Best Men's MACH3 Cartridge Razor! Wife keeps the VENUS cartridges, I keep razor for my MACH3 blades!
I realize the metallic Venus Platinum Cartridge razor is marketed as a woman's razor but I use it instead as a man's MACH3 Cartridge razor (see photos). See "Details" for useful technical information of interest to anyone considering this razor. My wife exclusively uses the Venus Extra Smooth Blade Cartridges and is amazed how smoothly they shave her legs. She prefers using the standard all plastic Venus razor with these cartridges because of the plastic razor's significantly lighter weight which makes it easier for her to control and therefore has less likelihood of razor nicks. An ergonomic light weight razor is well suited to shave a woman's sparse fine leg hair. When I lost my MACH3 razor while on vacation, I discovered my wife's standard plastic Venus razor can also fit the men's MACH3 cartridges! The splendid ergonomic shape of the Venus razor fits a hand better than ANY custom MACH3 razor I have ever used (e.g. Parker Premium White Resin Handle Men's Razor )! The only drawback in using the women's plastic Venus razor as a man's MACH3 razor was that it is extremely light weight (similar to a plastic disposable razor). A heavier weight razor is better at shaving a man's dense heavy beard. When my wife saw this $8 deal on the heavier all metal Venus Platinum razor, she immediately ordered it because I get to keep the solid metal Venus Platinum razor as a MACH3 Cartridge razor for myself and my wife uses the included two Venus Extra Smooth Cartridges as refills for her standard plastic Venus razor. Details: The Venus Platinum razor is made of a satin finished solid metal handle that has a 56g weight which is more than enough weight needed to shave dense thick hairs and use as a MACH3 razor. The standard Gillette MACH3 metallic razor currently weighs about 45g (the original version weighed 50g) and all custom men's MACH3 razors weigh over 60g (some almost 100g) but in this case the Venus Platinum's medium weight is well matched with its ergonomic features. The combination of 5 inch length, weight, and ergonomics makes this razor much easier to accurately control in the hand than heavier razors while still providing the needed heft to smoothly shave a dense beard. The ergonomic details of the handle's slightly arched shape and flattened pommel are perfect for a palm's grip. The textured rubber surfaces on the metal handle provide excellently placed finger-grips for use with wet hands. The back of the handle has an ergonomic rubber ridge near the top of its spine that provides precise control of the razor by functioning as either an index-finger-rest or a thumb-rest while shaving. The razor's cartridge-latch mechanism holds cartridges very securely attached and the offset head angles the cartridge well to avoid nicks while shaving varying contours such as a face or neck. Though Venus cartridges use the same identical cartridge-latch mechanism as the older MACH3 cartridge product line, Venus cartridges are a wider cartridge and the razor's correspondingly larger head-width is the only clue the Venus Platinum razor was not intended for use as a MACH3 Cartridge razor (see photos). Summary: Gillette should make a men's version of this razor tailored for the MACH3 cartridges. Until then, the women's Venus Platinum razor is THE VERY BEST ERGONOMIC MEN'S MACH3 CARTRIDGE RAZOR AVAILABLE AT ANY PRICE. Luckily my wife doesn't like the razor's significant additional weight or else I wouldn't get to keep it for myself! Read more
