I only wish Gillette had produced more bakelite razors; there's something nostalgic about it.

So far, I've tried the Gillette OLD, the NEW SC (I think an LC as well, but I'd have to look), 40's SS, 40's SS black tip, Flare tip, Red tip, 80's Black handled SS, a variety of techs, both post war, fat handle, and cheap, and the conclusion I can come up with is this.

There really aren't 'best' and 'worst'. There are less well designed - such as the Toggle - but they all do the job they were designed for. Holding a blade so you don't cut your fingers while shaving.

Possibly the 'worst' razors were the ones made prior to WW-II, when their quality control sucked rocks, especially on the handles.

I've owned

Aluminium Gillette Tech - my dad's, so going nowhere. Improved with a heavy brass handle but too mild for my tastes.

An English Gillette '58 TV Special - sold on.

A Gillette Rocket HD - still in the rotation.

A re-plated Gillette New Long Comb - still in the rotation.

A Gillette Slim Adjustable (I1) - sold on.

A Gillette Aristocrat 21 - sold on.



Most enjoyable shave
1. New LC
2. Rocket HD
3. Aristocrat (pretty much the same shave as the HD but cut me more frequently)

Worst shave - none really. They can all get BBS. Tech takes more passes which takes too long. Aristocrat I had to be more careful. Slim I only really ever used on a 7, once I tried a few settings out. At the lowest settings it might as well have been a tech.

Do I miss my Aristocrat? Yes, for it's looks. I may get another one, one day. I thought I'd have that one forever. But in all honesty it was a slightly worse shave than the HD and I wanted money for straights.

inspired me to use mine. I've no clue about its age.
I remember looking it up and noticing mine had what looks like a aluminum top cap. It shaved very nicely.

Yours only looks that way due to the loss of it's black coating; that happens to all of them when used.

That's ridiculous. Of course there are. Perhaps you need to try a Slim Twist/Knack.





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Thanks, because of your help, i found mine is a (O1) from 1944.

You ever use a '41 Ranger Tech?

I just purchase a second one, due to selling my first one then regretting it. It gives a nice shave!

Black appliance epoxy enamel would do the trick.

I've had about six of them, they shave fine to me, but no better than other 40's SS. Thus the reason I sold them all.

I even thought of sending it to be powder coated.

Shaved like a SuperSpeed. The good part about them is that you can pull the handle off and put on your own.

No, wanna send me one?

I figure it'll probably shave like my Sheraton, which I had no problems using.

I wonder why people keep saying the Aristocrat is aggressive. I've been getting good shaves from mine, and I don't think I've cut myself at all. Razor burn, yes, but that was the blade, not the razor. (Something weird happened to the blade; it actually turned a weird brown colour on the sides)

Not a big fan of any of the TTO offerings. The top cap is taller than I prefer.

If I had to choose a favorite vintage Gillette user, it would probably be the New Deluxe. I use mine on a bulldog hande


My favorite looking razor has been the Old Type Aristocrat with the bell tube handle.



Thanks Achim for your wonderful pics, collection, and knowledge.

I've had the Sheraton and Aristocrat and found their shaves no worst nor better than other less desired razors. So I sold them and went on looking at other razors.

Only my opinion I rank them similar in this way to ...

Sheraton .... 40's Super speed
Aristocrat .... Fat Boy

This isn't to put either one down, just my views.

By the way "less desired" is only meaning as an example SS or Flare ... not particularly hard to find.

You sir are a glass half full kinda guy. I think they're an embarrassment to Gillette in terms of quality. In terms of the shave I'll take a Krona any day.



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I have a Gillette h3 slim adjustable that is 56 yrs old and works just as good as the day it was bought (BBS) and has a reasonable finish on it still. They built it to last and the quality for a mass produced item (millions ) is very impressive. Gillette makes excellent DE blades IMO smooth and sharp to this day(still the leaders in a lot of ways.)

Oooooh I was trying to following what line was an embarrassment of Gillette and finally realize you were talking about the Knack and Slim Twist.

For me the 21 was a little better shave than the HD.

And they clearly did not sell very well because Gillette reverted back to the basics super speed shape and length with the black handles, up to the end of DE.