I've only used my Granddaddy's '65 Gillette Tech once before, and judged it the mildest of my small collection. Went back to it this weekend because I had come across some Super Blues which were in a dispenser but not sealed. They looked clean and I wanted to give them a go. It felt like I was scraping my face with a serrated bread knife. Bad blades or deceivingly aggressive Tech? I changed to a brand new drug store blade the next day to make sure and got a great shave with two passes. Super Blues going in the trash. (They were in a Spoiler dispenser, not the original, so that should have been a clue.) Two lessons learned: 1. I can't see micro rust with my naked eyes. 2. My face isn't as sensitive as I thought. Even after that unplanned dermabrasion, I didn't really have any irritation or soreness (after I quit dragging that hoe across my face.) Moving on!
Sounds like you used a used blade, my friend. Super Blues aren't my favorite blade but are not that bad.
I agree with Jacob. NOS Super Blues actually are good blades. It sounds like you got a used blade or exposure to the elements for about 50 years caused issues.
Let me be clear: I don't blame the blade. I'm sure the edge was exposure-degraded, one way or another. I'd absolutely use a good NOS blade, definitely a Super Blue, but I've lost my faith in this batch.
Techs are definitely not know for their aggressiveness, so I'm going with the blade on this one. I don't use the old blades very much, but before I do, I always water glass strop them and they improve quite a bit. As you (OP) noted, micro rust is no fun.
Well, NOW you've made me learn about glass stropping; that's a new one for me. If anyone else is curious, check out this thread and an outside link to another forum here. I still don't particularly care about saving these old blades, but I'll have to try that and see what happens. I think I have a glass that will work. And since I posted a link to another forum, I'll remind everyone to shop at The Shave Den Shop. Support the community that supports you!
It sounds like you got a bad blade. I have five NOS Super Blues. I used one with favorable results. I'm not positive, but I've read that Super Blues are some of the best carbon steel blades made.
I didn't read that whole thread, but just to note, you don't need a special glass blade hone. You can get the same effect by using the inside of a ceramic coffee cup or the inside of a water glass (one made of glass).
If anyone is still looking, I tried glass-stropping those old Super Blue blades last night. I had an Old Fashioned glass, about 3 1/2" diameter, filled with water. I took the same blade that had given me such a rough shave, held it against the inside wall lightly flexed but not flat, and stropped it 50 strokes on each side (back and forth = 1 stroke.) There was nothing left to do but take a deep breath and... I know this is completely anecdotal, but it was better. Still not good, but better. Keep in mind that I don't know whether these blades only have micro rust or had been used. What's my takeaway? I believe this imprecise, improvised stropping method does help. If I used carbon blades every day, I'd use an actual strop to prevent micro rust and condition the edge over the life of the blade, but not necessarily to extend the life of the blade. Not that this is a breakthrough, but it was nice to see for myself.
Fair question, which actually didn't occur to me. This 1933 article discounts the effects of stropping but includes a description and illustration of a glass filled with water, and one thread at the B&B forum includes water as well. I may try it dry to see what happens, but I did notice improvement with the wet method (acknowledging the possibility of placebo effect.)
If I could find an old blade sharpener, I would buy some carbon steel blades and give them a try. One of our members here has/had a Sanford 5 Second Sharpener that seemed to work pretty well for him.
Yeah, I was wondering about the water too. It seems unnecessary and I've always seen it done dry. That's the way I've done it too (the few times I've used old carbon blades. Dry would seem to be better from an abrasive point of view and surely more convenient. But, whatever works best. I can say that glass stropping IMHO makes a positive difference with the old blades.
Cool article. Thanks! Right under the photo it says the blade can be sharpened inside the glass either with or without water.
swarden, your reading comprehension trumped mine on this day. NOW I'm finished experimenting with these blades. I dry stropped the same blade for a third shave and didn't notice a difference from yesterday's wet strop shave. A true hone like that Stanford would probably have a greater effect, but I think these blades are just too far gone. BTW Ryan, thanks for pointing out that Stanford thread. Very interesting item. It's also interesting to look at things like the Stanford 5 Second Sharpener and that 1933 magazine article and see that shaving has always had room for the tinkerer/hobbyist, even if some if it was born of necessity.
