Best and Worst Gillette DE Razors

The results are in. I made a few mistakes which inadvertently I was able to use as extra data points aka the dull blade test. But after throwing out a few shaves and adjustments I have a testing method and reference points set for here on in. I can also do the evaluations in 3 shaves for sure now.
Methodology
cold water, 5 pass shaves, same cream, brush and alcohol based witch hazel for burn test aftershave. I shave every day no breaks between razors since my face shaves smoother if I do it every other day. Doing it this way eliminates that bias.

First 3 passes stropped with a duller blade, 2nd 3 passes no strop each. Dull test on one side of the blade, no strop the opposite side.

Technique becomes irrelevant or blade choice. If you use the same blade they all should start at the same sharpness regardless of the razor and wear the same if the razors are the same. If you shave the same 5 passes should be enough so all that is being evaluated is the end result and irritation to get there to determine mildness.

First the dull blade test which is what happens when you strop a blade wrong.

All performed well on irritation, none for any of them on 3 shaves off the same blade.

Red tip performed the best, gave the closest shave no need to change pressure to get it closer.

Regular 50s style flare tip aka the maltese screw performed second best. You can use a lot of pressure as the blade dulls to get it close without nicks or irritation. It wasn't always the closest the 40s style super speed was closer until it was too dull but it performed better overall.

Blue tip was the 3rd best, this one really is like a training wheels razor it is almost impossible to cut yourself with this thing regardless of blade sharpness or irritation but you really need to work this razor to get a close shave. Too much work for a shave that will not equal a red tip or 40s style super speed at its best.

40s style super speed NDC performed the worst, once the blade was too dull it became a hair tugger and I wouldn't use extra pressure to overcome the dullness because I just knew I was asking for trouble if I did.

Now to the no strop shaves.

Red tip wins hands down closest shave on all 3 shaves was as good as the first shave on a 40s style super speed NDC which was the second best. The 3rd shave was the only one that had any what I will call lingering irritation for hours after the shave.

40s style super speed was second best no lingering irritation during or after the shave but not as close as the red tip but closer than the other 2.

50s style regular flare tip was third closest but was the most irritable during the shave especially atg. I didn't like shaving with this razor at all but no lingering irritation after the shave. By the 3rd shave 40s and 50s style were about the same. I personally liked shaving the least with this one.

Blue tip performed the worst only one with noticeable stubble almost immediately after the shave. Face was smooth but bumpy smooth for the lack of a better term. It also performed the worst for all 3 shaves in comparison to the others on each shave.

Overall winner is the Red tip but a 40s style would make a good choice also in lieu of availability and price.

With that said any of these would get the job done and get it done better than a cart even the blue tip. The blue tip really is as close to a perfect beginners razor to ween someone off of cartridge razors or when you are having issues and need to jump down to something mild to work out the kinks before dialing back up the aggressive scale.

Also as an aside, I should pick up Weishi or one of the re-branded Weishi's and maybe a Baili also and shave them off to see which Gillette Super Speed head they copied for those razors. It is not like the Chinese innovate anything when it comes to manufacturing design so my curiosity is peaked as to which super speed they actually copied.

 

I am going work through the notched non adjustable TTO's next. The next shave off is between a NDC notched US made Aristocrat and a Diplomat. I really want to feel how these deviate if all from their counterparts which I've set my reference points for now. After that it will either be the 2 black tip variations which should be the same as the 40s style super speeds or the 2 other unique flare tips I've recently acquired, the 58 TV special and 60s style super speed aka the one with a rattle clip, triangular door lifter mechanism and lower head profile. The TV special should be like the 50s regular flare tip, 60s style should be different for the others.

 

I think I've tried most of the vintage Gillette double edge razors over the past 3 years or so. My favorites are all versions of the Old Type (ball end, single ring, good will, haven't tried the bulldog), New Improved, Tech, Slim Adjustable. The two that don't really do much for me are the Super Speed and the NEW. The Super Speed is too mild for me, more mild than the Tech. And the NEW has a handle that I feel is too light for the razor. And my modern handles don't fit the NEW head. Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

 

The common bar handle New (no caps required) may be the worst Gillette design ever. The New Deluxe in contrast is well balanced and an excellent shaver. Apologies if I'm repeating myself here it's a long thread.

 

If the initial impressions are an indicator the Diplomat is like a bling version of the red tip. By the 3rd shave they should differ enough to call one over the other. This one though has gotten the closest shave under the chin without using any j hooking or touch ups.

 

Right now, my 1941 Ranger Tech gets my vote as Gillette's greatest razor.

 

Well as I expected the Diplomat is definitely a more aggressive razor than the red tip. Frankly it wouldn't have made sense to sell high end limited market razors that didn't shave closer than their razors that were designed in mind for mass market like the flare tips of the same time period. It doesn't shave that much closer than the red tip but it is closer. The aggressiveness is where it sets it apart. Today was the first shave I got some really serious nicks and weepers especially ATG that I had to break out the styptic pencil for. It has also been a pretty irritable shaver unlike the others except for last pass on the red tip though not close to intolerable. Thankfully the irritation doesn't linger all day only until the skin dries and stretches back to normal. So far it is a better shave but my preference would still be the red tip because it is a less irritable shave.

 

And as I suspected I overshaved my face on the previous pass. 3rd pass was the best shave yet for all the razors combined thus far. The Diplomat for sure is a keeper, might even be as good as the open combs but I'll revisit that towards the end of going through these razors. Then someone(s) is going to get some really nice razors either as a set or pieced out.

The lesson here is overshaving doesn't bias the results and negates lack of familiarity with a razor for these purposes. If you are nicking yourself you are over shaving simple as that. The razors thus far performed as expected based upon the aggressiveness of each. Can I dial them in better, sure but the shaving test here is to find the functional limitations of the razor.

The other lesson here is more aggressive the slower the shave without familiarity of your tools. So if you are pressed for time best as far as closest may not be the best choice. That is where the 40s style super speed outshines all these razors it is like the Randy Velarde of Gillettes. It is consistent quick shave or slow, forgiving of poor technique while still giving at a minimum a DFS shave with enough passes making it a better balanced razor along different conditions.

 

First impressions on the US made NDC notched Aristocrat, this one has outperformed all these razors thus far on the first pass. Not surprisingly this one is the most aggressive I've put to the face.

There is a big difference between this one and the Diplomat, it is in the blade feel, you really feel the blade on the Aristocrat, it feels like a GEM SE. It doesn't suffer the poor technique, you put too much pressure or angle it too far off it will punish your face and you know it right away. The Diplomat you don't feel the blade as much though you do feel it more than the red tip but not like the Aristocrat and corners is were you really feel it. This one you can put a lot more pressure because of less blade exposure but you can get yourself in trouble without realizing it unlike the other super speeds, even the red tip. I learned that the hard way on the second shave with the Diplomat.

Unless the Aristocrat chews up blades quickly it should also outperform on the next 2 passes.

 

nice razor, have a 48-50 notched ndc and a 46-7 unnotched. both are smooth efficient shavers

 

Well the Aristocrat is done. By the far the closest shaver I've put to the face. Also the most aggressive. All 3 shaves needed a styptic pencil afterwards. Second shave was some of the worst razor burn I've had in along time. I had to add in eucalyptus oil afterwards with the witch hazel and that wasn't enough. Finally I had to whip out the heavy hitter aka vinegar to tame that burn. Final shave wasn't as bad, made the adjustment of riding the cap which helped get the shave even closer. Still an irritable shave but nowhere as bad as the 1st two. I can attribute that to either the blade was still too sharp or inconsistent technique. Used the eucalyptus oil and vinegar as a precaution on this shave just in case that burn wanted to linger. Next time I use this razor I'll try a less sharp blade which should help on the irritation factor. I got great shaves without using good technique for the most part but the penalty was the amount of cuts and burn.

Lesson here ride the cap and shave it like a Gem micromatic.

 

In my opinion technique (or variations with it) is always relevant and my technique certainly varies depending on mood, how awake I am, how well I'm feeling, the phase of the moon(?) and probably a dozen other things.

That's one of the problems with supposedly "scientific" tests of razors. Shaving is an art, not a science, with very many uncontrollable variables.

Now if someone could come up with a shaving robot that could operate with sufficient accuracy, maybe we're get some significant results.

 

I would tend to agree. I can have very different shaves from the exact same razor and blade combination on any given day. Maybe I'm in a rush and get weepers all over the place. And another time I'm calm, feeling relaxed, and have an irritation free BBS shave. The other thing that came to mind is that sometimes it is not always obvious that a razor is in less than operable condition. Case in point, I purchased a Vintage Old Type head that had been replated by the seller. Now, I have several Old Types already and they are my favorite razor. So I get this newly plated head and shave with it and I have weepers all over my face, lots of irritation. The first time I chalked it up to my own poor technique. The next time I shaved with it I paid extra attention to my technique and took my time. However, same result. Not wanting to jump to any conclusions I tried a third shave and had the same result yet again. So, I decided to look more closely at the razor head. What I noticed was two corners of the top cap had little bumps, typical damage from when the cap is dropped. The other two corners were perfect. What this was doing was causing the blade to not be held properly by the head which caused the blade to vibrate and move during the shave. And the result was a terrible shave. I would not have thought that a seller would replate a razor that had evidence of damage to it. All they would have had to do was file down the two bumps and all would have been fine. I brought the issue to the attention of the seller who agreed to issue me a refund including return shipping. So, using vintage razors can sometimes be impacted by how they were treated by previous owners. If the doors on a TTO don't close exactly right or an internal part is slightly bent, it will impact the shave. Lots of variables involved. Razor condition, technique, state of mind being three.

 

Art is a form of science unless you don't care about repeatability. Case in point is drawing a straight line the same more than once. Math is about counting distance measurements not numbers. The numbers are just markers on a scale using an arbitrary distance between 2 points then using that distance as the scale for repeatability. To finish take match sticks of equal length you can count or draw pictures with them so is art a science here or is science an art?

This is almost exactly how they would test this sort of device and tweak accordingly for mass production. Wrong on the variables they can all be controlled even you unless you lack control or discipline to do so which is why they are designed the way they are for path of least resistance type of shaving. It is also why you do it multiple passes and ideally with multiple people eventually the data averages out and the outliers can be interpreted correctly without lack of prior experience which I am using to take some shortcuts here. Most people are not going to exercise that level of discipline when shaving besides there is more than 1 way to get to the same destination. I've also outlined the path. Opinions mean squat to if you can't back them up. This at least can be put to that test. Testing with a robot is exactly how you don't test a product like this. Robots don't shave, people do.

 

Bold statements indeed. Do any artists care about repeatability? I've never seen two identical Monets or heard Beethoven's 5th played exactly the same more than once by the same orchestra. Do any of us shave exactly the same way twice? And any definition of mathematics is philosophically controversial.

One of the principal differences between art and science is that the former is subjective while the latter is objective. Your shaving tests are interesting and thorough but how can you be objective about your technique when you admit - as I'm sure most of us do - that yours can be inconsistent?

 

You can't play Beethoven's fifth without sheet music or some prior record of the notes. The subjective is irrelevant with out the objective in this case the records. Without that we are at the statement about enough monkeys and typewriters be able to bang out the same works of Shakespeare given enough time. Then how would you know without some prior record that it is Shakespeare. How YOU go about it doesn't change this fact, any argument you want to throw out go ahead. I think you might have equivalence and equality confused here. There can't ever be 2 identical things period or else you can throw the idea of uniqueness, best they can ever be is equivalent overall if they share enough common things and equal only at certain scales aka subjective is equivalent and objective is equal.

Here is an example 2 things are identically built are they equal or equivalent? They can't reside in the same place at the same time else they aren't unique and also individual.

If my experience and enough others subjective experience jives based upon the an objective as can be method of measurement then the objective measurement was ultimately correct. We used art to prove science Set, subset which one is the set and which one is the subset of the set here.

 

I would certainly agree that given a large enough population of testers the effects of many variables can be minimized and some generalities can be extrapolated. So how many testers, performing exactly the same shaving tests as you are, does one need to produce a statistically significant sample, and what conclusions will be drawn - that a Red Tip Super Speed is more aggressive than a Blue Tip?