About to give up on Gillette Adjustables

Laney1566 · Post by **Laney1566** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:50 am

I own an Aristocrat, an Executive, 2 Ranger Techs, and a Red tip Superspeed. I love them all. My problem is with the 2 Slims and 2 Fatboys that are adjustable. I seem to get more irritation with those razors no matter what the setting. I am using Feather blades and they work great with all my other razors. I use them set on 7. I tried dialing the HD down to 5. Still causing spot bleeds. A setting of 2 or 3 is just too weak. I have little patience for this as I am able to get perfect shaves with the above mentioned TTO razors and my Futurs. My Merkur fixed heads aren't bad either.
Questions
1. Which setting is closest to the TTO's? I know the TTO's are very close to each other as far as angle. The Ranger Tech is the most notably different but still gives a great shave.
2. Could it be the exposure of the blade relative to the bar that is different? My eyes aren't revealing the answer to me?

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:53 am

Try a 3 on the Fatboy. Also trying holding the Fatboy side-by-side with a fixed-head razor. Compare the exposure and angle to find the best match.

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:56 am

Don't worry, I swear by fixed heads myself. I don't like adjustables, they are new fangled technology for the kids. Bah! Back in my day....

Anyway, I think most fixed heads fall into the 3,4 range. But keep in mind Toggles and 195s are slightly different.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:00 am

rustyblade wrote:But keep in mind Toggles and 195s are slightly different.

And since we all own multiples of those very common and worthless razors, we all know about the differences.

Gatorade · Post by **Gatorade** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:22 am

Try a different blade. I get great shaves with the Ranger Tech and the Derby blade. Put the Derby in the Adjustable and it isn't the same. Put the Isriali Persona in the Adjustable and it is smooth as glass. In the Ranger Tech, meh. Some blades work better in different razors.

If you think RAD has set in it hasn't. You are just trying to find the right razor/ blade combination.

acoldspoon · Post by **acoldspoon** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:15 pm

I'm giving an adjustable Gillette one more shot, but I really haven't been too impressed. I find I like the non-adjustables a lot more.

rahul325 · Post by **rahul325** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:56 pm

have any of u tried the wal-mart personnas with the Gillette adjustable ?? I tried this combo and am v happy with it.

-R.

cigar-&-Shave · Post by **cigar-&-Shave** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 4:14 pm

I prefer the non-adjustables too.

I don’t like the balance of the adjustable Gillettes, they seem to top heavy – especially the slim handled one. I feel like I’m swinging a hammer instead of a razor.

mparker762 · Post by **mparker762** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 4:30 pm

rahul325 wrote:have any of u tried the wal-mart personnas with the Gillette adjustable ?? I tried this combo and am v happy with it.

That's what I use when I use a DE.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:46 pm

Laney, Who can say for sure? The whole razor thing seems very subtle, sometimes, and very personal. I agree with Richard regarding the settings that seem about equivalent to most Gillette TTO fixed blades. I use the adjustables set on 3 for the first two passes, and on 2 for the third. This give me a shave very similiar to what I get with the TV SS fixed blade. But, I always do a little better with my 1969 long handle then I do with either my Fatboy or the Slim models. Why is that? I have no idea. FWIW, I use the Swedish Gillettes in all these razors, and occasionally the Israeli Personnas. What the hell, at least you've got some just superb Gillette fixed blades. Some razors just don't seem to work well for some gents. I can't safely use Slant Bars, no matter what I do.
Regards,
Gordon

Post by **Sam** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:55 pm

Hey, I use a slant bar for touchup, so maybe I am the wrong person to say this. I just now have used a HD from Merkur, all my prior DE's other than the slant bar being some sort of adjustable. I find that my consistently BEST shaves are the HD with whatever blade, reducing the beard on four passes, and then the slant bar with a feather for touchup. I have kept a Fatboy and will use it next two weeks (starting this coming Sunday) for a comparison, but I am so satisfied with the HD. I love the look of the HD and slant, new, together, but it is easy to grab one when I want the other. Whatever happened to Tony selling his EJ?

Sam

tonyespo · Post by **tonyespo** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:30 pm

Sam wrote:Hey, I use a slant bar for touchup, so maybe I am the wrong person to say this. I just now have used a HD from Merkur, all my prior DE's other than the slant bar being some sort of adjustable. I find that my consistently BEST shaves are the HD with whatever blade, reducing the beard on four passes, and then the slant bar with a feather for touchup. I have kept a Fatboy and will use it next two weeks (starting this coming Sunday) for a comparison, but I am so satisfied with the HD. I love the look of the HD and slant, new, together, but it is easy to grab one when I want the other. Whatever happened to Tony selling his EJ?

Sam

I still don't use the EJ, but it hasn't eaten much this past month. It keeps it's mouth shut and doesn't use up all the hot water, it doesn't take up a lot of space, and it doesn't use my cologne. I have decided to keep it.

Now my SON on the other hand is a different story.

rahul325 · Post by **rahul325** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:41 pm

Sam wrote:Hey, I use a slant bar for touchup, so maybe I am the wrong person to say this. I just now have used a HD from Merkur, all my prior DE's other than the slant bar being some sort of adjustable. I find that my consistently BEST shaves are the HD with whatever blade, reducing the beard on four passes, and then the slant bar with a feather for touchup. I have kept a Fatboy and will use it next two weeks (starting this coming Sunday) for a comparison, but I am so satisfied with the HD. I love the look of the HD and slant, new, together, but it is easy to grab one when I want the other. Whatever happened to Tony selling his EJ?

Sam

ur daily routine contains 5 passes !!!!

kd7kip · Post by **kd7kip** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:11 pm

I have a Fatboy, and I have really wanted to love that razor, but I can't. My HD beats it every time. I have gotten a couple of great shaves with the Gillette, but found when I used the same setup (QED soap, Feather blade) with the HD, the results were better with the latter.

A couple other things I prefer about the HD:
1- readily available, which is nice should I need to get another down the road; 2- the head is available with some beautiful handles (I'm going to get a Trumper's branded razor one of these days, when I remodel my bathroom in "Trumpers" style); 3-the head is fairly small and maneuverable, unlike the Gillette's heads, making it easier to get under the nose; 4- The Merkurs are solid, die cast metal-- you could fight your way out of a bar with it; 5- Related to number 1 above, the Merkur is a commodity, whereas the Gillettes are becoming collectors items-- if I lose my HD, its no biggie.

If you haven't guessed, I love my Merkur...

-Scott

cigar-&-Shave · Post by **cigar-&-Shave** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:34 pm

kd7kip wrote:The Merkurs are solid, die cast metal-- you could fight your way out of a bar with it

Yeah! I know what you mean. I once killed a grizzly bear with my HD.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:50 pm

rahul, Yes he does, at least, plus lots of 'blade buffing' and other assorted fierce activities. It is not recommended that you use Sam's approach as your role model, as he apparently has whiskers and skin that are different then......well...most others. A couple of years ago, when he first got his Vision razor, I was appalled when I first read what he was doing, but I've come to understand that he's operating in a different reality......shave wise, that is ( chuckle ).
Regards,
Gordon

lux · Post by **lux** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 2:31 am

Good morning fellow wet shavers,

Also have a Gillette adjustable fat boy. Tried it for a few days but had the same experiences several of you describe. An unsuccessful attempt to sell it followed.

As I am not a Feather blade fan, I used a Merkur blade. The shaves were either not close enough or, at higher settings, too aggressive.

Kind regards,

lux

nteeman · Post by **nteeman** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:11 am

Having been a Merkur razor user since 1998, I used the HD for some time. However, unlike some of the others noted in this thread, I recently started to use the Gillette adjustables I have aquired over the years. At first, like you, I wanted to like them but found my shaves with the HD superior. Now, after shaving with the Fat Boy and Slim for more than a month I am getting superior shaves with them. I did go back and give my HD a go and while I still like it, I get better shaves with the Gillettes. I picked up a backup Fat Boy and would not be suprised if I end up getting another Slim at some point. Maybe if I could find a deal on a 195?

Still, I would not get rid of my Merkurs yet. The Vision gives me a great shave, I just hate shaving with it.

Laney1566 · Post by **Laney1566** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:17 am

Just wanted to finish this up by saying after 3 days with the fatboy, my face was a little sore. This morning I placed a feather in my Beautiful gold Aristocrat.......Squeezed out some GFT Coconut oil cream in my Moss Scuttle and proceeded to have myself the best shave I've had in a week. Rinsed off and applied some GFT Limes Skin Food. Waited a few minutes and splashed on some Florida Water. The planets have once again lined up and the birds are chirping outside my window. There is even a cute little Squirrel bouncing about in the yard waving at the Blue Jays and sharing peanuts with them. Ahhhh. A pleasant morning indeed!!

Scorpio · Post by **Scorpio** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:43 am

This morning I put new Israelis Personnas in my slim adjustable, T&H Rose and what a difference that made. smotth in two passes and a touch up pass. Again my whiskers are not heavy. But I have noticed that since I started shaving with a DE they are kinda growing a little faster and thicker. I like my two adjustables just fine. I have a black tip and a blue tip on the way so I will report back when I try those two. I have a red tip but it way too aggresive for me.

Rafael

SMF

About to give up on Gillette Adjustables

About to give up on Gillette Adjustables

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