The Ubiquitous Black-handled Gillette Superspeed

You've seen them. They're listed for sale everywhere. Alone. In lots. Your elderly neighbor, who heard you're into old-fashioned shaving, offered you his old one. You probably even have one. You might have found one in the attic - or it came in a lot with a fatboy -- which is the razor you were looking for.

But have you ever shaved with one?

I had my first shave with one today. Used it with a Gillette Platinum. The one in the light blue tuck with white lettering. Some call them Swedes. Not the one supplied with Amazon's Gillette Heritage.

The shave was close. Comfortable. Smooth.

Why the heck do I keep yearning for a British Gillette? Could it get any better than that? The common, ubiquitous, inexpensive, Black-handled Superspeed?

Try it. You'll like it.

 

I have a couple and they are smooth shavers.

 

They are considered Super Speeds, but I don't feel they shave the same as the original. The are closer to their predecessor the Flare ....... One of my all time favorite razors.

 

Which color? Neutral?
I think all the flare-tips are great, regardless of color, though they differ in aggressiveness.

 

1965 k-1 brit 1 piece


black handle head,all brass construction.awesome.​

 

It does tend to get written off as a sub-par razor. While not my favorite it is in my rotation every so often. I tend to like aggressive razors, when in the mood to chill it makes a nice choice.

 

The red tip Flare is nice and bring the aggressiveness in the mix. It also has the weight that I find nice.

 

True, it is one of my go to's.

 

Definitely one of the best razors out there. My First British razor I tried, got me hooked for more.

 

The later black handle Flair Tips, 1966 and on, had a slimmer head design with a larger blade gap, from what I've read. This makes them slightly more aggressive.

 

Uh, I did't know that.

 

I saw that someplace online a while back. Also Gary (@brit) mentioned that to me. .

 

One of the best Super Speeds are the black handle ones made in the 80s. They have a flat bottom and diamond style knurling they will start at about date code A3 for 1980.

You can see the specific knurling pattern and flat bottom base plate that makes this one an 1980 - 1988 version.

 

Yes they are as seen on the packaging. This one is from the 80s. Far as I know this was the same packaging used right up until 1988.

 

3rd quarter 1978, according to this.

1978 (Y3) black handle Super-Speed.jpg (1000×633) (mr-razor.com)

 

Didn't the neutral-color flare-tips also change to that head around 1962?

 

Not sure what year, but they did as far as I know.

 

Lots of good info here: AsylumGuido's Guide to Super Speed Identification | TheShaveDen
Too bad the pics don't show up for the earlier posts, but the same user posted to another forum where the pics do show up.

 

Would this differ from the circa 1962 - 1965 U.S. flare tips with the lower profile head?

 

yes.