My birthday is 2 weeks away and I am thinking of buying myself a vintage razor for myself. I’ve narrowed it down to the Eclipse Red Ring, Gillette Toggle or the Apollo Mikron. Which of these razors do you recommend I invest in?
Of the three, the red ring is probably the most aggressive, one of the reasons I've never added one to my collection. You've got to watch out for cracks in the handle. It doesn't affect the shave, but it ought to affect the resale price. It or the toggle will be the easiest to flip, should you decide it's not up your alley. I would pass on the toggle, since it shaves very like a fatboy or slim, and offers very little in the way of a unique shave. If you go with the Mikron, look for the best example you can find. Plating loss can do bad things to these old zinc adjustables. With a healthy budget and limited to those three razors, I would choose the red ring over the other two, since it's the more beautiful razor to my eyes.
You have already the Gillette Fatboy & Slim that are similar to the toggle so that would narrow it to the others remaining, so flip a coin and that is the one to consider for the next purchase if available. Not the best scientific formula but it works. If I forget in a couple of weeks !