I’ve got a couple of Panasonics, happy with both, bar the proprietary charging ports. There’s absolutely no reason these shouldn’t be USB C. The one with the beard trimmer attachment runs on an 18650 and comes with instructions on dismantling prior to disposal, so I know I can change the battery if need be without breaking anything. There’s a shaver head available but I haven’t bothered.
The other model is just used if I’m away in the van or occasional days as inevitably I need (and enjoy) going for the full Arko lather, Merkur, Derby blade ritual at least once a week.
@jeff51
This is my beard trimmer of choice, but your Philip Norelco body shaver looks intriguing. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XQBZ3J8
I have this Braun, a Philips Norelco, and a Remington beard trimmer.
The Braun safely cuts as short as 1mm (despite claiming to cut as short as 0.5mm), but now that I shave everyday, I only use it on my sideburns and body hair.
I ordered a Braun Series 9 Pro off of eBay today.
I bid quite a bit for it (~$158).
If I would have been more patient, I probably would have been able to snag a nice one for closer to $125, but I was impatient.
I’ve had the old style Braun Series 7 for more years than I care to remember. Paint has flaked off near the head which was a common problem with using it with the cleaning station but the bloody thing refuses to die so I can upgrade it. Managed to pick up a few replacement heads when they had them on sale at Amazon so will probably outlast me. I considered either the Series 9 Pro or the Panasonic Arc range which supposedly gets an even closer shave but can be a bit aggressive if you have sensitive skin but looks like I’ll be buried with this one.
Generally the battery will stop taking a charge before the shaver itself dies. I have the Series 9 and 9 Pro, I can recommend them over the Series 7, and if you are patient and shop around you can find deals.
Yeah I expected the battery to die or be so degraded after all this time and I’d be debating if it’s worth replacing the battery as they’re easy enough to disassemble, back cover pops off and there’s a few torx screws holding the rest together and I’ve got loads of spare heads for it or finally upgrading to a new model but it’s still going strong. I’m sure it’s haunted. Not a fan of the new series 7 at all but always fancied the Series 9 or the Arc since they first came out.
For Rotary, I love the Remington much better than the Philips/Norelco version. The Reminton is easy and fast to pop off and dump the whiskers as the 3 little rotary blades are encased in a housing, the Philips/Norelco not so much as they are all individually set in there.
I also have a Braun 7, which is OK, but I prefer the rotary as longer whiskers seem to be cut better. So when I go a week without shaving, I get a faster shave.
Funnily enough I started with a three headed Philips many moons ago and felt it never got as close as a foil shaver. It was comfortable to use though. They’ve no doubt come on in leaps and bounds. My brother is the exact opposite and hates foils with a vengeance. I definitely agree with the longer whiskers bit as after a week the foil shavers can get a bit snaggy when first getting it down.
Yeah that was my experience years ago. Either yanked your face off or barely cut. Don’t think my stubble suited ‘em. Stuck with foil shavers ever since. Not sure how many seperate cutter and foils the new Arcs have. Probably about 26 by now.
LOL, Lightbringer, they sell replacement blades, and you can also easily sharpen the old ones at least once with some flit grit on a piece of glass or even a coffee mug.
This fella used a regular whetstone says it’s “under a min.” Or maybe some folks pay extra to have the hair ripped out and that’s just how they prefer to roll. No judgements brother:-)
As I’ve said before, I’ve worked at the Philips plant where the tri-headed rotary shavers were made. The production process of the heads is (or: was) very complicated. And when they “lost their edge” is was rather expensive to replace them. But there was a trick to revive the heads.
Put a bit of scouring powder, like Vim, on a saucer and mix it with a bit of water till you get a creamy paste.
After you have cleaned your shaver, dip the business-end of it in the creamy paste and let it run for a few seconds. Repeat that dip with clean water, and repeat, till all the cream is gone. Then blow the heads dry with a hair dryer. Finally add a tiny bit of oil to the heads so they don’t run dry, and presto.
Last remark: don’t switch parts between heads because they are run in “as a pair”.
Ages ago my mother used to cut our hair. But all sharp objects in the house were dulled (on purpose, different story). And my younger brother had thin blond hair. So my dad bought a manually operated hair clipper. And exactly as you said, she wiggled the device in my brothers hair till it got stuck. And then yanked it out. You might say we were saved by the rise of the Rolling Stones. No more hair yanking.
I went from Phillips to Remington then safety razors for about 10+ years. Bought my son a Braun 6 from costco for his bday. Tried it and gave up on safety razors and bought a Braun 7 (because the 6 was no longer avail). After 7 years, the 6’s blade finally got replaced when the foil had a tiny hole altho it was not in the area touching the skin. My 7’s blade still sharp altho I lube it every few charges. The 6 doesn’t come with a soft case and you have to yank the the head off. The 7 comes with a soft case and push button to remove the head.
I received the Series 9 Pro yesterday.
I shaved with it yesterday and today.
While the Series 9 Pro is nicer and more powerful than the Series 6, it’s not twice as great so of course there is the law of diminishing returns at play.
My biggest complaint about the Series 9 Pro is that even it has trouble cutting flat hairs on my neck, which was the main reason that I chose the Series 9 Pro.
I’m tempted to order a Series 8 shaver so that I can directly compare the Series 8 to the Series 9 Pro, but I’m not sure if I’m going to do that or not.
If I do order a Series 8 shaver, then I would feel obligated to sell at least one of my Braun shavers on eBay, and I rarely sell anything online because it’s somewhat of a hassle.
Think most if not all foil shavers struggle with flat hairs and need multiple passes. The Arcs are supposedly a bit better at flat compared to Braun but still not perfect. They’re great for a couple of days growth but anything longer takes some time and perseverance. I ended up trying a cheap electric preshave ( Blue Stratos as I’m ancient so like the smell too and it was cheap to try) which made the experience so much better. Seems to stand the hairs up slightly and makes the shaving much more comfortable. There’s nothing worse than buyers remorse when you think something is going to be so much better than it is. I’ve wanted a series 9 since they first got released but have a feeling I’d end up feeling the same as you.
