Injector?

[Big Swifty]

Hello Gents,
I have an old Schick Injector (J type) that I have never shaved with. I got it years aago from an elderly neighbor of mine that I used to help him out with chores around his house. One day while I was moving boxes around to re-organize the side of his house I came across a box that had a lot of old hygiene gear in. Amongst the hundreds of bottles of Avon aftershave in weird bottles I came across this razor and showed some interest in it...so he gave it to me. I have never had any blades for it so it has sat untouched in its like new state in my collection ever since. Lately I have read in the archives that a lot of you guys seem to like the way the injectors shave and supposedly they give quite an aggressive and super close shave, but the J seems to be the tamest of the lot. well this has got my curiosity up and I want to shave with this guy and I have seen a few places on Amazon where I can procure some blades. I have also read here that the main reason most gents don't use their injectors anymore is because they cant get any "good" blades anymore so they have set them down and moved on. My question is should I just forget about using this razor because the modern blades available are just that bad or should I order a few just to try this thing out? Any experienced responses would be greatly appreciated

[Ouchmychin]

I have an old injector and I learned in these forums that the consensus of members is that the discontinued Persona 74 Tungsten was the best blade ever tried. I found some on Amazon and bought all I could (there was a limit). If you see any of them jump on it. May be pricy but you won't be getting many anyway. Others have said that dthe current Chinese made Schicks are pretty good but I haven't tried them.

[rsp1202]

The Chinese Schicks available today are hit and miss; sometimes they'll be smooth, other times not -- but they're the best of the current lot. I gave up on injectors a long while ago because I didn't care for modern injector blades, having been spoiled with NOS, but have recently returned to the fold. I've had six shaves with the new Schicks and gotten three shaves I'd consider decent.

As mentioned, the NOS Personna 74 blades are top-notch; so are the Schick Plus Platinums (my preferred). If you can find those on eBay you should grab some, inject some, and see what's what. When it all works as it should, the injector shave can be at least as good as a DE or straight, if not better.

[BPman]

Ted Pella sells what I believe are Personna made injector blades, Go here & scroll down:

http://www.tedpella.com/dissect_html/blades.htm

[brothers]

All great advice on blades. Many guys like injectors, and report great results. I wanted to be happy with injectors but they aren't what I would call aggressive by my perception. I couldn't get a close and smooth stubble-free result. Adjustables seem to shave a tiny bit closer, but not enough. Surprisingly, my old original Jacob Schick Repeater injector is fun to use, but not remarkable in performance.

[Big Swifty]

thanks guys,
I think I will try to get some of those Personna 74's to try, kind of pricey for 7 blades but if they last more than 20+ shaves then they actually are pretty decent.
I also saw a "Schick stick" injector at an antique store in Boulder city that was in pretty like new condition for $18, I passed on it because of the blade issue but now Im thinking of going back to get it,
Gary, I see tonight you are the most interesting man in the OKC

[CMur12]

Hi Steve -

The Type I (letter "i") and later are more moderate shavers. The Type G and before could be pretty aggressive. Schick Stick is a variation on the Type L and it should have essentially the same shaving characteristics of your Type J.

The mildest Injectors are probably the Type M Adjustable on a low setting and the Type N. Gillette Injectors (at least the one I have) are really mild.

A lot of wetshavers don't like ASR blades of current production (Personna, Ted Pella, other store brands). On the other hand, I have known Injector users that think they are the best available. The main potential problem with these is the less robust injector, whose functioning structure is aluminum, with a plastic blade reservoir.

Most Injector users that I have seen post on these forums have liked the Chinese Schick blades, though the consensus is that they are not as good as vintage US-production Schick blades. They have been just good enough to get some former Injector users to come back to Injector shaving. (The previous German Schick blades were not generally liked.) Most - but not all - find the Chinese Schicks better than the current-production ASR blades.

Of course, Personna 74 are outstanding blades - in my opinion, the best ever made. If you want to see if Injector shaving is for you, I would try the ASR and Chinese Schick blades first. Any Personna 74 blades you can find would be a rare treat and you would not likely be able to get enough to sustain an Injector-shaving "career."

Good luck, Steve!

- Murray

[rsp1202]

The 74s will be harder to find than the Schick Plus Platinums. When you come across the latter, grab them. They will be a tad smoother than the Personnas on the first couple shaves, though the 74s will outlast the Schicks by a good margin, on average. After using either one you'll understand what the fuss is about.

[Big Swifty]

Another question I have is this, how do you get an old Injector blade out if you don't have any new blade dispenser to use, I don't really want to pry with a small screwdriver and scratch anything up. I went back to boulder city and I bought that stick Schick as well as a type I1 in its case with a black handle, both of these have an old blade installed and I just wanted to get them out before I do any cleaning to them. Now I have 3 injectors so I really need to get some blades

[brothers]

Get something rigid plastic (so it won't scratch the metal razor) that has a corner showing and gently push the blade a little from right to left. Then you can grip the blade with your thumb and forefinger to pull it all the way out. Be prepared for the blade to be somewhat stuck from years of dry storage, which means you might have to shove it pretty hard to get it moving. A couple of times I've had to use pliers to grab the short side of the blade that sticks out after you move it a bit. It'll pull right on out.

[CMur12]

Hi Steve -

I would be more inclined to buy an injector and blades to most safely (for you and the razor) remove the old blade. (Gary is probably handier at these things than I am. )

You would insert the key into the razor, push the blade out far enough to start ejecting the old blade. Pull the old blade out the rest of the way and pull the new blade out of the razor and back into the injector.

You have some nice Injectors there. I, too, have an I1 and a couple of I2s, and I like the shorter handle.

- Murray

[Squire]

I suggest cleaning the razor first. For that go to the hardware store to get a cheap pair of cotton work gloves and a small bottle of acetone. If they don't have little bottles of acetone go to the dollar store and get some nail polish remover which lists acetone as the active ingredient. Soak the razor head (or whole thing, it won't hurt it) and if you can't get to the stores cheap vodka and a dish towel will do.

Holding the razor in your protected hands use (as Gary says) a piece of rigid plastic to push the blade out a bit, far enough to be gripped by pliers. A soft toothbrush will finish up the cleaning job.

Insert a fresh blade and tell us how it works.

[Ouchmychin]

I had bought my Personna 74s at Amazon.com. I went through my old orders and found it from 2012. It cost $9.99 a cartridge then. Now the vendor still has them listed but at $19.95 a cart.

[Big Swifty]

if you can't get to the stores cheap vodka and a dish towel will do.

I wonder if my wife would consider her Grey goose and Ciroc cheap vodka Squire
I was able to get the blades out with the wedge and pull out with pliers technique, the older i1 did not want to give his blade up easily but the blade came right out of the gearshifter. I cant wait to get some blades to actually shave with these, I have read about injectors here for a long time but never actually used one.

[Squire]

It's worth a go, the injector is/was a great shaving tool. Blade availability is a bit dicey but a pack should have a few with a good enough edge to at least sample the injector experience.

[Big Swifty]

with a little more research on my razor find I see mine has the little lever underneath to loosen up the head making it a "Hydro magic" I2

[Big Swifty]

Hello Gents,
well today I had my first shave with a Schick injector and I must say I'm quite impressed. The razor I used was an L type "Schick stick" and the blades were just the readily available Chinese made Schicks. I also ordered some Schick plus platinum NOS blades off of the bay but I haven't received them yet. The shave itself was quite nice and easy (almost effortless) to find the right angle and pressure, almost like using a modern cartridge system. The shave was really smooth even XTG on my neck left no irritation which was really nice because XTG on the neck has always been the hardest direction for me to shave when it comes to weepers and irritation. If these blades are the worst of whats available than I could get used to them, maybe even stock up and kerep an eye out for good U.S. made NOS blades when they come up. As for the razors does anyone have an opinion on the M type adjustable dial injectors? I'm thinking about these as I like adjustable DE razors so I might like these.

[CMur12]

Congratulations of a great Injector start, Steve!

The Type M is basically an adjustable Type L. When I use mine, I have always used it set low, so I haven't experimented with the range of settings. I have read postings here to the effect that the Type M goes very quickly from mild to aggressive with little in-between. I think it is definitely worth trying, however.

- Murray

[Squire]

I think it's safe to say the injector was the forerunner of the modern cartridge systems. It's actually hard not to get a good, comfortable shave with one.

[Big Swifty]

Today was the 2nd shave,
the shaves are so easy and carefree it almost feels like im cheating