The 5 blades are thinner and as such, are more tightly spaced to each other. It allows the angle of approach on the blades to be less aggressive to your face (improving comfort), whlie still cutting really close.
The trimmer on the back is to 'save' the cutting integrity of the blades on the front. Your sideburn hair is thicker than your normal beard hair, so the concept is to dull up the 1 blade, vs. damaging the 5 main blades. It also allows you to get into the undernose region that some mach3 users can't reach.
...
Depends on your skin sensitivity.
Despite whatever the advertising says, the design concept behind the vibrations is to de-sensitise your skin nerves.
Cartridges sold for powered shaving have a more aggressive blade in them, which basically cuts closer to your skin. This would be less comfortable without the vibration numbing your skin.
For people with really sensitive skin, use the non-powered cartidges on the powered handle. You get the numbing affect and the less aggressive shave.
...
Negative. Wear on the blades are primarily due to people not preparing their hair properly.
Remember, the very tip of the blade is coated.... the steel doesn't actually cut your beard hair, the coating does, which can't oxidize.
...
Most people just slap on shaving cream/gel and go at it -- that pretty much doesn't do anything to assist shaving though. What matters is allowing water to get into the hair. To do that, you wash your face with soap (breaks down the oil that coats hair), and let the water hydrate the beard hair.
The longer you let the hair hydrate...
the softer the hair gets...
the less damage occurs to the blade edge...
the blades last a loooooooooong time.
That why you get the best shave in the shower. Wash your face first, do your other stuff, and by the time you're done, your hair is begging to be cut.
...
Closeness.
If you look at it on high speed video, the first blade engages and anchors itself into the hair. As you drag the razor forward, the hair gets tugged slightly out of the follicle.
By the time the primary blade cuts the hair, the hair is actually pulled forward, where the later blades are able to get at the exposed protruding stubble.
You simply can't get that type of shave stroking a single blade multiple times.
...
On the blade ruining part -- see the earlier post about preparation. Longer hair does not damage the blades any more than short hair does. Shorter strokes, rinse more often -- should last just as many shaves.
On the cartridge being too big part -- ya, it was the biggest Mach3 complaint -- hence the design upgrade on Fusion. Retro-tooling other Gillette products with a trimmer is out of the question, you have no idea what that would cost.
...
All electric shavers have to have thick cutting systems (because they are permanent). In the game of cutting hair, thick = reallllllly bad. So the short answer is no, for most men.
I have the choice of shaving with anything, and I personally still use Mach3 (not turbo). It's the best match for my hair and skin. If I haven't indicated this already above in the posts -- all Gillette products are different, and many men's skin & beard hair fall into multiple classes. Every man finds the best match for him at some point. With newer not necessarily always being better. Hence, you have people swearing by this prodocut or another. Sure, some people will swear by their electric, and that's because they'll have sparse, thin, and weak hair that is located within less sensitive skin.
