Brand new to this hobby: Gillette super speed - just bought one

I had an adjustable at one time did not like it much though. Mine as a three piece adjustable, yours is called a TTO adjsutable becuase you turn the nob at the bottom to open the butterfuly doors. I had to take appart the head to get to the blade. I managed to get my face carved up pretty bad with the razor a few times. My advice is to always start a new blade on setting one.

 

My turn to learn something new... What 3 piece is a adjustable?

 

Mine posted first..... But are the Queen.. so you get the answer first.

 

The handle that you have is the standard handle, but there are longer handles available. I had one at a time, did not like it though the handle was always getting in my way. This is a question that has not come up around here, perhaps this should be posed as a sperate question.

 

Oops, that was a two piece adjsutable the top part came off the handle. Time to share the info - I have been told that there are long handle razors, generally for women, it helps since she often shaves in places that she can't see it helps her get into places that her arms may not stretch to. These are not tipically made for men.

 

There is no such thing as a long handled Fatboy, but there are several razors with longer handles, such as the Gillette Lady Stars, Long Super Adjustable, Knack, Merkur Long Handled Classic, etc. The razors are held differently than cartridge razors, so a longer handle is not usually necessary.

Still curious about your adjustable 3 piece.

 

I had a Lady Star at one time, did not like it much. My adjsutable was a two pice adjustable. The older I get the more amnesia sets in.

 

Ok, also, my new (to me) fat boy has two sides with razors. do I alternate from one side to the other as I shave to wear them our uniformally ?

 

Hence the name Double Edge blade.

Most of us do flip the razor as we shave. For me it is not a question of uniform wear, mostly that the one side has become loaded with lather and whiskers, and gives me a fresh clean side to continue shaving with. Then a quick dunk and swish in the water, and two clean sides to go at it again.

 

I am with dridrecker on this one. I have also heard it said on another forum that these blades are so cheap don't worry about wearing one out prematurely. Old wise man once tell me "People not reward you for being thrifty, however they reward you for changing blade too often."

 

I found the blade I like, and the number of good shaves I can get out of a blade, then stick with that. For me, it is the Astra Superior Platinum, and 3 shaves. I then change the blade. They are so cheap, 100 blades lasts me the better part of a year that way.

As for 3-piece adjustables, I also don't know of any that exist - HOWEVER, I have read early Gillette ads that talk about loosening the handle to "adjust" the razor to be more aggressive, and I have a friend that does this with his 3-piece Merkur razor. I haven't done it, but I suppose it is possible. I don't know how good that works, since the Gillette ads dated back to before the introduction of the "New" blades, back when their blades were thicker and more rigid. I don't know if the thinner blades that we now use are quite rigid enough for this to work.

As to long-handle razors, if you want a good one, then like the Queen said, the Gillette Super Adjustable with the long handle is THE razor to use. It has a wonderful balance to it, and is just a fantastic razor - it is my favorite of all the Gillettes. I don't know whether the later models that incorporated plastic into the head shave as well, but the ones I have had from 1974 and 1975 with the all metal heads are wonderful shavers. That is what I would recommend. The Merkur Futur is nice as well, but the head is on the large side, and can be problematic for maneuvering in tight places, like under the nose. The Super Adjustable has the long handle, is adjustable, and still has the same low-profile Gillette head that is very easy to maneuver. Very smooth shaver.

 

I typically recommend shavers stay away from anything with plastic in it. My face has been very clear on the matter - NO PASTIC EVER.

 

Custom Title!
Custom Title!
:rofl