Friday, October 11, 2019

Headblade Discontinues The Sport and HB3 TripleBlade Cartridges


I subscribe to HeadBlade’s newsletter.   I admit; I don’t read every single one of them.  But I happened to look at one I received a few days ago.

HeadBlade Email Newsletter
A section titled “End of an Era!” caught my attention. As it turns out Headblade announced they are no longer making the HeadBlade Sport or the HB3 Tripleblade cartridges.   Nooo!
Zoom in of the newsletter
Some of the news I was late to as it looks like Headblade announced the discontinuance of the HB3 blades in blog post back in March 2019  It looks as if Headblade will no longer be creating new head shaving products based on this technology.   The company will now offer the HB2 blade cartridges for users like me who own, enjoy, and want to continue to use the HeadBlade Sport (or Ghost or Classic or Eclipse).

End of an Era.  HeadBlade stops production on the HeadBlade Sport
By the time I started shaving my head in the late 2000’s the Headblade HB2 blade cartridges had been discontinued.   I had started with the HB3 cartridges.    I didn’t shop online nearly as much as I do now and wasn’t an Amazon Prime subscriber.   I couldn’t find HB3 cartridges as my local Walgreens or CVS so I started using the Gillette Atra blades which the HeadBlade Sport was compatible with.  I have not used the HB2 blade cartridges as of yet.  But based on some social media posts I’ve seen the HB2’s look similar to the Gillette Atra.    

My first, well worn, HeadBlade Sport ... notice the missing wheels and rubber pad.

The discontinuance of the Sport kind of breaks my heart.   This was the first head shaving razor I purchased (and this is before it had the rubberized finger ring).  But I suppose that in order to improve, HeadBlade is looking towards to new and more innovative things.  I’m personally looking forward to what could be coming.   Like I mentioned earlier, I have not tried the HB2 blades yet.  But until my store of HB3’s run out, I’m in no hurry.

Still have a few HB3 Triple Blade cartridges to get by with.



6 comments:

  1. Wish I had known about the discontinued products so I might have been able to stock up on the HB3 blades. I have tried the newer razors (HB4 and 6) and the various suspension models they fit onto, like the ATX. But none of those give me as close of a shave as the Sport w/ HB3 blades. For now, I have reverted to the HB2 but looking for a better substitute.
    I read that the Gillette Atra should fit, and also the Sensor Excel by someone reviewing on Amazon. Wonder if you know whether this requires some adapter for the non-HB brand blades?

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    1. I haven't heard about the Sensor Excel blades being compatible. I'll have to give this a try. The Atra blade cartridges should use the same adapter as the HB3.

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  2. HB2 fit the sport, they seem to be the same as Atra blades. I miss the HB 3 for all the same reasons. HB2 don't work as well as HB3 on the dome. Any other ideas for a replacement for HB3 blades?

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    1. Same here: I still prefer the HB3 cartridges. I tend to nick myself more frequently with the Atra type cartridges. I haven't been able to find anything that works as good with the Sport as the HB3 does.

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  3. Lost my HB Sport in a move. Had stocked up on 50+ Atra cartridges that were cheaper and worked really well. Now you can only get 4 and 5 blade models with no comptibility with other manufacturers blades. Wish i could find a sport (or 2) online to buy but they are nowhere to be had!

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    1. The Sport is going to be a tough one to find. I just searched eBay just to see if people were trying to unload them ... no luck. Looks like HeadBlade still has the Sport-style Eclipse Model. It looks pretty nice, but I have a hard time rationalizing spending $75 for it. https://headblade.com/products/s4-lunar-eclipse

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