Perfectly clear to me. I like my DE89, but as I get used to this I think its a bit too mild forcing me to overwork my shave. Can't stand my SS. My Slim is my favorite. So, I guess it's vintage by default. But...RAD may lead me elsewhere.
I go for vintage. First, there are more models to choose (DE and SE). Second, though they are of course inanimate utensils, they have a history and deserve to be used and to be appreciated. Besides, I'm an old fashioned guy who simply likes old fashioned gear, utensils, cars, ships, sewing machines and whatnot. I am still looking for a smartphone from the 1930's!
New. Give me something shiny that hasn't been used to shave Charles Manson's arm pits and I'm happy. I don't care what the history of the razor supposedly is, I'm prettty sure Charles Manson used it on his pits at some point. If I think about that when I shave, the shave goes bad. Sometimes the history of an object is interesting, but for personal hygiene items, I prefer something without a history.
You're right, but that's beside the point as far as I'm concerned! There's no chemical strong enough or water hot enough to kill an imagination.
Vintage for me. I have a couple of modern razors, and one day they will be vintage. I have no plans for acquiring any more modern razors.
I absolutely love my vintage razors (super adjustable, red tip, 40's SS, new LC, techs). However I find that when I'm not using a straight razor, the DE I reach for is my Muhle r41 head with Weber classic handle. So both.
Both, because I've found that different razors have different personalities. 1949 Superspeed - My favorite all-around razor. I can always count on getting a great shave from it. Fatboy - If I want an irritation-free shave I can set this on 3 for my face and 1 for my neck Tech - Super versatile razor that can get under my nose easily Vintage Bakelite Slant - When I have several days of growth, nothing slices through my facial hair more easily or painlessly. I can't wait to get my hands on the RazoRock Stealth Razor which was modeled after this razor. Merkur 34 HD - This was my first razor and I did not care for it at all. I always got bad razor burn from it. RazoRock Mission - I've been using this a lot lately. It's a good shaver and for $20 an absolute steal. Cobra Classic - I briefly owned one earlier this year. Very cool design, but was waaaay too aggressive for me. Feather Portable (no longer manufactured) - Looks like a tech...much more aggressive. I've had a love/hate relationship with mine. Frankly, like my tech a whole lot better.
For me nothing beats the heft and feel of a modern razor and I am pretty much with Shaverman about where I imagine every used razor I own having been...Every time I get a razor off of Ebay I have this stomach turning image of it being passed around a room full of weird hairy guys having some gross body shaving party.
For the last few months I've been using a GEM Featherweight while I've varied the soaps/creams to determine which I want to keep. For some reason, I like to use razors as old or older than I am. I expect I will eventually settle on my birth year and quarter razors, but it's hard to date the GEMS.
