Aristocrat Showdown! US vs England!

[User 306]

For me, my mind will never change. This is a brilliant thread, and a heck of a lot of fun. I have recently tried out the #15 and own a #21 - but even though they are efficient MONSTERS, I prefer smoothness as well. The #16 is my absolute favorite razor, I have 2 of them, will collect more and will probably never find a better razor for me.

All our faces and beard growth differ tremendously and efficiency, smoothness, technique and fondness for pieces (of history) are all subjective and matter of personal opinion.

Im going to be parting with my #21 for this reason. Ill be putting it up for trade or sale on BST, so If anyone who doesn't own the winner of this competition, keep checking BST. Its a complete set, in stunning condition.

Lets keep this thread going!!

So right I think each face along with technique has a lot to do with personal favorites. The #16 is a very smooth shaver and one of the smoothest of them all but like I mentioned just not as efficient as the 1st Gen #15. What Generation #21 set do you have that your putting up. I have the 3rd Gen #21 which is a nice smooth shaver with a decent amount of efficiency but not quite as efficient as the 2nd Gen I just used in this Shave Off.

 

[Larry Telencio]

Frank, Thanks as always for your fantastic review! Also for your time and dedication. It has been both fun and educational and all the varies input from the members has been interesting. To say the least Hopefully it will continue!

 

[zed117]

I would love to see how you would rank them if you had to shave daily.

Great thread sir! I predicted the #15 winning 3rd place, the underdog takes the championship!

 

[Zoost]

So right I think each face along with technique has a lot to do with personal favorites. The #16 is a very smooth shaver and one of the smoothest of them all but like I mentioned just not as efficient as the 1st Gen #15. What Generation #21 set do you have that your putting up. I have the 3rd Gen #21 which is a nice smooth shaver with a decent amount of efficiency but not quite as efficient as the 2nd Gen I just used in this Shave Off.

This is my #21 ill be parting with.....case, blade holder and the razor is in better condition than the ones in this picture.

 

[User 306]

This is my #21 ill be parting with.....case, blade holder and the razor is in better condition than the ones in this picture.

View attachment 885288

My #21 set is a 3rd Gen and its in a brown case as pictured in Mr. Razor and I'm sure if yours is a 2nd or 3rd gen..do you know? Or maybe some historians can tell us. I'm looking for a 2nd Gen.

 

[User 306]

Frank, Thanks as always for your fantastic review! Also for your time and dedication. It has been both fun and educational and all the varies input from the members has been interesting. To say the least Hopefully it will continue!

Thank you so much Larry for the kind words and you have certainly have helped make this thread what it is with some of your great posts!

This Showdown will continue as I have to do one more Shave Off between the US 1936 and the 2nd Gen as todays shave raised some doubt as to which razor gave the #15 a more competitive shave as this last shave has left me with curious as the 2nd Gen and the 1936 did not meet up in this competition and I'd like to name the 2nd and 3rd place finishers.

 

[Hoka Hey]

This is my #21 ill be parting with.....case, blade holder and the razor is in better condition than the ones in this picture.

View attachment 885288

My #21 set is a 3rd Gen and its in a brown case as pictured in Mr. Razor and I'm sure if yours is a 2nd or 3rd gen..do you know? Or maybe some historians can tell us. I'm looking for a 2nd Gen.

That’s a 2nd gen #21.

 

[User 306]

I would love to see how you would rank them if you had to shave daily.

Great thread sir! I predicted the #15 winning 3rd place, the underdog takes the championship!

Good point and I'm not 100% sure but I will say that all of them are smooth shavers although some are definitely more efficient than others and I will be updating this thread with more shaving impressions as I use some of both the US and British razors using my less non-traditional Skin Stretch Short stroke technique which most definitely will effect the outcome of the shaves from any of these wonderful razors.

Forgot your top 3..what were they again?

Also thank you for all your input and posts!

 

[User 306]

That’s a 2nd gen #21.

Thank you my Yoda!!

An give me a call soon...got some catching up to do!

 

[MitchellUK]

Thanks to you Dragonsbeard for such an enjoyable and long lasting competition.

Learnt a lot from this thread. Particularly liked Imatabor's generation posting

 

[Shavemd]

Awesome Thread Frank I truly have enjoyed it start till now. So now that this shave off is over, Whats next? Oh by the way Im happy to take all those looser razors off your hands, I mean you dont want to shave with losers. Im only offering as a good friend

 

[Larry Telencio]

I have a #15 set Australian SB Aristocrat that is the same as a #21 set only in a different case. It seems in was only sold there. The theory is that it was put together with left over parts and cases and sold only in Australian.

 

[Bonky]

@Dragonsbeard : A tip of the hat and a gentleman's handshake to you for your hard work and perseverance. Although all of us have differences in our faces and opinions, you have gone above and beyond to provide us with a baseline for some razors that are both rare and expensive in mint condition.

I only have two of the razors you evaluated, the US 46/47 and the US '36, both close to mint. I actually prefer the 46/47 to the OC 36, but thanks to your thread I know the next 'Crat that will be on my radar.

I think that there's an argument that could be made for making this a "sticky", but as I am subscribed this would be for the benefit of others. Thank you very much my friend, and Happy Shaves!

 

[User 306]

Thanks to you Dragonsbeard for such an enjoyable and long lasting competition.

Learnt a lot from this thread. Particularly liked Imatabor's generation posting

Thank you sir! It’s been a blast so far and @imatabor John has certainly been a huge part of this thread and he’s a stitch and a whole lot of fun!

 

[User 306]

Awesome Thread Frank I truly have enjoyed it start till now. So now that this shave off is over, Whats next? Oh by the way Im happy to take all those looser razors off your hands, I mean you dont want to shave with losers. Im only offering as a good friend

Haha Mark you know you can try any razor in my den my friend!

 

[User 306]

I have a #15 set Australian SB Aristocrat that is the same as a #21 set only in a different case. It seems in was only sold there. The theory is that it was put together with left over parts and cases and sold only in Australian.

Interesting Larry is it a 1st or 2nd Gen?

 

[User 306]

@Dragonsbeard : A tip of the hat and a gentleman's handshake to you for your hard work and perseverance. Although all of us have differences in our faces and opinions, you have gone above and beyond to provide us with a baseline for some razors that are both rare and expensive in mint condition.

I only have two of the razors you evaluated, the US 46/47 and the US '36, both close to mint. I actually prefer the 46/47 to the OC 36, but thanks to your thread I know the next 'Crat that will be on my radar.

I think that there's an argument that could be made for making this a "sticky", but as I am subscribed this would be for the benefit of others. Thank you very much my friend, and Happy Shaves!

Thank you sir for the kind words and I’m glad this thread has more insight on these amazing razors and I to feel I’ve learned so much from not only the whole shaving experience but from all the input and historical posts.

So I’m curious what’s the next Crat on your bucket list?

 

[Bonky]

Thank you sir for the kind words and I’m glad this thread has more insight on these amazing razors and I to feel I’ve learned so much from not only the whole shaving experience but from all the input and historical posts.

So I’m curious what’s the next Crat on your bucket list?

Why the first generation #15 Brit, of course! You've been a valuable source of good advice for me before, there's no reason for me to doubt your opinion now.

 

[User 306]

Why the first generation #15 Brit, of course! You've been a valuable source of good advice for me before, there's no reason for me to doubt your opinion now.

Thank you Bonky! You will not regret putting a 1st Gen #15 in your den. It’s one great shaver that also happens to be one stunning razor! Let’s us know what you get one.

 

[Tester28]

This is my #21 ill be parting with.....case, blade holder and the razor is in better condition than the ones in this picture.

View attachment 885288

Different strokes for different folks.

It will be a lucky fellow who gets this...I've found it quite futile to compare these razors and pick one favourite.

They all serve a unique purpose...the #21 pictured is just great for heavy beard growth.....the #16 for daily use when I don't want to really focus on technique and just enjoy an effortless clean up.....and the #15 (without the engraving on the handle) is just a sexy piece of kit that combines the aggressiveness of the #21 with the finesse of the #16.

Of course, the UK made Red Tip Superspeed is equipped to put all these to shame, but that's another story.

Can't imagine the den without any one of these fine implements.