SMF

Long story short. I have used the same Gillette Atra since 1982. It was a razor with quite a bit of sentimental attachment. We had a houseguest recently who knocked it off the shelf and damaged it irreparably.

My wife told me to just run out and buy a new one. . . . Just though I'd share with some folks who's know what the loss means. . .

jbird

I keep my primary Schick injector under lock and key when not in use, just to avoid a similar situation. I don't consider that anal, either. I feel your pain.

Thanks, Ron! I knew I wasn't alone!

Some time in about the last 5 years, the Trac II's and metal Atras disappeared from the store shelves, followed by the plastic handle Atras.

It's pretty easy to get an inexpensive good quality used Trac II or Trac II copy (Merkur makes one for about $15), but harder and much more expensive to get a real Atra new with a metal handle. If you don't care about the plastic handle, you can find a Gillette Vector or a Schick Ultra Plus (or Extra 2 Plus) on eBay for cheap. Wilkinson and Atra also made a Atra copies, but they've been out of production for a while.

Or maybe this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200787338119

In other countries, the Atra was known as the Contour, first with a metal handle and later with a plastic handle. Another possibility is the demo version of the Atra, which had a black plastic handle.

This piece I wrote a while back has a list of Atra compatibles, among other razor types:
http://reviews.ebay.com/Which-Twin-Blad ... 0001602848

Or post a wanted ad in the buying/selling/trading forum.

Professor, I have a circa 1980's metal Atra handle hanging around somewhere. PM me your address and I'll get it in the mail as soon as I find it. You'll have to clean it, though; IIRC, it had calcium hard water deposits on it.

jthomas60506 wrote:Long story short. I have used the same Gillette Atra since 1982. It was a razor with quite a bit of sentimental attachment. We had a houseguest recently who knocked it off the shelf and damaged it irreparably....

Do they realize that your friendship can no longer ever be the same after this event?

jww wrote:

jthomas60506 wrote:Long story short. I have used the same Gillette Atra since 1982. It was a razor with quite a bit of sentimental attachment. We had a houseguest recently who knocked it off the shelf and damaged it irreparably....

Do they realize that your friendship can no longer ever be the same after this event?

Ha, well there's at least one less person on my Christmas card list!
jt

JT, it looks like James is going to send you a very welcome and unexpected treasure!

brothers wrote:JT, it looks like James is going to send you a very welcome and unexpected treasure!

Absolutely! It just made my day, if not my month! And many thanks to the rest of you for the links and resources!

jt

JT -- What cartridges have you been using? Genuine Atras, or something else?

ateace wrote:JT -- What cartridges have you been using? Genuine Atras, or something else?

oy, that's when I put the atra aside, when all I could find were disappointing generic brand blades. Last year I picked up another pack at a dollar store of all places but just could get myself to open the pack and try them. Not sure why I even bothered with the purchase of the blades.

I would be at a loss if something happened to my Atra, it belonged to my step father and it's one of the few things of his I have, the atra, a pocketwatch, and a few odd hand tools.

ateace wrote:JT -- What cartridges have you been using? Genuine Atras, or something else?

This is a tough one. I use genuine Atras for the most part, but, every now and then, I'll use a generic. I always regret using the knock-off, but my budget doesn't always allow for the real deal. The knock-offs don't last as long, and they're not nearly as smooth

jt

jthomas60506 wrote:

ateace wrote:JT -- What cartridges have you been using? Genuine Atras, or something else?

This is a tough one. I use genuine Atras for the most part, but, every now and then, I'll use a generic. I always regret using the knock-off, but my budget doesn't always allow for the real deal. The knock-offs don't last as long, and they're not nearly as smooth

jt

It's been a few years since I've used an Atra razor; however, during the 6 or 7 years when it was my regular "weapon" of choice, I always found the Gillette cartridges to be the best. The Schicks were the next best. All of the others-Personnas and various "store" brands-were very disappointing. Like you, I found them to be very rough right from the start.

Many thanks to changabang, who came through in a BIG way! Came home from a conference in Korea, and there was a shiny Atra waiting for me in the mail. The highlight of my summer so far.

jt

The Wilky replacement cartridges that are available at WalMart for about $3.50 are actually pretty nice. Very difficult to distinguish from the actual Gillettes.

Better still are the ones with the green lube strip and the little device that allows you to clean out the space between the blades. Those are even smoother than the Gillette Atra Plus carts, at least they are to me.

Nice, I'll have to try the Wilkensons.

The atra years are why I "must" have a longer handled razor. They just feel right.

I recently found a "metal" Atra handle with blade in a rarely used drawer. don't remember ever buying and/or even using it before, but i was tempted and tried it as is.
Nice shave, even tho the blade had to be several years old and was just lying unprotected in this drawer.
Liked it so much found some Atra Plus cartridges in a local CVS and began using it regularly.
Realized I had a Merkur Trac II razor gifted to me by a very generous fellow from here at SMF; so I purchased from Em's Place the Merkur plastic adapters that allowed me to convert this stylish metal heavy-duty/sturdy razor into an Atra compatible version. Voila!! Now I got me TWO Atras...loving it.
I've tried several fine double-edge safety razors, Schick injectors, several Gems, the TracII and now the Atra and have concluded, several hundred dollars and seven years later, that the TracII and Atras reliably provide me nick- and irritation -free (albeit not always BBS) shaves.
Ah ,Capitalism and Competition...and SMF-ers generous with gifts and advice...how lucky!
sorry for the rant but the OP's bad-turned to good-luck story reminded me of just how helpful our community is!!!
jrtaster/John

I'm enjoying this thread, as I've been on a mini-journey searching for suitable Atra-type carts for travel.

I'm sure the genuine Gillette Atra carts are great, but I don't like the price of them.

I'll give the Wally Wilkies a shot.

What is this guy thinking? That one person will buy one metal Atra for his $500 price in any given month?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160857949306

Pauldog wrote:What is this guy thinking? That one person will buy one in any given month?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160857949306

He's probably thinking that if he can sell even ONE of them at that price, he'll turn a pretty healthy profit.