Electric Shavers

[polygonum]

For a couple of years I have had a Philips AT890 Aquatouch wet and dry shaver.

The other day, when shaking water off it, it went flying. Needs at least new heads - they are well shot - and I am not convinced it's not damaged in some other way as well. So, rather than spending around £30 with uncertain results, I think I shall get a new machine.

Question: Same again at £70. Or the apparent replacement AT896 at £50. Or something else? (It is as clear as mud whether the AT896 has the same heads as the AT890 or inferior ones.)

I have very much appreciated the good wet shaving capability. But sometimes I have felt the dry shaving not quite so good. And, truth be told, I dry shave more often than wet. But anything MUST have wet capability. Also appreciated the quietness in use - already having tinnitus the last thing I need is more noise in my ears.

Happy to change make if that is sensible.

[sm_jamieson]

I've just got one of these that is OK in wet and dry:

One thing about the wet capable ones - they are not usually usable direct f rom the mains (if battery has run down). I assume this is a safety feature to prevent it being used plugged in in the shower !

One other thing. Remington - at least in the previous generation triple-foi ls etc, like this:

- shave closer and quicker on short stubble than any other - for those that shave every day. This is due to the mechanism that grabs the hair as it cu ts. Some complain that it pulls a bit, but that is the point ! The mechanism consists of a row of sharp cornered metal discs running again st the foil that cut by shear, at the same time pulling the hair slightly. This also means the cutters and foils are available separately. However, they are noisy, heavy and the foils wear quickly, and the cutters get clogged easily.

My new Bosch is lighter and easier to clean. It has a combined cutter / foi l that should last a lot longer than the Remington (but more expensive to r eplace). It uses a blade that slides under the foil, so it does not have th e hair lifting aspect (whatever they say), and consequently cannot cut as c lose as the Remington.

The new Remington shavers (see their website) are a bit of a mystery and I' m not sure what mechanism they use - the design has changed quite a bit, an d spares seem hard to get. The foils and cutters do not seem to be availabl e separately which makes me wonder if the mechanism has changed. Still, mos t things go through a golden age and then are ruined !

Simon.