The next comparison of razors in my den pertains to the Greencult 1.0 and Swing. I will first give a general impression and will then follow up with individual shave results.
Greencult 1.0
This was the first (well, actually second) razor brought to the market by Fairschenkt from Austria. They sourced their head at first (Zamak still available from their website I think) before deciding to make their own. This turned out as the Greencult 1.0 - an all stainless steel CNC-d razor. It first came out in 2022 I believe, might have been late 2021 and was very cheap at the time. It weighs about 120g-125g and is recognisable by the headposts going through the baseplate rather than sunk into the baseplate like they currently do with the Greencult 2.0.
The Greencult 1.0 is unobtanium at the moment unless available through the BST. The closest to its specifications baseplate III of the Greencult 2.0 razor - but in actuality the GC1 sits between III and IV.
The Greencult 1 is an assertive razor with a blade gap of .95 and blade exposure of .25. Blade tabs are fully covered with this razor. The head weighs 33g and the OEM handle weighs 78g (I have a love/hate relationship with this handle).
There is definitely blade feel, but not dangerously so - although it might bite you if you let your guard down. The Greencult 1.0 can be a very effective razor depending on which blade you pair it with.
Swing
The Swing is from Sweden and together with its kin Matador is a staple of DE shaving. It has a bakelite handle and is - as far as I can tell - made out of solid brass (but I could easily believe that it is actually an all-stainless steel razor too) with either a nickel or chrome plating. I assume nickel by the way as this was the way back in the day I believe. I am not too familiar with bakelite in razors, so I have stored the handle away and use my @lasta handles instead.
Not much is known about these razors, but searching the internet I found out that Swing razors where made between 1923 and 1952 and Swing not only made razors, but also razor blades (a few were supplied with the razor I bought). Same again as Matador. There is no way of telling what the specific date on this Swing is as Swing does not have date codes like Gillette's carried.
Together with the bakelite handle I am tempted to think the 1920s-1930s would be an accurate indication.
I don’t have proper tooling or equipment, but eyeing the gap it is somewhere between .9 and 1.0 with a fair amount of positive blade exposure as well. Some excellent measures and pictures can be found in Mitch’s (@mgweatherly) journal here. As with the GC1 blade tabs are fully covered. The head weighs 33g with a 23g handle (my Lasta Lavender Handle - I don’t use the OEM handle, but it’s about the same weight).
So this is modern versus vintage. Stay tuned for shaving details as I use the Swing this upcoming week.
Greencult 1.0
This was the first (well, actually second) razor brought to the market by Fairschenkt from Austria. They sourced their head at first (Zamak still available from their website I think) before deciding to make their own. This turned out as the Greencult 1.0 - an all stainless steel CNC-d razor. It first came out in 2022 I believe, might have been late 2021 and was very cheap at the time. It weighs about 120g-125g and is recognisable by the headposts going through the baseplate rather than sunk into the baseplate like they currently do with the Greencult 2.0.
The Greencult 1.0 is unobtanium at the moment unless available through the BST. The closest to its specifications baseplate III of the Greencult 2.0 razor - but in actuality the GC1 sits between III and IV.
The Greencult 1 is an assertive razor with a blade gap of .95 and blade exposure of .25. Blade tabs are fully covered with this razor. The head weighs 33g and the OEM handle weighs 78g (I have a love/hate relationship with this handle).
There is definitely blade feel, but not dangerously so - although it might bite you if you let your guard down. The Greencult 1.0 can be a very effective razor depending on which blade you pair it with.
Swing
The Swing is from Sweden and together with its kin Matador is a staple of DE shaving. It has a bakelite handle and is - as far as I can tell - made out of solid brass (but I could easily believe that it is actually an all-stainless steel razor too) with either a nickel or chrome plating. I assume nickel by the way as this was the way back in the day I believe. I am not too familiar with bakelite in razors, so I have stored the handle away and use my @lasta handles instead.
Not much is known about these razors, but searching the internet I found out that Swing razors where made between 1923 and 1952 and Swing not only made razors, but also razor blades (a few were supplied with the razor I bought). Same again as Matador. There is no way of telling what the specific date on this Swing is as Swing does not have date codes like Gillette's carried.
Together with the bakelite handle I am tempted to think the 1920s-1930s would be an accurate indication.
I don’t have proper tooling or equipment, but eyeing the gap it is somewhere between .9 and 1.0 with a fair amount of positive blade exposure as well. Some excellent measures and pictures can be found in Mitch’s (@mgweatherly) journal here. As with the GC1 blade tabs are fully covered. The head weighs 33g with a 23g handle (my Lasta Lavender Handle - I don’t use the OEM handle, but it’s about the same weight).
So this is modern versus vintage. Stay tuned for shaving details as I use the Swing this upcoming week.
