Definitely one of my Fave razors! This red tipped bad boy seperates itself from the other Super Speeds not only in looks, but in performance as well. It has a heavier, thicker handle and more aggressive head than any other SS out there. You may not like this razor if you use a "choke up" grip, because that creates poor balance. But, if you hold this beast by its little red tail, then all of the handle weight magically shifts to the head to provide the perfect "no pressure" shave. If you are a fan of aggressive shaving razors, then this one is a must for your rotation at the easily obtainable price of under $20.
A Future CLASSIC for sure !!! Purchased for $19 from fleabay - c. 1957. scrubbed with bar keepers friend and Dettol multi surface (99.9% dead...), boiled (alu foil, boric / salt mix)for 15 mins, disinfected with barbicide for 10 mins , then polished with aluminium oxide cutting paste and high speed multi-tool. OH SO SPARKLY!!! Like new now. Anyways the blade exposure is on par with a Fatboy on 6 or 7. So really is fairly aggressive but not overly so. Prepped with a good wash and then Proraso'd my face and inserted a brand new gillette platinum (swede). I gripped using its red tail, felt very agile and highly manouvreable. At every pass absolutely no lather left on my face at all, so re-lathering with a lubricating creme a must, proraso does great for me. Applied no pressure at all and let the blade gap work for me. Face felt a little tight but not raw after multi pass shave. It has now been 3 days and now I really feel I need to shave again - a very close finish. Excellent build and finish, except some paint chips on the tail, quite normal for this model but phenomenol considering it was only $1.29 when new. A guaranteed future classic and very worthy of consideration for your rotation. I had a very quick 2 pass BBS shave with oil buff touch up to finish. Oh and stubble rinses out real well due to large blade gap - but dont let this scare you. A light touch and some skill,patience and good technique is all you need to tame this red tailed beast. A great shaver ! but noobs beware. YES just like other shavegeeks, I wish they still made these!!!
This is very good razor, but I still prefer Gillette Aristocrats, especially ones made in England. They have better balance, not so much head heavy.
Red Tip The red is the best out there. Have 5, don't want to run out. Best shave of anything I own & own many. Used merker barber pole, Aristocrat, fat boy, slim & many others. Never nick myself & the perfect razor. Highly recommended.
Great razor especially when paired with a face friendly blade such as Derby or IP. I have a red-tip from my birth year/quarter in excellent condition. One of my most cherished razors.
The legend! Great razor. I do believe it is the best of the super speeds as well. There are better razors out there but they are few in number. Aggressive compared to the other super speeds and it holds very well. A nice heavy handle make this razor very easy to use, and the grip is nice and chunky. As far as price goes, this was a gift, but I've seen them go from $5 up to $45 on the bay.
Definitely one of my 'Go to' razors. A must in your collection if you like an aggressive shave ! I have a Gillette Red Rocket (piffed from one of our fellow members) as well as the American Gillette Red Tip and I just love them both ! Second only to my slant sledgehammer.
Good Razor - not a favorite I do love the way all Super Speeds feel in my hand. I get a bit of a downside in the head. I find most blades are a little rough in the Red-tip. That and even with a blade that does match well, I have to shave very carefully - even compared to the more aggressive NEW. Nothing at the level of not liking the razor, but keeps it from being a favorite and why I like the regular flare tip a little better.
Does Live Up To The Hype IMO. Many moons ago when I started to dabble with DE and SE shaving, I would say at least a good two years before the DE renaissance began, I purchased a tech and an old open comb. What saddens me is when I bought those two, I had the chance to buy a Red Tip, it was there in my fat little (or big) hands looking at it, not knowing what it was and chose not to buy it. I think at the time the color Red on a razor kind made me think of blood so I think it had something to do with not buying it. Then with all the hoopla going on with DE shaving a little while later, especially with the Red Tip SS, I really wanted to try one. Couldn't find one to save my life in any antique store and by that time the price started to go way up on ebay, so I puttered along with some Gem's, Gillette flared Chrome tips from the 60's, a 50's tech, and then a handful of aluminum Tech's made in the 70's. Then two days ago I finally managed to make it to an antique shop in a town 40 minutes away that was only open Thur-Sat, and there lay 2 Gillette Red Tip SS's, both A-4, only 3 bucks each. Told the lady I have been looking for these for 1 and 1/2 to 2 years and that she just made my day. Took them home, used a combo of soap, water, orange soft scrub, a toothbrush, toothpick, and a jeweler's cloth to bring them back up to snuff. Was fearful of using polish for fear of taking off what remained of the red paint on the tip. Going to receive a thousand lashes for this, but kinda used a red permanent marker to fill in the tip color, , but figured that if I really wanted to I could buy some Testor's paint and do it right. Guessing Mahogany would do it but could be wrong. Anyway, apologies for the aside. After cleaning, polishing, and some nobly attempted magic-markering, I paired one of them with a Wally-World Personna, along with a hideous looking shaving concoction that I nuked together that consists of 1 puck VDH select, 2 pucks VDH Deluxe, 1 puck VDH Glycerin, 2 pucks of Williams, a cocoa-butter soap bar, 2 very liberal dashes of EVOO (no joke) and 5-6 squirts of intensive care skin regenerative lotion. Shaved like a dream. I thought I might have even heard it singing just a tiny bit. The only difference I observed, in relation to the other superspeeds I have used, is that it seemed I had to use a little bit of a steeper, obtuse angle in order for the blade to engage my face, kind of like a Gem. But was no big deal at all, just merely an observation, probably due to the gap being wider, which I did see for myself and now understand (I believe) the principles of wide vs. narrow gaps in relation to closer/more aggressive shaves and narrower gaps giving milder/less aggressive shaves. Only did 1 wtg because I was somewhat in a hurry to get somewhere. But with liberal amounts of cold water and witch hazel, my face felt nearly BBS rubbing my hand downwards, meaning if I can do one more pass, probably another WTG, I could get between a DFS and a BBS, which is what I aim for because a complete ATG pass to get a BBS shave would irritate my face too much, but that is with any razor I use. Bought a third one off the bay for $25 plus $5 for shipping, so averaging out total price for all of my Red Tips, it comes out roughly to $12.50 per Red Tip. Love the shaves so for the price for three at $37.50 I say not bad. Not bad at all. Gave price rating a 5 because of the large, relative variance of pricing on one of these, although I dare say the price also largely depends on whether the seller knows what they have or not, whether they care or not. Gave grip a 9 not because of the handle, I love the texture and feel of the handle, but rather because the angle of usage, IMO is almost more in line with a GEM than with any other Gillette, whether it be a superspeed, tech or even an open-combed old type, which I have used in the past. But that's just being knit-picky. All in all, I love it just after one shave and will be my go to razor now. (For now?) Hopefully this will cure my RAD but only time will tell for sure.
Having myself wanted for a long time and in recent weeks now finally discovered the joys of a Gillette Red Tip Super Speed, I've decided that it is time to blow some dust off this thread and rekindle it a wee bit. The Red Tip has fascinated me for a rather long time but could just not seem to lay my hands on one in the shape I've wanted (which is near mint or similar). When I say 'fascinated me' I mean 'I want and I know it in my gut that this razor is right for me'. So, a while back I decided on a fully revamped one, replated in Rhodium, from the folks at RE. However, before comitting the requested amount of dosh, I thought it a good idea to first try a less costly one and see (or rather feel) for myself how one of those performed. This is how I laid my hands on my first one, an A2-vintage in fair condition. It came, it shaved and it won me over in an instant I placed the order for the revamped one right away (i like my razors to look new and shiny, razors make me happy, i'm superficial, whatever...). The second Red Tip came in due course and I have had the pleasure of quite a few shaves with it since. To me, it does perform like a dream. Prior to the first Red Tip, I have gone through 19 other razors, some very good some less so (for my own taste). The Red Tip outperforms my most liked ones of those 19 razors, it delivers me this much sought-after balance between thoroughness and mildness. To be fair, I have only used it in combination with Feather blades so far, something which will have to change this week, am thinking of an ASP as the next one in. What I like about the Red Tip is, on one hand of course the shave performance but on the other hand also the looks - i find it very well proportioned, especially the length and girth of the handle in relation to the head. Other SS razors with thinner handles just don't appeal much to me. And I really like the TTO mechanism; although I never had an issue with using 2-piece or 3-piece razors before, I just find the TTO ones so classy, elegant and fuss-free. And they are simply solid pieces of equipment. Btw, writing this suddenly made me realize that I really have not other razors anymore than TTOs. Now, how did that happen?? Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I do compare it a lot with a recently acquired British Flare Tip Rocket (quite a difference in the TTO mechanism, I have to say) but it is holding its own very well indeed. I know, deep in my heart, that the Red Tip is here to stay with me.
Yes. If there was only one Superspeed that I could have it would be the Red Tip or the Ranger '41. British it would be the Aristo Jr. Three great razors.
Very glad for you.. I find there's something almost spiritual about finally getting just the right thing and the red tip is definitely one of the great razors..
Krylon "International Harvester Red" is the perfect match. The following is advice from BakerBarber on the "other" shaving forum. "Don't spray it though. Use a small paper cup or something similar. Go outside, and spray about half an inch into an old pill bottle or something. Then let it sit. Make sure all the bubbles are gone and let some of the thinner evaporate. It's very runny out of the can. One good dunk, slowly pull out and shake off excess. It cures smooth and even pretty quick. If you do it right you won't get any into the handle on the screw or built up in the knurling. I did two coats on mine and rested the razor head down in an ashtray. In about an hour I stuck the tip into the gas flame on my stove for a second or two about 8 - 10 times. I did this before Christmas and haven't any chips or wear yet." PLANofMAN's review: Initial impressions were favorable, the red tip super speed is nicer looking than the other super speeds, with an unusually deep knurling pattern on the handle. The head is noticeably thicker and more rounded across the TTO silo doors than the regular super speeds. The handle is also thicker than the regular super speeds. The overall impression is of a well balanced, heavier razor. More blade exposure than a regular super speed. This razor was obviously the original inspiration for the fatboy adjustable razor. I never thought of the regular super speed as a mild razor until I tried one of these. They are not over-aggressive, but I can get a great shave in one less pass (than a regular super speed), and with fewer touch-ups with this razor. There is really not much more to say about this razor. If it takes you three passes to get a good shave with a regular super speed, this razor may be what you have been looking for. If you get a good shave out of two passes with a regular super speed, you probably don't need to "upgrade." Current prices (2012) on the ebay seem to be going at $25-35 for a clean/minor paint loss red tip, $40-60 with original case in good/mint condition, and up to $100+ for NOS. you can occasionally find them for $10-20 if you keep your eyes open, though they will almost certainly need a cleaning and have either brassing and/or almost complete paint loss. A reasonable cost on any of the shave forums seems to be $15-20 for a clean, well maintained razor with minor paint loss, $5 to $10 more for one with a case. That seems to be my impression of current prices and is subject to error. I hope that helps anyone who is considering purchasing one of these magnificent razors.
