Best and Worst Gillette DE Razors

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Rusty blade, Aug 30, 2015.

  1. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    This morning I loaded a BIC into my '58 Fat Boy to give it a try...

    [​IMG]

    The shave was decent enough but I was a little disappointed in that my face doesn't feel quite as smooth as when I use my preferred blades. Of course, I'll try it a few more times but I think we all just have different beards, different skin, different techniques and different preferences.

    Having the choices available to us, in such a fringe market in the western world, is a terrific thing.
     
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  2. rbilly

    rbilly Well-Known Member

    Bics are very sensitive to different razors, unlike other blades i use, permasharps, yellow 7s, red IP which work well in any razors i have, but the bic, its amazing in my parker 24c, and fattip, but is just terrible in my tech, and slim.
     
  3. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    Tomorrow I'll try it in a Red Tip.
     
  4. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    I've found the opposite is true with Bic Chrome blades. Maybe it is skin, hair thing at this point if your technique has been honed through enough shaves. Bics for me are good all around blades not the best for every razor but whatever razor I use them in the shaves are acceptable regardless of how often I shave before they get chucked. For example a Merkur blade on a 3pc tech shaves like butter for me but I have too many damn razors and I am trying figure out which ones stay and which ones goes. I'll fully dial in the keepers next. I think we can all agree some generalities apply but it is ultimately a personal and intimate thing when it comes to razors and blades.

    My initial impression on using the 40s style SS vs the red tip is they are pretty even shave wise. I am hard pressed to tell a difference in the shaves thus far but I still have the rest of the month to finishing shaving with these 4 razors. I'm leaning towards the 40s style though because of the handle. It has good balance to it unlike the red tip. The red tip is balanced but clumsy to hold like a pencil on the balance point unlike a 40s style.

    If this was survivor as things stand now the blue tip and silver flare tip are getting voted off for sure and in both cases it has everything to do with the razors not the blade or technique thus far.

    I think between this and next month I am going to be fully booked up using nothing but various TTO's I've never shaved with sans a no date code notched US Aristocrat I recently scored.

    As of now next month's lineup looks to be the following.

    no date code notched US Gold Aristocrat
    47 US Aristocrat Jr
    Aluminum handle black tip SS
    46 Ranger Tech style Milord

    and I'll revisit the losers using a feather blade.

    Obligatory razor porn pictures will be forth coming.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
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  5. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    Ceramic is really good for putting an edge back on a blade. I use a coffee cup all the time to sharpen various food knives in the kitchen when they start to get dull.
     
  6. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    GTTO.jpg

    Left to right, Top to Bottom

    A 2 Blue Tip SS, B 2 Flare Tip SS, B 1 Red Tip SS, NDC 46 Milord, NDC 47 - 50 40s Style SS , X 1 Black Tip SS, NDC 47 Aristocrat Jr , NDC 47 - 50 Aristocrat
     
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  7. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    I too find the Red Tip just a little clumsy, although it does shave well.

    And I like my aluminum handled Black Tip more than I expected. The steel handled one has a little more heft but they're close. My favorite of this type is still the NDC version.
     
  8. rbilly

    rbilly Well-Known Member

    Im not a big fan of superspeeds, out of the three I have tried i only like the black handle superspeeds. Im not a collector, so i only kerp 5 razors. If i find something new I like more then what I have i give one of my others away, the only permanent ones are merkur i got back in 2007, prewar tech. The other 3 will be gone once i get something new. No rotations for me, no monthly plans, no shave data gathered, i just shave every morning with whatever catches my eye.
     
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  9. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    A little bit better in the Red Tip than in my Fat Boy on7.

    But I'm still not ready to say the BIC is better than a Feather or GSB.
     
  10. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    Try a cold water shave if you haven't done so. The Blue Tip shaves significantly better using cold water. It is a lot easier to find a close to optimal angle and the blade cuts much better with audible feedback unlike a warm water shave. It is straight forward why cold water should work better with a mild razor sharp blade or not and I'll almost guarantee it will be the same deal with a feather. Sometimes it all about making adjustments to get the most out of a razor. I shall see if the others do the same. If I only had one it wouldn't matter I can get the job done but this is about the journey not the destination.

    As far as blades goes my philosophy is if a blade shaves well in one razor it should in any other if all the variables are the same. If it doesn't then you make adjustments till it does. This is why I like to focus more so on a single blade than razor. If I can't make a blade shave well then it is most likely the blade then.

    There is also another reason why I do things like this when I shave. Something I learned when I first started DE shaving. When you are forced to focus on your shaving especially in the morning it helps you wake up the mind and muscles and that working on a skill translates to better mind focus on whatever it is you are doing for the rest of the day. It is more than a simple grooming chore. Also by doing this it teaches or enforces a disciplined approach to a task something that applies well beyond simple shaving.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2018
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  11. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    This morning I tried the BIC in my EJ89. Another nice shave but while it’s a very nice blade there was no Eureka moment.

    Time to move on. I’ve got some Bolzanos to try before I (probably) go back to Feathers and GSBs.
     
  12. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    Half way point of the shave off the red tip is in the lead over the 40s style notched NDC SS so far. I have to admit though I enjoy the hell out of shaving with the blue tip even though it is in dead last still. It really is a challenging razor to get that high standard of a shave you become accustomed or spoiled from shaving with more aggressive razors but you can get it once you make adjustments. Cold water helps immensely along with better razor edge maintenance between shaves. I don't know if I will get to it on this pass but there is no doubt that for out of the box a Feather blade will improve the shaves with this razor. The sharper the blade the better. The only modern razor I can compare this to that I am familiar with is the Feather Popular.

    My worst shave with a blue tip is still better than my best with a cartridge thus far. Though that may not have been true when I first DE shaving. Just goes to show how much technique matters with a mild razor unlike more aggressive ones.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2018
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  13. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    I should also add that the 40s style and the regular 50s style flare tip (aka maltese screw) are neck and neck right now. If I stopped comparing the 50s flare tip would take 2nd place but the fairest way to evaluate is to take a blade through it's paces until it is ready for the garbage. I guess the best way to characterize the 2 is the 40s style has been a consistent good shaver while the other has been good to very good to excellent.
     
  14. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    Can you attribute the difference to anything in particular? My '49 and '55 seem to have identical head profiles, although the '55 is just a little (4g) heavier.

    [​IMG]

    I think they're both terrific razors although purely on aesthetics alone, I prefer the '49 NDC.
     
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  15. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    I think it may have to do with how I hold the razor is where the variation is on the 50s style flare tip right now. It could be but I try to neutralize that difference by finger shaving using strictly the fingers and wrist. If you hold the razor on the balance point the handle and head weight distribution becomes irrelevant when you shave that way. I know I don't always hold the razor that way if I am not paying attention. I agree on both being terrific shavers. I'll know for sure maybe this week because next up is just shaving a single razor and blade until the blade is used up. I haven't been able to get into a rhythm switching between razors daily on this pass. I'm revising how I will do the next round of razors based on how this pass goes.
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2018
  16. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    I've been wet shaving on and off (mostly on) for over 50 years but I'm not confident enough in the consistency of my technique to think that I could perform meaningful comparisons over time. I mean one morning I might wake up tired, the next grumpy, the next happy (I'm mostly happy!) and one morning I might deviate in my shaving angle by a a degree or two. All these variables, and many more, must play their part. I guess a large enough number of shaves should even things out, but for these reasons I'm always a little suspicious of "scientific" approaches to shaving and testing of shaving equipment. I think shaving is much more of an art than a science, although it is no less enjoyable because of that.

    I'm not trying to cast any negativity on your comparisons. I find your posts very interesting, but for me I just think my preferences are mostly down to subjective rather than objective factors. I guess that's why one week my Fat Boy is my favorite, the next week my Red Tip is my favorite and the next week I pull out my EJ that I've been using for most of the last 5 years and realize just how nice a shave I get with it.
     
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  17. chevyguy

    chevyguy Well-Known Member

    That's a very nice looking razor Primo. It makes me wish that I hadn't sold my 1941 Ranger Tech. It always gave a smooth comfortable shave with a Feather blade.

    Clayton

    Sent from my LG-K450 using Tapatalk
     
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  18. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    I love my Gillettes, I have the following:

    1) Gillette Old Style no date code, purchased in a Khaki Kit from Razor Emporium
    2) Gillette Tech Ball-End date code R1 = 1946 1st quarter
    3) Gillette Super Speed (no notch no date code)
    4) Gillette Slim Adjustable date code H2 = 1962

    The Tech Ball- End is my absolute favorite razor period! Of my Gillettes the Old Style is my least favorite and that's because of how aggressive it is (but it is a great razor). The Super Speed is a fine razor as is the Slim Adjustable and I use them a lot, but time after time it's the Tech that that wins the day.

    If ya want a great shave you really can't go wrong grabbing a Gillette Safety razor especially if it's from the golden age of DE shaving (meaning the '30's to the early '60's). As a matter of fact they were so good that they were copied by the Russians, Chinese and Japanese (as well as a host of others) down to today.

    Happy Shaving!
     
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  19. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Thanks Clayton,
    I was fortunate to recently pick up a nice '41 Ranger Tech. You are correct, great razor.
     
  20. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    I didn't quite realize we were including the Cartridge Gillettes. 'Cause there is where Gillette begins to lose its shine. My very first razor was the Trac II way back in 1978 it was a Christmas present from my Grandpop. That was the day he showed me the how to lather up a puck of Old Spice shave soap and walked me through the process of shaving. Of course at 13 shaving was just a process you wanted to get over and done with. Little did I know... I stuck with the brand over the years progressing from the Trac II to the Atra and Atra Plus, then came the Fusion on up to the Mach 5… as these razors were were released I noticed that as the blade number went up so did the price. Conversely the quality of the shave went down and that brought me to DE shaving and the discovery that the Gillette reputation was earned in a by-gone era and that they sacrificed quality in the persuit of profit. They weren't the only ones from that era that did that, Old Spice doesn't make shave soap any more and thier aftershave and deoderant are shadows of what they once were and are priced as a deluxe brand.

    If any of the reps from the companies mentioned read these posts I would like to suggest please consider rejuvenating these Golden Age products live up to your legendary status and you will cash in. Please Gillette bring back the Super Speed. Old Spice how about some Shave Soap? Colgate you guys used to make a Shave Soap too why not again? While we're asking hey Schick bring back the G style injector they will sell!

    Oh well!
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2018
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