gillette versus todays razors

[nicodemus38]

im curious as to how the old gillettes compare to the modern crop of razors in quality and aggressiveness. I know its different for everyone, but id like a general idea.

close and open comb. im courious about the blade geometry, due to the change in blade from the old days versus now.

[BPman]

Gillette made a myriad of different styles & types of DE razors. It's like asking "how good were old Fords?". You will have to try them, which means buying them. OC razors IMO are more aggressive and I don't care for the older ones just for that reason. Shaving should not be like defusing a land mine.

It's best to decide if you like aggressive or mild razors as a starting point.

[ShadowsDad]

I really enjoy the shaves I get from aggressive razors so for me the old Gillette DE razors are fairly mild, yet give an acceptable shave. I prefer them with one shim installed, but they're OK without. They don't give me a BBS that stays a BBS for 12 hours, but for a quick shave just to be presentable they'll do.

The only DE razors in my cabinet and getting semi-regular use are the pre-1921 Gillettes and the '11 and '13 Muhle R41s, and it's mostly the R41s that see the lions share of the DE use. In no way should you think that I'm lumping the Gillettes in with the R41s in aggression, they aren't even remotely similar as far as I'm concerned. The R41s are interesting and the Gillettes are for those days when a shave that has to be accomplished when I have other things on my mind. Other than those I use SE razors and now my SEvettes. Why only pre-'21 Gillettes? The cap is a hair thinner and I find the change to the thicker cap to be noticeable. The thinner cap is like sports car as compared to a van in use; at least for myself. The thicker cap isn't much thicker and frankly I found it hard to believe I would even feel it, but to me it was/is quite noticeable. All of the post-'21 Gillettes of mine are in long term storage and have been for a few years now. I found myself not using them and just using space in my shave cabinet.

I do have a Travel Tech that I have in a travel kit and accessible. It gives an OK shave with 2 shims installed, but it has the benefit of super small size and weight if that's ever required. I haven't used it in years and I probably should just to stay familiar with it and to reevaluate it.

[Squire]

Back when DE razors were the main way to shave Gillette and other manufacturers had to compete on quality and user friendliness within limits of the design. Modern razors may have more style or be made of solid stainless but for me don't really shave any better than the vintage models.

[nicodemus38]

I ask because I always had a fetish for getting a replacement for my grandfathers Gillette that he bought when he enlisted in the navy for ww2. I have no idea if it was a super speed or what. I just fondly assume it was a super speed or a tech of some sort. ive seen khaki travel sets for techs and travel tech that date from early ww2.

Any way the other week I ended up with a weishi knockoff of a super speed. I really like how it shaves. not completely aggressive, but after words you can feel you had a metal blade scraping your face clean.

before I spend major cash for a vintage razor I would realy like to know how the 25-35 dollar range of new ones compares. head shape would be a nice one to think on.

[brothers]

Back when DE razors were the main way to shave Gillette and other manufacturers had to compete on quality and user friendliness within limits of the design. Modern razors may have more style or be made of solid stainless but for me don't really shave any better than the vintage models.

This has been my experience also. Your personal preferences may change over time, but we all have to start somewhere. These old Gillettes are still around for a very good reason. They were designed and built to last a very long time, even with daily use.

[Squire]

Generally speaking, the new ones copy the old ones. Basically, there's not a lot you can do with the design. As for costs of the vintage models, one of the best is the Schick Krona which a new member here got off ebay the other day for $20.00 shipped.

[brothers]

Ditto on the Krona. One wonders why Schick stubbornly stuck to the injector single edge for so many decades before introducing their DE razor in the late 1960s. Obviously there were hard feelings between Schick and Gillette (corporately).

[Squire]

I think it was an ideological battle Gary. Both were in the same business, selling consumers disposable blades, and the razors were incidental to that purpose.

Say one thing in Schick's favor though, it's a damn fine design that for some here produces the best, most trouble free shaves. I believe DE blades won out because they were cheaper, not necessarily better.

[nicodemus38]

my travel tech came today. god it is a little thing. all the weight seems to be in the handle. its interesting. need to find a blade it likes. best under nose shave ive ever had. aggressive with a vdh blade.

but I noticed the main difference between the weishi and my travel tech is that the travel tech head actually lets shaved material flow through the head as you shave. the weishi doesn't so much. and I didn't find much of anything stuck inside the head when I rinsed it out.

[rsp1202]

. . . Say one thing in Schick's favor though, it's a damn fine design that for some here produces the best, most trouble free shaves. . .

I have a Krona and it offers up probably the best DE shaves I'm ever going to get. But even this great old design has to take a backseat to what I get via Schick's injector shaves. And it's not like I didn't give Gillette a fair chance.

[brothers]

The butterfly hinges on my old faithful Krona (bought it new way back when) got very loose and started to bind up, which caused me to try to force it, which only contributed to the problem. Even now I can still use it if I take great care that the butterflies don't bind and I can slowly tighten it down. However, there's a secondary and more serious problem that involves deterioration in the linkage between the knob and the internal rod that twists and tightens. For those reasons it's probably better to stop using it altogether. Never fear I have two more! I admit I rarely use the Kronas these days, but I probably should.

[rsp1202]

My first Krona's rod would bind and seize when I twisted the knob to close the silo doors. If I worked it enough it would finally open, but it was hit and miss. That was the only problem I've ever had with these razors; no blade alignment issues or anything else of note. I never could get along with Super Speeds or other razors that came with 3-inch handles -- too short for a firm and comfortable grip -- but the 4-inch length of the Krona is perfect.

[BPman]

Once every so often clean the head thoroughly with soap & water. Then afterward pour alcohol on the head and let it run down into the handle to clean out accumulated gunk. It works.

[Squire]

It should be mentioned the Krona was not designed to be a heavy use long term razor. I believe Schick actually came up with it as a giveaway to promote their excellent blades. Surprising they hold up as long as they do, my daily driver is 40 years old and still has some miles left in it.

[preidy]

25 years from now my Super Speed, Red Tip, Slim, Tech and NEW will be in the hands of my grandsons. My other razor's will be like me. Dust.

[brothers]

I find the newly invented and currently made Mongoose to be quite effective in terms of close and smooth shaving. In contrast, almost as effective are two Gillettes and a Darwin, all between 60 and 80 years old. I'm continually impressed by the similarity of the performance of these vastly different razors. Just for kicks I'm going to dig out the backup Krona and use it for a few days with my best blades. I want to see how it measures up with my four current favorites.

[Squire]

I expect the Krona will perform very well, presuming it's still in good shape, as it has for me using a wide variety of blades.

[brothers]

The Krona came through with flying colors this morning. I couldn't be happier.