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A Place for Deep Thought

Thanks, guys [emoji106]. I'm not giving up yet. I should have researched blades more, or ordered both brands. There are some left in the dispenser that was in the case, maybe genuine NOS? What do you think about this idea? Risky or not, using old unused blades?
 
Ordered some Schicks, and I will give them a whirl later. Discharged the Pella blade and loaded a vintage one from the dispenser that came with the Hydromagic. Noticeably smoother, but still kinda tough on my face. Silly question based on my shave this morning, but if I kept more of the flat surface flat to my face, there seemed to be less tugging, so is that how I should shave?! I am so used to putting my Karve at a tad steeper angle than neutral (riding the bar more) that I think I am reflexively doing that with the injector. And similar to comments I recall from reading threads about the Rex Ambassador, this Hydromagic injector seems to really clear the lather, leaving barely enough for a second or third stroke. For today's shave, and probably tomorrow's, I am going to do one careful WTG with the injector, then finish up with a DE. Today my face didn't feel as irritated as it did on Monday, but it was still irritated.

For Deep Thoughts: I do ask myself Why? Why try an injector, when I am getting my best shaves ever with my Karve, Tech, and Slim? Why suffer the facial irritation? Just use what works and quit spending time, money, and effort on this. I enjoyed the research, and the hunt to find an I2 Hydromagic, but is it really worth it? Personal questions, I know. Not expecting anyone to have an answer, other than what works for them, but these questions came up after the Karve became The One in my drawer. Why keep 6 or more other razors when my best shaves and best experiences were with one razor? The answer then was to sell or gift my razors, keeping only three. And some days I wonder about the other two! I am not a collector. Ah well. I will experiment more and if I can't get a shave that at least leaves my face refreshed, I'll move the injector to someone who will appreciate and use it!

On the home front, my wife started here treatment this week. 3 hours Monday getting IV fluids to help protect the kidneys (nephrologists orders) and Tuesday 5-6 hours getting the medicine infused. Today and tomorrow are dealing with headach and flu-like symptoms from the infusion. But this is the only medication that can help her problem, and maybe even allow a reversal of some, not all, but some of the damage already done. We fought for a year with insurance and ended up going to the State's insurance commision for an independent review, which went in our favor. I imagaine some suits at the insurance company are none too pleased with us now. But we gotta fight for what has been shown to help. Clinical trials are ongoing now in Boston, but we couldn't wait for the outcome nor participate in the trials, for Reasons!

thanks for reading, Cadre!
 
MaineYooper said:
I do ask myself Why? Why try an injector, when I am getting my best shaves ever with my Karve, Tech, and Slim?
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Because, you never know... I think about this from time to time myself. I have never tried an injector, but they seem very loved by many. It just....they are so ugly.

We can never be reminded often enough to be thankful for the systems in our body we can take for granted.

I'm always really bummed when I hear about people having to fight for their healthcare. Seeing it from inside a health care system where that's really a non-issue it's frustrating because I know it doesn't have to be like that. But then the guys in D.C. have other things to say about it.
 
NurseDave said:
Because, you never know... I think about this from time to time myself. I have never tried an injector, but they seem very loved by many. It just....they are so ugly.

We can never be reminded often enough to be thankful for the systems in our body we can take for granted.

I'm always really bummed when I hear about people having to fight for their healthcare. Seeing it from inside a health care system where that's really a non-issue it's frustrating because I know it doesn't have to be like that. But then the guys in D.C. have other things to say about it.
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Thank you for the comments, spot on. Between my wife and I, we have way six degrees. And many times lately, we find that if we didn't advocate for her or question what a doc was saying, things could have been worse. I fear for a single, average person facing the gamut of our healthcare system, not having someone there with them to help process what is being done. And I want to be clear, both of us work in the healthcare fields, she as a clinical health psychologist and me as a community pharmacy. We believe in our system. But it needs fixing, or tweaking, or overhauling, or something. People and resources pushed too hard, people making the best decisions they can at the time, but there often seems to be some piece that missed the chart or record, and if the patient is attentive, the wrong thing may be done or given. We are very thankful for the docs, nurses, and CNAs that cared for my wife. Some were fantastic and need to be honored and rewarded. Others need to reconsider their career choice!

ok, off the soap box. The point was supposed to be I greatly appreciated your much more concise commentary!! We'll see if the skimmers make sense out of this, ha ha!!
 
The big secret is that you can get great shaves from each type! Just takes some willingness to learn for a bit.

MaineYooper said:
I imagaine some suits at the insurance company are none too pleased with us now. But we gotta fight for what has been shown to help.
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Nobody likes it when their pockets are hurt...even the bigwigs. It’s a shame that you have to continue fighting for services you well pay for.
 
MaineYooper said:
But it needs fixing, or tweaking, or overhauling, or something.
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Yes it does. I agree, Eric, your wife and you can face this together, whereas someone alone must make sense of a baffling system. It has become needlessly complex.

Regarding the injector, I suggest playing with the angles to see what works best. Every razor seems to have its sweet spot. After playing with angles, if still unsatisfied, put it away for several months before trying again. Some of my razors have aged well with this approach ;).
 
Well, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I'll see how this turns out: I ordered a "wide" cap from Karve Shaving for my brass Christopher Bradley razor. Apparently, there were many requests for a cap that covers the blade tabs. Now I love the razor, but the business model of Pay Now and wait weeks before anything is shipped is unacceptable, if there isn't a disclaimer letting the buyer know. This time, the website clearly states Buy It Now. So we shall see what happens.

In today's mail were some "chick" Schick blades, and tomorrow I will give them a shot. I just want to really like the Hydromagic injector. If these don't work out, then BST, here I come!
 
MaineYooper said:
Well, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I'll see how this turns out: I ordered a "wide" cap from Karve Shaving for my brass Christopher Bradley razor. Apparently, there were many requests for a cap that covers the blade tabs. Now I love the razor, but the business model of Pay Now and wait weeks before anything is shipped is unacceptable, if there isn't a disclaimer letting the buyer know. This time, the website clearly states Buy It Now. So we shall see what happens.

In today's mail were some "chick" Schick blades, and tomorrow I will give them a shot. I just want to really like the Hydromagic injector. If these don't work out, then BST, here I come!
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People who bought on Black Friday when it said "Buy it Now" thought they were ready to ship and it took till Jan/Feb for many..................I hope you have better success. I will NEVER buy anything from Karve directly from him....
 
This morning's first pass was with the injector and a new Schick blade. Night and day difference! Second pass and touch ups with the Karve. I am pleased to be able to get an irritation free pass from the injector.

@Dave in KY, I checked the website again this morning and now the second option is pay with Google pay. I allowed my wants to override my brain, for I stated elsewhere that I would not buy directly from the company, and now I have given them money again. I want to wait a week and see if I get a shipping notice.
 
MaineYooper said:
This morning's first pass was with the injector and a new Schick blade. Night and day difference! Second pass and touch ups with the Karve. I am pleased to be able to get an irritation free pass from the injector.

@Dave in KY, I checked the website again this morning and now the second option is pay with Google pay. I allowed my wants to override my brain, for I stated elsewhere that I would not buy directly from the company, and now I have given them money again. I want to wait a week and see if I get a shipping notice.
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I was just stating my feelings about them. I don't judge you especially since you have the razor and want/need another piece. Get it if you can but didn't want you thinking a buy it now button would mean anything with him. I hope you get what you want 👍
 
I've had a couple of shaves now with Schick blades that I got from amazon. I am limiting myself to 1 WTG pass as I get used to the injector, to help minimize razor burn. But the two shaves so far are night and day difference! The Schick blade is much smoother, to my face, than the Pella blade. As the week progresses, I will do more of the shave with the injector, and less with the Karve, until by mid week I am soloing with the injector. It really does a great job with the grain, audible but no tugging or pulling that I experience with the Pella blade. Eventually, I will try another Pella blade, as the dispenser has quite a few in it. That is the report, and many thanks to Cadre members who mentioned the Schick blades and their experiences with injector blades!
 
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