First shave with a Super-Speed !!

bladerunner · Post by **bladerunner** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:14 am

Received the razor from ebay yesterday afternoon and spent about an hour just admiring the thing. Beautiful workmanship. As they say, 'they don't make them like that anymore'. Wanted to shave with it right then, but made myself wait until this morning. Glad I did.

Here's my kit:

Gillette Super-Speed
Derby blade
Occitan shower gel
my ratty drugstore brush (2 years old)
Palmolive shave cream
Williams shaving oil

I was suprised at the size and weight of the Super-Speed. Compared to the 1980s TTO I was using, it's stubby and weighs about twice as much. I appreciate the extra weight and smaller size. The razor was very comfortable to use and gave me better control.

Did my usual N-S, then XTG, S-N and a little buffing on the neck. I took my time, because the Derby felt extremely sharp, nearly straight razor sharp. Dried off and massaged in some Williams. The result was the best shave in my life. BBS without really trying and just a tad of burn on the neck that completely disappeared after 20 minutes. I'd been using Swedish Gillettes and I think the switch to the Derby surprised my skin a bit.

All in all, a wonderful shave. But I definitely have to change my brush. Get almost as much lather on the bathroom mirror as on my face.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:35 am

Good to hear it. Congrats on the great shave. I think Superspeeds are just great.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 5:11 am

What Rob said! BTW, what is the shower gel for?

Clive

bladerunner · Post by **bladerunner** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:19 am

fallingwickets wrote:What Rob said! BTW, what is the shower gel for?

Clive

It's not really a gel. More of a liquid soap that can be used on the hair and body. I use it to wash my face before shaving. Comes in various fragrances. The one I use has a nice peppery smell.

Update on the shave:
I fear the Derby may be too aggressive for me. Some time after shaving I noticed a bunch of tiny nicks on my neck. Feels a little tender, too. Think I'll skip shaving tomorrow and use a faithful Gillette blade the next time. Is it a good idea to alternate between blade brands, or should I just hang in there with the Derby awhile longer? The shave was really comfortable, but it did leave my neck a tad raw.

Paul

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:46 am

Give the Derby a few more tries. Strangely enough, blades behave differently in different razors. Maybe the Derby would be good in one of your other razors?

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:47 pm

Blades seem to have some personal preference attached to them, as there is no agreement on which is the best.

You have to make decent and consistent lather before you worry too much about this.

Absolute ideal: to try out more than one popular brand, giving each brand a chance by using two or more of their blades without switching brands in between. After that, stick with the brand that was the best for you. Use that brand for a few months, then if you're not satisfied you can repeat the process.

Exception: If a particular blade is giving you a terrible shave, stop using that blade immediately, in the middle of shaving. Replace it with another of the same brand and continue shaving. If that one is just as bad, and you know your lather is good, then that brand is probably just not for you.

Chaps · Post by **Chaps** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:48 pm

Glad to hear about the good shave. SS's are great razors and I too, use the Derbys.

Danny

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:26 pm

Paul, Good on you to go ahead and get a classic Superspeed. A superlative little razor, and it's mind bending to realize that they were just standard, no frills, inexpensive drug store razors at the time (!). Ater 40+ years of DE shaving, the two razors I use most of the time; the TV Special, and the HD Rocket, are both just variations of that classic SS ( and I use the SS itself quite a bit also ). The Derby's may not really be "too aggressive" for you per se, simply too rough or harsh, especially if you are used to the Swedish Gillettes. I use the Swedes almost exclusively in the TV and Rocket models, and they work very well in the regular Superspeed as well. Give that a try.
Regards,
Gordon

bladerunner · Post by **bladerunner** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:09 am

Thanks for your input, guys.

I'm going to play it conservative and pay strict attention to prep and technique. I'll stick with the Derby for the time being to give it an honest try BUT one N-S pass only. I had been doing 3 passes on my neck, so a single pass will definitely give my neck a rest. I think I'll use a single pass as a baseline to test new blades in the future. I'm really happy with the Swedish blades, but. . .RBAD

Str8G8r · Post by **Str8G8r** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:34 pm

You never mentioned what year the SS was? That may have something to do with it as well. The Derbys can be sharp but give it a couple more shaves. The newer the blade the sharper it is. A shave or two may smooth it out for you. Of course that means when you have a new blade you should pay closer attention to it till it tames down.

bladerunner · Post by **bladerunner** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:01 pm

It's a 1954 SS.