Soaps and their phenomenal "Mountain Man" scented soap. The scent is Stirling's take on "Creed's Silver Mountain Water cologne" which is awesome but expensive. And to finish off today's shave I went with my Maggard Razors alum block followed by a nice healthy dose of TN Dickinson's witch hazel and then a nice healthy dose of my Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue aftershave splash:

The Gillette Mach 3 Turbo was great. I managed to get another "ice rink" post shave feel in just 3 passes which is about normal for me. I'll be doing a detailed blog post here in a little while when I get back on the Gillette Mach 3 Turbo razor.

Gillette Track 2 Revisited:

I jumped the gun yesterday and did a review of this razor before I shaved with it which was a mistake on my part. My apologies ladies & gentlemen. So lets get started. The first thing I noticed was the weight of this Colonel Conk Track 2 replica. To me a heavy razor is right up my alley because I have a tough beard that grows fast and a heavier razor does make a difference for me in that regard. The finish is excellent and far better looking than the original handle is and I can't remember exactly where I saw it or by whom, but someone does make custom handles for some of these cartridge razors. I think I saw it on Etsy but I'm not entirely sure. This razor shaved like a dream and unlike the other cartridge razors, this one is NOT mindless shaving. In fact you just about have to use it like you would a DE safety razor no joke:

These were released in 1971 and below is the original handle which is about as attractive as a box cutter is in my opinion. I could have gotten the original handle but I'm glad that I did not because I would still be waiting for it to arrive from India and the handle I bought is far better looking than the original is. Now for you guys who are wondering what DE blades that are equal to these cartridges, that would be the Gillette 7 "o" Clock Yellow double edge blades. I've shaved with both these and the 7 "o" clock yellows and can't tell the difference between them:

The quality of the shave with these Gillette Track 2 cartridges are awesome. I had no tugging or pulling at all and the glide was even better than I expected which is always a good thing. Another thing that I noticed was how easy it was to strop these carts after shaving with them and how well the lubrication strip held up during and after the fact. My other cart's lubrication strip didn't hold up that well during stropping specifically my Gillette Proglides. The lubrication strip on the Proglides is already gone just with one stropping session:

If you see another handle or would like to get this one, just search on Amazon's website and you can still get these Track 2 blades at many big box stores including Walmart if you want the actual Track 2 cartridges. West Coast Shaving supplies & Amazon also carry an alternative which can be seen below and are even more affordable:

You can get 100 of these for $14.25 + shipping from Amazon which makes these more affordable than some DE blades. I know I paid nearly double this for Feather DE blades that I still have here in my shave cave and it's only about $1 U.S. Dollar difference for a 100 pack of their Lab Blue DE blades. These Twin Pivot blades also fit the Gillette Atra razors which were released in 1977 when I was born and are easily obtainable as the Track 2 blades are:

All in all I'm extremely pleased & happy with this purchase. I also consider this specific razor to still be traditional wet shaving due to the fact that you still have to slow down and pay attention to what you are doing or it can turn ugly really quick just like it can with a DE safety razor. Another reason I consider is because these are still considered a vintage type of razor or N.O.S. (New Old Stock/Replica) and yes you can still find these on EBay as well. Now to look for some Schick cartridges and Vintage Schick Cartridge systems.

Proraso Green & The Track 2:

Man oh man what a great shave I had this morning. For today's brush, I went with my New York Shaving Company 22 mm silver tipped badger brush which was awesome. And for today's soap, I went with a modern day classic, Proraso Green which has an incredible Menthol & Eucalyptus scent and the post shave feel is off the page. And to finish off today's shave I went with a nice healthy dose of TN Dickinson's witch hazel and then the icing on the cake was Pinaud's Osage Rub which was epic and I was told you can put it in the refrigerator for that extra chill effect which does get even better when you wet your face with cold water after applying it:

The old 1970's Gillette Track 2 was really sweet this morning. Unlike today's modern carts, you do have to pay attention with your technique while using this one which I had no trouble doing considering that it's not been that long since I came off of DE's, SE's & straights. Speaking of DE's for those of you whom are old enough to remember these and/or have shaved with them, you can get DE blades that are equal to the ones found in these cartridges. The Gillette 7 "o" Clock yellows to be specific which was pretty good in a DE razor. My handle definitely looks better for sure compared to the original seen below:

After my shave these were really easy to strop of the smooth leather. And unlike my other cartridges, the lubrication strip held up extremely well while stropping. Stropping will continue to be a part of my shave routine which is still wet shaving in my opinion mainly because I still use a traditional/artisan shave soap and/or cream and I still rinse between passes and the fact that I still stretch my skin. Like I've stated in previous blog posts numerous times, I only changed the razor:

I did catch myself just above the corner of my mouth in my moustache area but the Proraso styptic gel took care of it instantly and had no burn like you get with a styptic pencil. This razor was awesome and if you get a chance to get one, jump on it A.S.A.P. I'm glad I did.

Mail Call #2:

My second mail call today is from Maggard Razors and it sure did get here really fast too. As much as I love C.O. Bigelow (same as the soap below in fact it's made for them by Proraso), I do burn through it pretty fast so I ordered a puck of the modern day classic, Proraso green. I also order some of their styptic gel which I almost never catch in stock but this time I got lucky. And a friend of mine Eric from Adventures in Wet Shaving recommended that I try Pinaud's Osage Rub which I'm already liking so far. The scent of the Osage Rub reminds me of a lighter version of Skin Bracer original aftershave. And I also picked up an Alum block:

Did I mention that it got here fast? I ordered this last Thursday and here it is Monday and I have product in hand. I love it when something ships and arrives here fast:

I'm very pleased with this mail call today. Just about all of these are considered modern day classics. So I pretty much don't have to tell you what tomorrow's shave is going to be. By the way you guys should really check Eric out of at Adventures in Wet Shaving, he puts up some extremely good videos and he also does Friday specials where you can ask about something and he'll do a video about it which is really cool.

Mail Call!

Today's mail call is from Amazon and it's awesome. My Colonel Conk Gillette Trac 2 razor has arrived. I'll do a detailed piece on this later:

It did come with 1 Trac 2 cartridge which puts my total to 20 cartridges in all. The weight on this thing is excellent. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I like heavy razors:

I suspected that it was made in China but this time it's Taiwan:

Amazon doesn't always win awards for their packaging but I'm cool with it because it's 1 day early which is always a good thing:

I'm very pleased with this mail call and couldn't be happier. I also found some Personna blades for this beast that are as cheap if not cheaper than DE blades which is really cool. 100 Trac 2 carts for $14 dollars plus shipping on Amazon. At least I think that's where I saw it.