The open comb does feel different. I can get an excellent shave if I don't apply too much pressure, and try not to leave marks where the comb moves over. I have to get used to the three-piece assembly, this is my first one. I bought this for $12, shipping included. This was Christmas morning, and no one else bid on it. IAmTheJody Mod edit: The images were so huge, they were causing lag. I put them to thumbnail size and if people want to view the huge images, they can click on the thumbnail if they choose.
I find the old Gillettes to be great fun to look for and to use. After this one you may want to move back to the ww1 and pre ww1 '04's. (The ones without the ball ended handles.) There's sometime interesting in using a 100 Yr old razor. Just thinking about it's history...
I read often that the OLD and even NEW Improved did not shave well with modern blades. Did you get a good shave from one of those type of razors?
Don't believe everything you read. I get some pretty darn good shaves using modern blades in both my OLD and NEW types. Your face will not lie to you. You gotta try it out for yourself.
The older blades were a lot thicker than modern ones. In some of the older razors you cannot tighten them enough to work well with the modern blades without using some form of shim - I think that this is what you are referring to. An overblown problem in my experience, most can be tightened properly!
The old style razors can be more aggressive with a modern blade. I like them that way. My go to razor is a NEW head paired with a long and heavy handle from a Sabi razor. It's on the aggressive side but not too much. Happy shaving! Hope you enjoy your new acquisition!
I've been lucky and have not run into the thickness of the new blades being a insolvable problem. This week I had a new to me '04 style. No serial number. That the first pass felt like I was pulling each hair out by the roots. Stopped change to another blade, different manufacturer, and had no problems. Great shave 2ish passes. Like any razor, some like a certain blade others don't. Most times there really isn't a problem. I have a number of the '02's(British) '04's(US)and '05's(Canadian)really enjoy using them.