Help me find the right Gillette Tech

[JCinPA]

Hmmmm. Looks like some folks like my standard 7 O'Clock blacks in the Tech, too. I've still got 400-500 of those in my stash.

• Feather
• Kai
• 7 O'Clock Yellow
• Gillette Silver Blue
• Astra SP
• Lord New Platinum
• 7 O'Clock SP (black)

 

[macintoshBR]

Add some Gillette Nacet too!

 

[Atlantic59]

Feather
Kai
Nacet
7 O'clock Yellow
Perma-Sharp Super
Gillette Silver Blue
Personna Med Prep
BIC Chrome Platinum

People either love or hate the BICs. I have had good results with them, but I always buy them from a reputable store that sells mainly shaving supplies (not amazon or ebay).

 

[never-stop-learning]

Well, I finally sold my Gillette New Long Comb head on a Cooncat Bob Bull Mastiff handle. Had it for years thinking I would "grow into" liking aggressive razors, and it is never going to be the case. I have a normal beard, in terms of fullness and stiffness, and I have normal skin--neither sensitive, nor leather-like, and I've been happily shaving with a Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Plat in a Merkur 34C for the last 4-5 years and just enjoying my shaving life. I don't really need to experiment with razors and blades, but I found myself getting bored and wandered back in here. Probably a mistake, but ...

Anyway, now I want to go the exact opposite direction and try a mild razor, and the universal recommendation, of course, is a Gillette Tech. Upon doing some research, however, I discovered they were made from the outbreak of WWII up into the 1970's and come in a bewildering array of materials, handles, and base designs. I'm overwhelmed.

What I am looking for is a well-balanced Tech to try Feather and Kai blades in and see how I like that arrangement. I like fatter handles, generally, but it looks like some of the grippier-looking ones are longer and slimmer, which is also OK. Do I want a flat cap? Brass base? Diamond-stamped base? Which handle? Aluminum? Were there any changes in the shaving geometry of the razor over time?

Can someone point me in the direction of a likely candidate to start with? Yes they are cheap, and I could start collecting them, but I really have no interest in collecting and have sold or PIF'd all my old razors away (except my birthday red tip). I would like a nice razor, which, if I like it enough, I may have replated and add to my daily driver collection. Thank you very much.

John

Pre-War Fat Handle Tech with Feather and Kai blades. I like to pair mine with a nice Titanium handle like the TiBam Ti Antique or the RazoRock Ti Halo.

 

[JCinPA]

Just expanding the list as I get suggestions

• Feather
• Kai
• 7 O'Clock Yellow
• Gillette Silver Blue
• Astra SP
• Lord New Platinum
• 7 O'Clock SP (black)
• Nacet
• Personna Med Prep
• Perma Sharp Super Stainless

And the list grows! Are the Med the same as the Labs? I forget.

And where is the most likely place to find most of these, which vendor? I don't want to spread the order around to three places, I'm not THAT OCD. I'll take the most I can get at one vendor.

Thanks, fellas, this place is as helpful as ever!

Cheers,

John

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Just expanding the list as I get suggestions

• Feather
• Kai
• 7 O'Clock Yellow
• Gillette Silver Blue
• Astra SP
• Lord New Platinum
• 7 O'Clock SP (black)
• Nacet
• Personna Med Prep
• Perma Sharp Super Stainless

And the list grows! Are the Med the same as the Labs? I forget.

And where is the most likely place to find most of these, which vendor? I don't want to spread the order around to three places, I'm not THAT OCD. I'll take the most I can get at one vendor.

Thanks, fellas, this place is as helpful as ever!

Cheers,

John

Don’t sleep on Polsilvers, amigo!

 

[JCinPA]

Best blade vendor these days?

 

[Atlantic59]

Best blade vendor these days?

This place has a really good selection, flat rate shipping at $2.99. You can build your own sampler or order 100 packs, whatever you want. Not the absolute cheapest, but pretty decent prices.

https://www.razorbladesclub.com/razorblades/

 

[JCinPA]

This place has a really good selection, flat rate shipping at $2.99. You can build your own sampler or order 100 packs, whatever you want. Not the absolute cheapest, but pretty decent prices.

https://www.razorbladesclub.com/razorblades/

That will likely end up being the cheapest as opposed to getting samplers with stuff I don't want, or going to three places with shipping fees. Thanks! If they are the most well-stocked, I'll go there, for sure.

 

[Marco]

OK, so I guess I should get a blade sampler now. What are considered the sharpest blades these days? I seem to remember

• Feather
• Kai
• 7 O'Clock Yellow

What else. Does anyone know if a vendor puts together a "sharpest sampler" or do I need to roll my own? Thanks! Can't wait to try this.

John

P.S. Definitely gonna "roll my own". I don't need another blade sampler with all the stuff I've already tried (Dorco? AGAIN?)
I'll wait till some of you list your favorite SHARP blades for the Tech other than the three above. Thanks in advance.

John, time ago I saw a video talking about the sharpest blades available. All blades were put under the microscope and tested for sharpness. According to them, the absolute sharpest were Feathers, closely followed by Gillette Nacets and Silver Blue. Basically, I agree with this evaluation.

 

[JCinPA]

OK, got the order in, thanks for that vendor link, Atlantic!

• Feather
• Kai
• 7 O'Clock Yellow
• Gillette Silver Blue
• Astra SP
• Lord New Platinum
• 7 O'Clock SP (black)
• Nacet
• Personna Med Prep
• Perma Sharp Super Stainless
• Polsilver Super Iridium

I had the 3 Marco mentioned at the top of my list, added a few others from you fine gentlemen and a tech razor pairintg thread. With any luck, I'll be delighted with my 7 O'Clock SP (blacks), as I still have maybe 400-500 of them in my den. They've been my daily shaver for the last five years or so, have not used another blade in all that time. Can't wait for the razor and blades to arrive now.

 

[JCinPA]

Added Bic Chrome Platinum, and discovered my beloved 7 O'Clock blacks are pretty sharp! Here is the site I think Marco was referencing. Oh, and Astra Stainless, because some (monority) like them better than the plats.

Razor Blade Sharpness Summary with Comparison Chart

This post is to serve as a quick reference as a Razor Blade Sharpness Summary which includes a Razor Blade Sharpness Comparison Chart. To see more in depth how the testing works, check out Razor Bl…

www.refinedshave.com

 

[JCinPA]

Wow! What a spread of pricing for these. I was surprised. As with much in shaving, price often has little to do with how popular a product is, how it performs. The relationship is very tenuous.

Kai, Japan, Stainless, $40
Feather, Japan, Platinum $36
7 O'Clock Blacks, India, Platinum, $28
Gillette Silver Blue, Russia, PTFE, $27
Personna Med Prep, USA, Stainless $26
Perma-Sharp, Russia, Stainless, $20
7 O'Clock Yellows, Russia, Platinum $18
Gillette Nacets, Russia, Stainless, $15
Astra SP, Russia, Platinum, $11
Astra SS, Russia, Stainless, $11
Lord New Platinum, Egypt, Platinum, $10

 

[Marco]

John, as discussed privately today, I ordered this morning 2 × 100 Gillette Nacet blades. My price here in Italy was €14.99 per each 100, plus €2.99 shipping. Silver Blue blades are more expensive (almost twice the price) at €26.95 per each 100.

 

[Atlantic59]

Nacet, 7 O'clock Yellow, Perma--Sharp Super and BIC Chrome are what I would think of as the best bang for the buck in sharper blades. Prices fluctuate a bit, though.

 

[Quaznoid]

Perhaps contrary to conventional thinking, my post war Tech shaves better than my prewar. My 1949 Ball-handle Tech with a Lord Plat gives me an effortless BBS shave.

 

[GR5233]

I’m sure you’ll enjoy whichever tech you decided on. The majority of techs that I have are postwar versions made of brass along with 2 prewar (both the fat handle and ball end handle) and a British aluminum spiral handle tech. I can’t tell any difference between the prewar and postwar versions. PermaSharp Super/Stainless and GSBs are my two favorite blades in my techs. Though $27 seems a little expensive for 100 GSBs. Should be able to get them for $26 for 200 on that auction site

 

[BubblesUK]

I wouldn't over fixate on blades - my Tech's shave well with near enough any decent blade.... If you've got blades you like already then that's fine to begin with.

The only blades I've found unsatisfactory are blades I've found to be truly poor performers in basically any razor (looking at you Dorco ST300!)... Even some fairly unpopular blades behave really well in a tech - Derby's are fine, Treet black beauties are fine, Sharks are fine.
If really pushed a GSB is a great match for any Tech (I don't buy Gillette's anymore but still have quite a few of them), as is a Treet DuraSharp (carbon steel but coated, great blades and oft overlooked) and a Feather will play very nicely too, though you're still aware that they're sharper..

Razors vary a tad but it's not hugely significant.

The ultimate if you like them rare and special (and TBH to date it's marginally better than my others as a shaver) is the RFB hybrid tech, but I could very happily live with just a flat bottom or prewar.

 

[Rosseforp]

A Pre-War Fat Handle Tech paired with a Feather blade is about as good as it gets, IMHO.

I have one of those, shaves great. Got it for $9 shipped.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

I have one of those, shaves great. Got it for $9 shipped.

Techs are legendary for a reason. Great score!