Happy Veteran's Day, Ben! Thank you for your service; we appreciate you and all the others who serve this great country of ours. I'm really enjoying this series on Gillette cartridge razors.
Hey Ben….I have been watching this series and it brings back memories. My first razor was an electric shaver back in 1980 or ‘81 because I had bad acne and my parents were scared that I would really slice myself up using a DE razor or something like a Bic. In 1982 I purchased my first cartridge razor which was a Schick Ultraflex ll. I didn’t know anything about wet shaving as back then there was no information like we have today so for years I had razor burns and my father never taught me how to shave. I have tried all the brands that both Gillette and Schick produced during the “Razor War” of the late 1980s and 90s and just a few years ago got back into DE razor shaving with everything I have learned from the wet shaving community and I’m now getting the shaves I only dreamed of back 40 years ago and I’m loving it. I just purchased a Chinese variant of the Schick razor I mentioned earlier and the quality of the cartridge blades are passable but not the same quality of the Atra blades and I just purchased a vintage Gillette Atra in its original box (a trial razor the Gillette would send to people to get them to try out the Atra razor) from eBay….Im really looking forward to my little time travel when I use it and I can get the Atra razor blades dirt cheap on eBay and I’m going to purchase the same Schick razor that I originally started with since I saw it on eBay but really cheap in its original box…..love your videos and keep up the good work!!!!👍👍👍👍😀😀🪒🪒🪒🪒
That’s unfortunate to hear. My dad thankfully DID teach me how to shave and frankly I could shave with a Gillette Mach 3 and have no problems at all. I honestly think it matters less what razor you use and what matters more is how you use it.
I totally agree about the advertising on the Sensor. I wanted one before I even had any facial hair! It's a fantastic razor. I also agree about it being the last great design before the backwards head trend took over shaving.
Definitely nice CGI on those commercials! And of course the classic "the best a man can get" jingle. I remember they even sent free razors in the mail to guys that were turning 18 or graduating high school or whichever. They knew what they were doing.
I passed over the Sensor back in the day. I went from the Atra to the Schick Fx to the Mach 3. I have since tried all versions of the Sensor and must say it’s a very nice shaver.
Thank you for your service Ben! I totally agree with your impression on the Sensor and Excel razors. Used them a lot throughout the late 80s and 1990s (and that Edge Gel)😂. God Speed and stay safe out there 🙏🏽
The Skinguard is just a variant of the Fusion with two blades. In my opinion Gillette did NOT correct their mistake and the Skinguard is a great deal worse than their previous two-blade razors... But that's a video for another day.
Happy Veterans Day Ben. The Sensor Excel actually came out in 93. After growing up using the Bic and Gillette Good News disposables because that's what my parents had around, the Sensor Excel was the first "premium" razor I bought myself when I turned 18 in September of 93. I still appreciate the aesthetic of the design, but I remember being disappointed that, despite the higher price tag, it didn't really seem to shave any better than the disposable blue boys, and the cartridges didn't last any longer. But seeing one in action again is definitely triggering some big nostalgia. I think I'm gonna go listen to some Ace of Base. 😂
Thanks for your support! It’s interesting you say it came out in 93, as I could never find any documentation of it being around that early. It’s a great piece of shaving history though.
@@soapthingI still have some never opened packages of the Sensor Excel. It's date is near the bottom indicating 1993. I remember purchasing them at that time period. I was 24 then and had to shave for my job then.
When I was at Basic at Lackland in Mar 84, we had our trip to the BX and I chose the black handle Atra for .49, can of foamy and Skin Bracer. I still use that combination occasionally.
Sensor was my first daily driver after I was old enough to need one, and I agree it and Atra were Gillette's sweet spot before their current downhill trend. I hated Mach 3 with a passion because it acted like it knew better than me and felt like it was actively trying to take control away from me, and I went right back to Sensor Excels as soon as I ran out of the cartridges that came with it. I didn't know the head was even more compact than the Atra, now you're making me curious to try it again, but I do remember for sure the mechanism of attaching and holding onto the cartridge felt more solid than Atra. Also I had no idea you were supposed to "interact" with Edge gel after putting it on, maybe that's why I never liked it as much as traditional canned creams like Foamy and Barbasol. I would also be curious to see you try a Gillette Guard, they were made for places like India where a lot of people still don't have access to running water, and it shows that there's still at least some amount of ingenuity left in the company sometimes.
The way to handle EITHER the canned foam or the canned gel is, use a brush and add water and mix in in increments. Gel or foam, not too important. They both work better that way. One can and should interact with both.
This was the last razor I truly enjoyed from Gillette. This was the best Gillette cartridge razor made. I enjoy many of their DE razors over this though. I think their marketing is most successful with the Gillette Fusion. They have convinced the general public that they need 5 blades and other ridiculous shaving gimmicks that add no value. The sensor was a truly well engineered cartridge razor. In my opinion, they didn't need to "evolve" beyond that.
To be fair, I don’t think it took much convincing. It’s amazing how people will unquestionably buy into something with very little pressure if they think it’s the way of the future. Nobody asks if it’s actually better though. That’s what’s scary.
Sensor was my fav cart razor. Nimble sleek, grippy, somewhat simple and just worked. It was the pinnacle. I have not heard of fathom. Good one liner on the 1 night stand. Another nice vid bro I have a sensor handle - I gotta see if I still have any carts.
I miss the Sensor... Actually, I miss the sense of revelation I had after first using it. Because of my facial hair and skin, I always had smaller or bigger cuts in every shaving. I did not initially expect anything better with the Sensor, I bought it just for adding a new gadget in my personal everyday items. However, it came out to be more than that. The blades were passing over my facial imperfections and instead of leaving the usual cuts behind them, they were leaving a well shaved and smooth skin. The dampeners were doing their magic almost in a way that resembled electronic sensing. And the blades remained sharp after a great number of shavings. I can think of only a few examples of new products that were both innovative and spectacularly effective, the Sensor was one of them. I wish I had kept one of mine as an old memory collectible. I am now using the European-made Bic Flex4 with 4 blades, which is the ideal in their line. Flex3 struggles with thick hair and Flex5 is too big to move nicely in all facial corners.
I used to shave with electric shavers and depillitory. Then when I saw others using double edged razors I thought what’s wrong with this. Now I’m using one. I like it.!!! Now I feel really clean.
I’ve done a head shave video before. The problem is I have a full head of thick hair, so it would be a long video. Plus fewer people watch head shaves anyway, a lot of people just skip over them. I’m not saying I’ll never do them, just not too regularly.
Good one Ben👌 That's one cart that I wish was still in production, I can still get 3-blade Sensor disposables which I consider the best of the disposables currently. I do prefer the Gel's over the Foam options and occasionally still use it. Great video series🤟🤠🤟
@@soapthingIt’s tough to find one under $50 with the razor and the holder. If you’re lucky, you may be able to find just the handle, and hope that the bidding doesn’t get too high. Above 20 bucks, not worth it.
@@Tristin471 I disagree. I’ve found the razor and the holder for under $20 quite often. It’s really not that hard, and even if it were more than $20 it’s still completely worth it, no question.
@@Tristin471 Yes on eBay. There is a dry spell every now and then where they’re not around much, but when I found the one you see in the video, there were 6 of them in similar condition for all different prices ranging from $15 to about $35. They’re around, you just gotta circle back every once in a while.
I grew up watching my dad shave in the early 1980’s. He went from trac 2 to atra plus with the metal knurled handle I just got 1 on eBay & paid more than I wanted but damn nostalgia is a powerful drug. Anyway he went to sensor & than excel. He passed away before Mach 3 came out. He always shaved with Barbasol. I prefer Gillette foamy. Just bought 5 cans of the old scent they no longer make. New scent is horrible
I. Still Have My Gillette sensor 3 Cartridge Razor Handle Since 2007 Yes you Heard That Correct 😊 Plus it Looks like you're Gillette sensor Excel Handle But it Says Gillette Sensor 3 Plus i Buy The Disposable Variations As well Plus i Take off Refills So i Can Put on My Gillette Sensor 3 Cartridge Razor Handle As Well 😊😊
Happy belated Veterans Day. If memory serves, Gillette used to make Edge gel, and for some reason when they were bought by Proctor and Gamble one of the conditions of the takeover was that Gillette was required to sell off the Edge gel, which they did. I forget who bought the product but it now is just Edge not Gillette Edge. Some trivia for you! 😜
I’m not sure about that one. I read just the other day that it was introduced by S. C. Johnson, who also owns Schick. Either way, it’s here and it’s not going anywhere. Thank you for your support!
S.C. Johnson & Son sold Edge to the Energizer Holdings in 2009. 2014 personal care products spun off into a separate Co..now call Edgewell Personal Care, which owns Edge, Schick, Wilkinson, Bull Dog,etc
