I've read on various forums that the best Gillette super speeds were made in the 40's and 50's. I've also read in a couple of places that the 1966 SS was the best Gillette made. I'm sure all of these claims were made by folks who owned and loved their SS. As a rule, I don't much care for "best ever" questions, but I thought it would be interesting to see what people thought -- especially since I'm in the market for one . What do you think?
I think more people swear by the early 1950s examples... and by choice I use a 1955 or 1958 model... (or indeed a 1949)
I haven't shaved with a '47 yet, but do like the pre date code versions best. I've got one in a gold finish that might be my favorite. Nope, I take that back - my favorite is my first one, that came from my granddad.
I like the simple knurling on the handles of the 1947-1953 and TV '54 models. I haven't yet determined a consistent performance difference between the pre-1960 high-profile heads and the post-1960 low-profile heads. I like the red plastic case of my 1949 model. I think the actual shaves you will get from each model are remarkably similar, and that you may be better off choosing by other factors, such as the feel of the handle or the case style, if available. The nice thing about Super Speeds is that they are all excellent performers.
I have only used the 40's SS and a few SS that were in the mid to high 50's model. I have trouble telling the difference between the 2. I don't have years of experience like some of you though.
Looks like I'd be safe getting one from my birth year (1948)? That would be kind of cool. Thanks for all the excellent responses.
That would be a fine choice. Keep in mind that it is hard to differentiate between a 1948, '49, and '50 Super Speed razor. The '48's came in a cardboard box, and few of those boxes seem to have survived. The '49's and '50's came in more durable red-and-clear polystyrene boxes. Some small variations in this box style may indicate the relative age of these two models.
There's nothing on the razor to distinguish it as a 1948? In a chart I have bookmarked, there is a "T" designator for the 1948. Is that displayed somewhere on the razor? (I'm woefully ignorant about this stuff, even though I started shaving with a Gillette DE around 1964. I just bought what was in the store).
Is this the chart you used? It took me some time to figure out the meaning of the note next to the year 1931. The author of that chart added letters as placeholders for the years 1930 to 1949. Those would have been the codes for those years if Gillette had been coding them. But codes were discontinued by Gillette in 1930, and were started again in 1950, courtesy Badger & Blade's Shave Wiki. There was a discussion there about the exact phrasing of the patent statement inside the head, but I don't know if a conclusive determination was made concerning age.
I couldn't follow your link, but you describe what I found. So he puts a letter in those slots that Gillette may have used, had they used a letter designator? Which they didn't. Thanks for the information, Manos. And thanks for explaining that chart.
I do have a 57 that was my grandfathers.. only reason I occasionally shave with it... I do like the SS much. Fuzzy
Actually, the letter/number date coding scheme was added in 1930 for use on the new NEW Blades and continued being used on all Gillette blades beyond that point. In the third quarter of 1950 a V-3 was added to a limited number of Super Speeds and Aristocrats. Beginning in 1951 with the letter W, Gillette adopted the blade dating scheme as the American standard on its razors, as well.
Thank you for the clarification, AsylumGuido. I did not know that Gillette blades were coded. Where does the code appear?
SS ive shaved with: 40's (was a pif) Red Tip (was a pif) '65 (i own it) early 70's black handle (owned and sold) i didnt get any better shave with the illustrious late 40s SS than my 65. the red tip didnt overly impress me but i do want one. the black handle i sold because i needed the money. SS were around for what 4 decades? i dont think you could go wrong with any year. i doubt id want a blue tip though.