Vintage April, 2024

[Whiterook]

Razor: Schick G2 Gold filled Injector Razor
Blade: Schick Plus Platinum injector
Brush: Farvour Turn Craft 528 in synthetic
Pre-Shave: Proraso White Pre-Shave Cream
Lather: Truefitt & Hill Grafton
Aftershave: Truefitt and Hill Grafton Aftershave Balm
Additional Care:
Thayers Facial Tonic Witch Hazel Unscented
Imperial Leather Talcum Powder

 

[md1234]

That's a pity.
Have you ever considered a replacement? The 84s are still out there...

I have my eye on one

 

[Russ622]

Razor: Rocket HD
Blade: Perma-Sharp
Brush: Chisel & Hound Bocote Lily
Soap: Catie’s Bubbles Midnight Dreary
Frag: Azzaro The Most Wanted Parfum

 

[Obetron Rex]

1934 Aristocrat Deluxe / GSB / Shavemac synthetic / Brito lime / Stirling glacial black cherry / Ogallala Bay Rum - Could use replating on the head, but not bad and a great shaver. I got it for a steal so I'll probably just keep it as is and call it a lucky find.

 

[Wgg2017]

1962 Gillette Slim. 3rd shave. Used setting 7 and preferred it to the first two shaves at 5. Will do one more shave at 7 before moving to 9. Great razor.

 

[barn_iom]

15 April

Watts-Service • Watts-Service/Feather
B&M Spice • AP400 Slim

After yesterday's British classic, a true British oddball. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Watts-Service Razor.

No top cap - the blade is secured by a little spinny "propeller" that is tightened by a nut at the back. And the head tilts left and right to give a shaving angle on each edge of the blade! I'd had a Feather adapted and ready to go but at the last minute I was drawn to the pile of unopened Watts-Service blades. What could go wrong?

The blades are really a work of art in themselves, made of stiff, very thick stainless steel. If the Titanic had been plated in them the iceberg would've come off worse. Also retailed for a shilling - each! In the 1930s. That's about £3.50 a pop today.

So onto the blade. First impression: blunt! Second impression: blunt!! Like trying to shave with a butter knife. After one pass I switched to the Feather. The problem here with a modern thin blade in this is that with no top cap there's no rigidity - lots of blade chatter, lots of noise and a less than stellar performance. I switched back to the Watts blade for a final pass and clean up - and it did seem happier with less to deal with. Perhaps it would have "shaved in" if I'd persevered, but frankly life's too short.

On the plus side this always felt safe. Even with the Feather I never felt like I might cut myself. On the negative the shave today is barely adequate. But I did at least answer the question: why aren't all razors built like this?

 

[Wgg2017]

15 April

Watts-Service • Watts-Service/Feather
B&M Spice • AP400 Slim
View attachment 1829747
After yesterday's British classic, a true British oddball. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Watts-Service Razor.

No top cap - the blade is secured by a little spinny "propeller" that is tightened by a nut at the back. And the head tilts left and right to give a shaving angle on each edge of the blade! I'd had a Feather adapted and ready to go but at the last minute I was drawn to the pile of unopened Watts-Service blades. What could go wrong?

The blades are really a work of art in themselves, made of stiff, very thick stainless steel. If the Titanic had been plated in them the iceberg would've come off worse. Also retailed for a shilling - each! In the 1930s. That's about £3.50 a pop today.

So onto the blade. First impression: blunt! Second impression: blunt!! Like trying to shave with a butter knife. After one pass I switched to the Feather. The problem here with a modern thin blade in this is that with no top cap there's no rigidity - lots of blade chatter, lots of noise and a less than stellar performance. I switched back to the Watts blade for a final pass and clean up - and it did seem happier with less to deal with. Perhaps it would have "shaved in" if I'd persevered, but frankly life's too short.

On the plus side this always felt safe. Even with the Feather I never felt like I might cut myself. On the negative the shave today is barely adequate. But I did at least answer the question: why aren't all razors built like this?

I just knew this story was going to end with much bloodshed and a trip to the emergency room. Glad it worked out ok even if the shave wasn’t great.

 

[barn_iom]

just knew this story was going to end with much bloodshed and a trip to the emergency room

That's exactly what I was expecting myself

 

[Wgg2017]

That's exactly what I was expecting myself

You’re a brave soul to experiment like that for our amusement

 

[ajkel64]

Vintage April 15th of April 2024.​

Vintage English Gillette Four Piece Tech.

 

[Heavy_Metal_Hound]

Cool @Heavy_Metal_Hound - so there are English Old Types out there as well...this is not good for my RAD!

Great looking razor by the way.

Enjoy!

Guido.

As far as I am aware, Gillettes English division seem to have made every type of Gillette except for the adjustable ones. While they usually have a reputation for being of higher build quality than the American razors, I have yet to notice any major difference between my English Old Type and my 1918 US Old Type. Ignoring of course the fact that the handle on the US Old Type is a Razoremporium replica. Also like all of the English Gillettes my English Old Type doesn't have a date code. But the Ebay seller I got it from claims it is a 1921-1928, so I'm just sticking with those dates.

Anyway on to today's shave, it seems that the iconic Flat Bottom New would be both a good continuation of the English Gillette theme, and a good follow up to yesterday's Old Type. This old Gillette has performed as it always does, close & smooth.

 

[Shaun asleep]

I would have considered it blasphemy before, but I'm about ready to declarere the New RFB better than my New Improved.
What a razor!

 

[preidy]

Brit #70 Set

 

[ChrisPL68]

 

[Lee Van Cleft]

Monday the 15th of Vintage April……

Today I’ve been inspired by barn_iom’s left field choice of the Watts and have chosen the very first vintage razor I ever bought, a model from the 1930’s I believe…..The Telerazor , made in England. A not unmanageable 100 grams without battery but certainly club like in the hand.
Originally designed to vibrate, the fat handle held a now unobtainable battery that powered a motor just below the head. Out of curiosity one day I rigged a modern AA and a thin piece of copper for a contact and surprisingly got it to vibrate but no way would I have used it to shave ….damn thing was like a mini jackhammer.
Used a Nacet blade and arko! for lathering. The top plate separates with the turn of a knurled nut below the bottom plate….varying the tightness allowed a slight difference in blade gap but not strictly an adjustable razor.
Lathered up and went in……actually not too bad…felt pretty mild….has a scalloped safety bar and was smooth enough.
A second pass left me acceptably clean and refreshed. I didn’t push for a top result…this is the proverbial sledgehammer to crack a nut in terms of size….. I’m more of a lightweight fan and I reckon Mr Telerazor would be capable of serious irritation if over used.
Not a terrible experience….nothing like the one with a 1920’s NOS Souplex blade and razor I did a while back. That was horriffic. Never again.

 

[mgweatherly]

Combo post of Saturday and Monday morning vintage April shaves both rated 9.25/10 using:

• Razor: 1906 Gillette Single Ring (#728243) and mid-1960s Schick Krona TTO
• Blade: vintage English Wilkinson Sword (5 and 6)
• Brush: Razorock 400 Silver Noir Plissoft and Omega 10098 Barber’s Boar
• Pre-shave: Noxzema
• Soap: Dutch Kox Bergamot and Dutch Van der Lovett Grey (shout out @Guido75)
• Post shave: Thayer’s unscented Witch Hazel followed by Old Spice splash and Stirling Spice balm (last use )

Both shaves rated 9.25/10, but achieved in very different ways. The Single Ring is brutally efficient, the Krona is super mild mannered.

On Saturday, I used my oldest razor, a 1906 Single Ring (#728243). I acquired this one in a lot of razors that I bought chasing something else. It had badly bent teeth and showed a fair amount of use. Chris Spencer aligned the teeth and replated it in Silver for me. Now, it's beautiful. It's also among my most aggressive razors. Today's shave was OK and definitely worth the vintage experience, but not my favorite. The blade seems to be losing its edge slightly and was fairly draggy. The result was super smooth, but I paid with a few very minor weepers.

This morning, the English Wilkie is definitely losing its edge, which is especially evident in this Schick Krona. The Krona is a fantastically easy TTO with a fairly mild approach to life. I had to do a fair amount of work on the third pass to get BBS, and after the shave realized that more work still was needed in my trouble spots (left side neck). I immediately touched up some more without irritation. The Krona is that mild. I may or may not retire this blade.

I must mention that I've run out of my all time favorite balm, the Stirling Spice. I still have some Stirling Christmas Eve, which is functionally equivalent, but I'm going to miss the Stirling Spice until next year when I complete my GRUYERE and enter my replenishment window. I don't think the Christmas Eve will last the rest of the year, but I've got other balms to hold me over.

My shave scoring log is found HERE.

Happy shaves everyone

 

[Texchappy]

 

[hopper_64]

Monday Vintage April 15

Gillette Slim Adjustable
Gillette Wilkinson Sword (India) (4)
Hans Baier Silvertip
Palmolive Stick
A&E L'Orange Verte

 

[cajunrph]

Two'fer today.


4/14/2024

Vintage April 12/30
1954 Flare Tip Super Speed• Shark Super Stainless (2)• Palmolive men’s cream• Zenith 502 BW• Details.​

4/15/24

Vintage April 13/30
1940 Fat Handled Tech• Shark (3)• Hotel Cecil• Ds Cosmetics 24mm Two Band Badger• Details.​

 

[zoidberg]

15/4/24

Soap - Stirling Electric Sheep
Brush - Yaqi Cashmere 20mm
Razor - Ever Ready Featherweight
Blade - Personna Gem (3)
Post - Alum Block
AS - Benjamins Bay Rum w/Menthol