In praise of the Super Speed

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by '65 G-Slim, Apr 8, 2017.

  1. '65 G-Slim

    '65 G-Slim Well-Known Member

    I love these things.
    [​IMG]
     
  2. '65 G-Slim

    '65 G-Slim Well-Known Member

    The ones I've given away...
    [​IMG]
     
    preidy, PLANofMAN, brit and 12 others like this.
  3. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Shoot, the giveaways are just as nice if not nicer than the keepers! Hoping to find one at the fleamarket this season.
     
    wristwatchb, BamaT and twhite like this.
  4. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Nice pics. I have my Grandfathers 1957 model. These are very solid razors.
     
    brit, wristwatchb, BamaT and 2 others like this.
  5. ironthinker

    ironthinker Well-Known Member

    I remember the ad jingle for the color tips. Gillette advertised so much that I'll never forget it, and I was a kid. "Light, regular, and heavy the only way to get a decent shave."
     
    MR41, twhite, Jim99 and 1 other person like this.
  6. crackstar

    crackstar Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    With a Super Speed you'll always get a super-duper shave!
     
  7. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    With the dozens of modern razors available, and the other vintage brands, and the adjustables...there's still something special about the basic Super Speed family. Have never been able to put my finger on it. For me, none of them are bad but the best of them are perfect shaves simplified.
     
  8. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    We need to get @mgbbrown to move some of his information from B&B to here. He has a solid set of information on the SuperSpeed (and Post WWII America)
     
    brit, twhite and crackstar like this.
  9. Herm2502

    Herm2502 off to elf practice

    Nice. Grandfather...1957...I feel so old.

    Herm
     
  10. Herm2502

    Herm2502 off to elf practice

    I love my Redtip and Bluetip. I've had 5-6 regular SS razors and hated all of them. Either all of them were mangled or they just don't like me.

    Herm
     
  11. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    @gorgo2 - It may simply be that the SuperSpeeds, even more than the three pieces, were constantly refined from the beginning, and all the extra engineering didn't actually change the razor much. They found a solid foundation that was next to impossible to improve upon. Even the 'Adjustables', technically, are just big SuperSpeeds.

    Sentator/Sheraton/President/Aristocrat. Ranger Tech. 40's SuperSpeed, then the 50's Flare Tip solid brass Super Speeds, then the Aluminum handled flare tip Blacks. Slight variations, but other than that, a continuous stream of identically used (TTO) razors from the 1930's to 1990, and if you look at the copies (Weishi/Baili), all the way through today. Even the Krona, frankly, is a SuperSpeed with a longer, and in some ways more comfortable, handle.

    My Old doesn't look much like the NEW, and the Tech looks like a anemic old (thinner handles, but solid). Other than that, the three piece razors were all over the place in how they were laid out, edges, where the screw was, how thick the cap might be... Far more variables.

    Maybe I should take some time tonight and lay out the entire progression (that I have) of the TTO's, and take some photos. I've been trying to get a user grade Aristocrat, but that's been a fight, and I'm not willing to drop $50 on another razor that will probably only get used once every month, because I'm not planning on having a huge display cabinet of "Isn't this pretty?"
     
    gorgo2, crackstar and Taipan like this.
  12. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    Everybody should have a Super Speed in their den! Low cost, there's one to fit everyone, classic...

    What's not to like?
     
  13. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Silver one with the brass head in the bottom left corner - which one is that one? Also, the Gold one with the smooth collar ring above the TTO knob in the center.

    (I THINK I know, but I'd prefer someone else confirmed it for me)
     
    crackstar likes this.
  14. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Have you tried one of the 40's SuperSpeeds? I found that those are probably the most comfortable 'don't pay attention' shavers out of the SuperSpeeds - and I learned on, and still have, an 80's black handled SS.
     
    gorgo2 and crackstar like this.
  15. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    He would have been 35 at the time. Cheer up. I hear that people who have the most birthdays live the longest.
     
  16. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Take a shot at it.
     
    crackstar likes this.
  17. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Bottom left is a Ranger Tech that's had all the plating stripped from the head.

    Center one looks like a Milord, but is VERY much more 'gold' than I've ever seen one. Most of them are pretty pale. (I have one of those. It's beat up in plating, but all the functions are good. I'm working on cleaning it up before using)
     
    crackstar likes this.
  18. '65 G-Slim

    '65 G-Slim Well-Known Member

    The brass-headed one was listed as a '40 Milord, but there's no trace of gold anywhere on the handle. Underside of the base plate *might* be gold, but I wouldn't swear on it. The smooth-ring is a '46 Ranger Tech Milord.
     
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  19. '65 G-Slim

    '65 G-Slim Well-Known Member

    I''s a Milord alright...all three of those are in near-mint condition. I wish my '51 would have been as nice, and with the case. I'd still have it.
     
    crackstar likes this.
  20. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    There ya go!
     
    crackstar likes this.

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