This is a very unforgiving razor and is very akin to shaving with a str8. The weight is modest and full, not overly heafty. The ball end gives ample grip and balance. The razor is easy to find and relatively cheap. Given that I do not recommend this to someone starting out as it very unforgiving and can turn a blade that you like into a cheese grater or a dull blade. Case in point: I shave with Personna Reds, I placed a new one into the razor and shaved away. The results were dissatisfying to say the least. I worked and worked on it, honing my technique and use of styptic pencil. I gave up and retired it. I decided to go to a different blade. I tried Feather, Wilkinsons, Dorco, and Lord. The Feather shaved great but the burn was terrible, the Wilkinson and Dorco ate me alive. I gave the Lord a go and it shaved as well as the Feather but left me with no burn. In the end with the right match of blade to razor this is a great shaver, and is now on my every day list. Limitations to this razor I would say is the comb. The comb exposes the corners of the blade and if you are not one with the nooks and crannies of your neck, blood will flow. This is probably why Gillette made round corner blades. Some also say that this razor will need to be shimmed. I am not sure what this means but I shave without a shim and aside from blade hunting, I have no complaints. The angle for me tends to be steeper than, 1 degree or so, than a blue tip or similar TTO. Although I also shave with Gems and Ever-Readys and cut my teeth on a str8 so I am familiar with the minutia of angle adjustments.
Gillette 1920's Old Style (Open Comb) Received one of these as a PIF from a member here. After I cleaned it up, I loaded an Astra blade in it. Used some J.M. Fraser's Mosswood shave creme. I'm not sure about some of the categories for reviewing this, but I'll do my best. I was extremely nervous about using this razor. I have heard it was an unforgiving razor and you needed to modify it to get some clearance between the razor blade and the top part of the razor. only using it once, i don't have much experience with it. However, I didn't see this as an issue. it gave me a great, smooth shave. The weight is nice. It's not terribly heavy, probably about middle of the range. Balance is decent. The grip is terrific. It was very easy to use. I just felt I had more control of the razor than my other razors (EJ 89L, '47 Gillette Super Speed). The exposed edges wasn't an issue since the blade I had had rounded edges, so I only had a very nicks on my chin (which is normal for me as I have an angular chin). I loved my shave with this razor. Price was terrific as it was a free PIF. I will have to give it another go so i can compare shaves. Initial impressions is 100% in favor of this model. The only negative is how the blade is sandwiched tightly between the head of the razor and the tray it sits on. It isn't an issue yet, but I'll wait and see. I got a BBS shave with it. That doesn't happen often. I just won an auction on eBay for another Old Style and I am looking forward to it. It cost me $12.75 including tax and it looked good in the photos.
