Hi and happy turkey day! My name is Al and am 1 week into wet shaving and never again going back to disposables and cartridges! I was hemming and hawing over making the switch because of increased irritation and cuts. I walked into an antique store and picked up two “vintage Gillette razors “ for $25 on impulse. One was gold colored with little wear the other needed work! I soon discovered these were Gillette “The New” LC razors from the 30s! After cleaning and sanitatizing I put them to work. Used Vietnamese made blades from dollar general and a 5 pack of US made personna. Both good IMHO. What a difference! Love Shave Den and thank you ladies and gents for the great posts
Welcome to TSD Al @Green Miller! Glad you found us and the pleasures of Wet Shaving. If you have any questions, right here in your own personal thread is a great place to start. Plenty of friendly folks will be along to offer advice, opinions, even actual information. That Gillette NEW Long Comb is a fine razor. I've enjoyed many shaves with the one I picked up from an antique store. Yours still have some of the original gold wash? When new there was a clear coating over the thin gold wash finish. The good news is they look pretty good then back to raw brass and polished. Considering you went straight to a set of razors that will last for decades getting them refinished is a worth wile investment. Replating in a variety of metals, or baked on ceramic in your choice of colors might still save you money in the long run. You didn't mention if you are enjoying any of the many soaps or creams available to the discerning shaver. Then there are brushes, cups & bowls for lather making, and post shave products. Feel free to post photos! Since you are new to this, if you have any question about the process or want to fine tune your technique visit The 30 Day Rule / Focus Discussion. It's a bunch of veteran shavers learning new razors and new shavers trying out vintage gear. If it sounds interesting check out the monthly opening statement HERE, then jump in an enjoy the shenanigans!
Howdy from South Central Texas. I would highly recommend you head over to the 30 day crew post, and read up on that. It is great for new folks, and even the ones that have been around for a while. Hope you enjoy your time here, and I hope you have great shaves!
Welcome Al / @Green Miller from here in western NY. Glad you decided to join us at TSD. I'm an enthusiastic vintage razor user myself ... everything from the early 1900's through to 1970's. I'm glad you found a couple great classics!
Al, welcome to The Shave Den! Gillette NEW LC's are wonderful razors! Congrats on picking up a pair of them to start your traditional shaving journey. I'll also invite you to come join us on the 30 Day Rule/Focus thread. You'll find a group of fine folks there eager to help you improve your DE shaves. Before long, you'll be helping others as well. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello & welcome to TSD. So glad you found this fun place on the web. Good folks here that enjoy the wonderful world of shaving.
I appreciate your feedback on “the New.” Yes the first one still original gold wash/plating. Shaved with it twice so far. This one may have been seldom used prior. Very little wear. It’s deep gold due to the darkening of the lacquer. Shaves identical to the second one, in which almost all of the gold has been worn away, exposing the “copper-brass “ in cap and bar handle. Second one also has a bent comb tooth, but doesn’t affect performance. I read and heard those tended to bend and break, hence the changes on the Tech which came later. Yes would consider replating the second one, despite bent tooth.
