I wanted to ditch the cartridges due to price and hacking up the neck area. Maybe that was due to going too long between new blades and the fact that I hated buying the @#$% things!! I have been reading a lot online and decided to take the plunge. Father's Day was around the corner so I asked for a DE setup - razor and blade. I let the girls choose. Maybe not the best choice but I am starting with zilch. I mentioned going DE to my Mom and sister a few days before Father's Day and Mom says "I think I have your Dad's old razor". What!! I do not remember seeing that thing since before I started shaving (30+ yrs ago). She left the room and came back about 2 mins later with a Gillette adjustable. I do not know the model or what to do with the adjustment part but I snatched it up quick. My sister says to me "why would you want that! I hacked my legs to death with that thing. You are going to be a mess" That voice of confidence did not deter me.... Like I said, I have been reading a lot! Father's Day came and my girls presented me with a new razor and blades. Gotta tell you, the razor they found was a featherweight compared to the Gillette so I opted to try the Gillette first since everything I have read so far says let the razor do the work. Not too bad. No nicks or cuts. Very cautious and did 3 passes to get the BBS! I actually used the other razor the girls bought and just as I suspected, not as good of an experience. I had to use a bit of pressure to make it work and luckily, no cuts. I would be very afraid to use this again with different blades as the ones I have I know are pretty forgiving. I will be sticking to the Gillette from now on. Especially since it was my Dad's! Not sure why he stopped using it (keep forgetting to ask him) but I am not giving it back now. He can keep using the cartridges! OK. That is enough of my story for now. Looking forward to learning new things in the DE world.
Neat story. Under the head there should be a letter and a number. That is the date code. You can check it here. http://gillettedatecodes.com/ I would love to see a picture of it. What razor did the girls get you?
I will check the code tonight. Thanks for that resource. I cannot remember the name but the wife picked it up at one of the beauty supply shops - she is a manicurist so... I will post a pic of both the Gillette and the new one.
This is my new fatboy adjustable. It is F2 which means it was manufactured in the second quarter of 1960. It sounds like you may have gotten a Weishi razor if you got it at the beauty supply shop.
Since you are new to the Double Edge world, here is the advice I received when I started with a DE and so I freely give it to new users. The most important things in shaving are, your skin and technique. All other things fall in line behind those two things and to support them. Since the skin is a given fixed item, the next major item is technique. It is called THE 30 DAY RULE. THE 30 DAY RULE is as follows: Find a razor, then a blade that will not cause issues with your skin (that may take a few different blades in a sampler pack to find a suitable choice or it maybe the first out of the gate) and select a soap or cream that is easy to generate good lather. Once you find those, and it may take a couple of weeks to find this combination, order a quantity of that blade enough for 30 days, and then spend 30 days using nothing else until you build up your technique. (Note that only one brand blade is used for 30 days after each blade in the sampler pack is tested to make the decision on the blade brand to use for 30 days.) The 30 day clock starts when you have the right blade for you. After 30 days, change one and only one variable and work for another week then change another after another week. At that point you should be able to make better decisions because your technique is now in place. This will help you to avoid buying too much gear and stuff too soon without having the technique down to enjoy it all. This really does work. Oh and one more thing ... Welcome to the Den. We know you'll fit right in. So grab yourself a comfy chair, and give our threads a spin! Burma Shave
Jayaruh - Here is the pic of my two razors. Thanks for that second pic. I was looking inside where the razor goes. Nothing there but "PAT. NOS. ON PKG." Mine is a C1 adjustable - I guess 1957. Not near as pretty as yours. Need to figure out how to shine it back to its glory days. The Father's Day razor (bottom) was from Sally Beauty Supply - Shaving Factory Double Edge Safety Razor by Derby International.
