I would say that manufacturers have a tendency to put the blame on other possible causes, but depending on the pH balance of water ~high acid or alkaline content will severely corrode metals...Not saying that it's the main cause for failure, but technically it is very possible for this to occur, especially on weld points, which is why I give all my razors a good periodic cleaning.
I vote vintage Superspeed or a Weishi on Ebay. Picked up a a Weishi on Ebay for my dad for $8.95 shipped - he is 84 and loves it. I have a 48 Superspeed that has quickly become my daily go to razor.
Fram, I get your rage. I agree with the principle of your argument of cost vs. longevity. I just don't agree with labelling everything that's not vintage as pot metal junk. You can't account for taste. I like my Merkur 23c and 1904. I like my Cadet OC. I even like my non-pot metal Weishi 9306. I'm not a fan of any vintage razor I've owned. I've never gotten a decent shave from either of my Gillette TTO's, or my NEW OC. You're right in that my Merkurs and Cadet probably aren't going to be around in 100 years, and those Gillettes still might be. But that doesn't make me like the Gillettes any better. A lot of people only use vintage, and I respect that choice even though I don't necessarily understand it. Calling Merkurs, EJs, etc. all pot metal garbage is being disrespectful towards a choice you don't understand. I don't think you mean it this way, but it's insulting to me and anyone else who prefers these, and does you no justice either. In this thread, a new member and new shave said he bought an EJ89 and was excited, and you told him he bought pot metal garbage. I would love to be able to buy a new, indestructable razor made in the USA for $17. But I can't. In the world that's presented to me, if I want to buy a new razor, and I don't want to spend an arm and a leg, I have to buy what you call pot metal garbage. The pot metal garbage razors work for me, and I enjoy using them. I enjoy them so much that if I have to replace them one day, I won't mind. You call it built in obsolescence, I see it as a built in reason to try new razors every few years.
For a three piece razor, I would suggest a Gillette Tech. Like Fram said, they are pretty solid. Unlike him, I'm not really troubled by loading the blade. For a TTO- I'd suggest a Schick Krona. It is a far better razor than a Super Speed IMO. They don't get a lot of the spotlight because of Gillette always hogging it. Even though its handle is made of plastic, it's still a very sturdy razor. It's a mild shaver, but it shaves better than a Super Speed. Just something to think about.
I look at it like this; I like my EJ's, Merkurs, and other so called "pot metal" razors and if I only get 5 years out of one--it only cost me $6.00 a year to use it...so for less than 2 cents a day I won't complain.
Unfortunately planned obsolescence is a necessary evil and without it our Global economy would implode. There isn't much made anymore that's not designed to eventually fail or just become outdated and virtually useless. If Gillette hadn't moved over to the cheap plastic handles and cartridges they probably would have gone under years ago...Think about it, they haven't made techs in years and yet there is no shortage of them. If you make a product that will last forever eventually you will go out of business.
Your own words: I think you did him no justice not warning him. Where in this thread did I use the word "garbage"? all I said was "You can get TWO of any of these razors for the price of ONE Merkur or Edwin Jagger and they are leagues ahead in build quality and durability. Merkurs, EJs, and most new razors are made of pot metal, which is a cheap zinc material that is extremely brittle." is that inaccurate or "insulting."? Where you worried about hurting his feelings by not warning him? I didn't want to do a disservice to him so I warned him. If people boycotted these razors I'm sure they would have to be forced to make them out of brass. Indeed, most new razors' handles are already made out of brass. That they make the heads out of pot metal shows it is nothing but greed. Nothing will stop you from trying out new razors every few years by using brass razors. It's just you will have a choice to replace them or not. With pot metal you will have no choice. And J man, the world economy did not implode in the 40s, 50s, 60s just because of the Super Speeds. People still bought them all through that time. For various other reasons, improvements or the old ones just got ratty. Just like how I replaced my leash that still works perfectly fine but got ugly and worn or that I don't use my VCR despite it working fine. Now if that VCR or that leash clip broke after only 6 months because it was designed that way it would be very unethical.
Fram, This isn't the place for any of it, but as you insist... Your posts often come off as condescending and absolute. Many times you'll post an opinion as fact. If you don't see how your response to a new member here was rude, there's nothing that I can say that will change that. As for 'pot metal' you have no idea what you're talking about, but you obviously believe you do. Forgive me and others if we tend to trust razor manufacturers regarding their choices of materials over your own. I'm thinking it never crossed your mind that Zamak is used specifically because it is breaks instead of bending.
The zinc alloy heads are a non issue as long as they are well taken care of. I don't think there's any planned obsolescence here, it's a cost cutting measure. Zinc alloys would have not made good razor heads in the gillette heydays - but there have been advancements since then to make it a reliable alloy for this use.
Guys! Guys! We have Mimo here who started this thread to get some advice, not to listen to petty bickering. I'm new here, too and it was my impression (so far at least) that we gathered here because we love wet shaving and all that goes with it. So, you've given your advice, good. Don't you think all would be better served if you took your "spat" elsewhere?
I never said that a Super Speed or any Gillette razor would cause our economy to collapse. I simple stated that without planned obsolescence the economy would tank ~which it would indeed. If your average product were built to last 100 years, you would never need to purchase a replacement and if that were the case we would be passing cars, clocks, appliances, electronics, etc, down to our children and grandchildren...Which in turn would lead too less demand for new products, reduced production of said products, reduced sales and so on and all of this leads to a reduced work force. Less people in the work force equals less people with disposable incomes, less disposable incomes equals less spending with with your local businesses...Trust me there is a whole complicated chain effect that would take place in such a situation. Planned obsolescence was put into play because manufacturers were facing the very real possibility of closing their doors due to a lack of demand for their product. Just look at the history of the light bulb and the reason that they started producing a product that was vastly inferior to the earlier bulbs.
Hi and welcome to the den. I hope you enjoy your new razor, and remember to tell us how it goes. The Den is a pretty friendly place, and we are lucky enough to have ,members with a lot of knowledge who are always willing to help. You seemed to have inspired an interesting and well argued debate. Things usually aren't this passionate. Anyway enjoy your shaves
I started with the DE89 as we'll. you can't go wrong with it. I still use it regularly...along with 10 OTHER RAZORS!!! Darn RAD!
I don't think the Zamak heads are a cost cutting measure. I don't thnk it's got anything to do with cost at all. I know people like to jump to that conclusion, but nobody every explains why a company would come out with a nice, detailed handle and then be cheap on the head. Like look at Cadet. They have some beautiful carved brass handles with Zamak heads, and they're $19. I'm sure the manufacturer understands that they could use a more expensive metal for the head, one fitting of their brass handle, and charge $29 instead. I think they use Zamak because it is brittle enough to break instead of bend. Think of dropping an old Gillette 3 piece. No, it won't break, but part of it probably will bend. Depending on what part gets damaged, the razor can become entirely unusable, or just a little unusable. It can make a good razor go wrong. A lot of these types of razors are still out there on Ebay, cutting up users left and right. It makes a lot more sense to use a material like Zamak that instead of bending, breaks when damaged. That way no one will ever end up with a bad head of yours. You drop that Merkur it's gone, never to show up on Ebay, cutting someone who doesn't realize it's damaged and now will forever hate Merkur because they don't realize it's damaged. I don't know if that's why Zamak gets used for heads, though it makes sense to me. I've been a cyclist for over 20 years. Zamak parts on bikes caused equal outrage. Oh those cheap jerks!! Grrr... So inferior!! But the reason the change was made was specifically so that parts would break in an accident instead of get damaged. It's annoying when your bike tips and your brake lever snaps, but not as annoying as when that brake lever gets bend out of shape so as to be dangerously unusable.
It was def a great shave, better than the mach 3 of course...still need some practice but i did not cut my self so thats a start
