Does Gillette Still Make Safety Razors?

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Christopher Powell, Apr 22, 2016.

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  1. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    The reason I ask is because I see many people post pictures of really nice vintage Gillette razors, but I don't see any new ones. What's the story ???
     
    Christopher Powell, Apr 22, 2016
    #1
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  2. Jorvaljr

    Jorvaljr Operation Daytona 8000

    People are finding vintage razors. They just happened to be in excellent condition or some in mint condition. In some cases people are getting them replated.
     
    Jorvaljr, Apr 22, 2016
    #2
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  3. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Gillette still makes safety razors in some other countries, like India, but the quality is "modern" (meaning mostly plastic and/or cheap metals).

    Gillette does not currently make safety razors in the US, though.
     
    Queen of Blades, Apr 22, 2016
    #3
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  4. John Ruschmeyer

    John Ruschmeyer Well-Known Member

    In short, Gillette stopped making DE razors in the late 80's. The exception to this being a couple of very inexpensive ones made primarily for the Indian and Chinese markets. There is a three-pice usually referred to as the "Sterling" Tech (from the 7 0'Clock Sterling blade packed with it) which seems to be similar to very late Tech razors, except for a long plastic handle. The other one is an all-plastic one-piece razor based referred to as the "Click" razor.

    You usually don't see pictures because, while it is probably worth trying both, neither is worth bragging about.

    FYI, both can usually be had cheaply from eBay. The Chinese Super Blue Blade version of the Sterling is often cheaper from some of the Chinese direct sellers such as DX.com and LightInTheBox.com .
     
    John Ruschmeyer, Apr 22, 2016
    #4
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  5. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Half right. True, Gillette did stop making DE razors in the U.S. in 1989...and a 1989 black handled super speed is a rare beast indeed. However, the British branch of Gillette continued to pump out DE razors until 1994. It was a variation of the Gillette Slim Twist called the G1000. DE production continued in Japan and spread to other emerging markets, but the quality of those razors is only slightly higher than the disposable razors they compete with.

    If you really want a new production Gillette DE razor, I suggest you wait for the upcoming collaborative reissue of the pre-war Tech that Art of Shaving is releasing soon. The next model planned is rumored to be one of Gillette's Adjustable designs, either the Fatboy or the Slim.
     
    PLANofMAN, Apr 22, 2016
    #5
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  6. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    If Art Of Shaving prices the pre-war Tech reasonably I might think about it. If they charge an arm and a leg for it which I think they may, my next razor will be a RazoRock Mission or Jaws.....or both !!! Thanks for the great answers !!! TSD rules !!!
     
    Christopher Powell, Apr 22, 2016
    #6
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  7. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    Keep an eye on ebay. You can get Gillette "FAT" handles tech's at reasonable prices and in pretty good shape.:)
     
    178-bplatoon, Apr 22, 2016
    #7
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  8. blashe

    blashe Well-Known Member

    It will probably be priced decent, somewhere around $30 mark, but don't get your hopes up in expecting all brass version. If they can offer that price with brass handle and aluminum head, that would be winner.
     
    blashe, Apr 22, 2016
    #8
  9. BeShaved

    BeShaved Well-Known Member

    All metal please. Plastic doesnt look good.
     
    BeShaved, Apr 22, 2016
    #9
  10. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    At the very least, we can expect chrome plated zinc. The best we can hope for is chrome plated brass.
     
    PLANofMAN, Apr 22, 2016
    #10
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  11. MarshalArtist

    MarshalArtist Psychiatric Help 5¢

    The answer is: yes they do make safety razors for sale in US. They are the Fusion and the Mach III. They do not make any that take a single double-edged blade for sale here.
    On the AOS reissue—if indeed it is to happen—I had seen $75 as the price. Has that gone down?
     
    MarshalArtist, Apr 22, 2016
    #11
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  12. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    I think $75 was for the limited numbered editions, the non limited edition ones were cheaper, I think? Might have been the other way around.

    Edit: yep. $55 for the non limited edition ones.
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2016
    PLANofMAN, Apr 23, 2016
    #12
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  13. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    To expand on this a little bit, if a vintage razor is kept clean, there is no reason for it to lose any plating. It takes decades of daily use to wear out the plating, and most people replaced their razors every decade or so. Like modern folks, those people were suckered into whatever the new thing was. Of course, their old razor was perfectly usable, so it got stuck in a box under the sink, to be joined by a new razor every so often. The fellow eventually dies and the heirs toss his electric razor in the trash and sell the old razors on eBay.

    We buy them, clean them up, and use them. Of course, some of the "vintage Gillette's" you are seeing on here might very well be modern Merkur, Parker, or Edwin Jager razors, which for the most part are copies of Gillette designs.

    Which brings us to the Tech three piece razors. These razors used to be sold in grooming kits, given away by hotels, airlines, and cruise ships, issued to the military, used in prisons, used in hospitals, and sold in stores. The vintage Gillette Tech is everywhere. At any given moment, there are probably 500-1,000 listings on eBay that include a Tech razor.
     
    PLANofMAN, Apr 23, 2016
    #13
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  14. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    Do TTO razors tend to break or start to not work as well because of all the moving parts? Are they as sturdy as a 2 or 3 piece razor?
     
    Christopher Powell, Apr 23, 2016
    #14
  15. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    The modern Chinese ones, yes.

    The vintage Gillette's, no. Not if they are in good condition. I've seen more damaged three piece razors than I ever have TTO's. The adjustables are prone to breakage, but I've never heard of a wet shaver breaking one, only purchasing a broken one, which usually means abuse. The simple non-adjustable TTO's are near bullet proof. If they get broken or damaged, it's usually caused by the owner dropping them. I've never heard of one just plain wearing out.
     
    PLANofMAN, Apr 23, 2016
    #15
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  16. blashe

    blashe Well-Known Member

    Depends which brand, The Pearl ones are all brass made and they look very good. I'm yet to notice any problem with it so far on a daily usage, but then I only have it for few months both OC and CC version. Some people been using them for 3+ years and still kicking.
     
    blashe, Apr 23, 2016
    #16
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  17. Eeyore

    Eeyore Well-Known Member

    I had a Gillette G2000 TTO which worked fine until I lost it ... a few years ago, I bought a Feather Popular, which is a good replacement.
     
    Eeyore, Apr 24, 2016
    #17
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  18. SuperChris

    SuperChris Member

    I picked up a new Gillette DE razor at an Indian market about a month ago. It was packaged with a tuck of blades and cost around $5. I doubt I'll ever use it. I was picking up some Park Avenue shave cream and decided to grab one of them along with a Park Avenue branded synthetic brush b/c I thought it looked kinda cool.
     
    SuperChris, Apr 25, 2016
    #18
  19. aelfred.t.allspa

    aelfred.t.allspa Well-Known Member

    I heard rumors that Gillette was going to make a comeback and had plans to make a new super speed razor. If so, I'll buy one the day they hit the shelves.

    Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk
     
    aelfred.t.allspa, Apr 27, 2016
    #19
  20. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Tech (pre-war), followed next by one of the adjustables. That's pretty well been confirmed by various AOS locations.

    I haven't heard any mention of a super speed.
     
    PLANofMAN, Apr 27, 2016
    #20
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