What makes the Gillette English flat bottom Tech better that the regular Tech?

[robertj298]

Side by side they look to my eyes to be the same other than the flat bottom
but I get a much better shave with the flat bottom than I do the regular tech
so is it just the extra weight of the flat bottom or what? The flat bottom tech
shave on par with my Gillette New Improved and New DeLuxe.

 

[bdehne]

To my eye the EFBT appears to have a slightly larger gap than my pre war US Tech.

 

[jason2]

Better is subjective. It's slightly more aggressive so if that's better to you then it's better. I'm perfectly happy with my prewar tech as a middle ground. Though I would like a hybrid one.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Side by side they look to my eyes to be the same other than the flat bottom
but I get a much better shave with the flat bottom than I do the regular tech
so is it just the extra weight of the flat bottom or what? The flat bottom tech
shave on par with my Gillette New Improved and New DeLuxe.

They were made in London.

 

[jason2]

They were made in London.

So, of course it MUST be better ...

I'm US so I don't know sarcasm....

 

[Alum Ladd]

So, of course it MUST be better ...

I'm US so I don't know sarcasm....

Precisely.

 

[Joezamboni]

I haven’t given them a good look side by side in a bit but for me they seemed equally efficient but the flat bottom had a more natural “sweet spot” (pre war triangle slots seem to need to be angle slightly towards the cap to be smooth to me) and they’re smoother in general.

 

[Alum Ladd]

I haven’t given them a good look side by side in a bit but for me they seemed equally efficient but the flat bottom had a more natural “sweet spot” (pre war triangle slots seem to need to be angle slightly towards the cap to be smooth to me) and they’re smoother in general.View attachment 1612122

Well put.

Nice lineup!

 

[Four for Luck]

Is that a standard EFBT handle?

 

[Alum Ladd]

Is that a standard EFBT handle?

They were made in both thick and thin handle styles. The thick were most common.

The ball end handle was not used to my knowledge.

The rarer Thin handle

The more common Fat Handle

 

[kingfisher]

They're not better. They're just different, and only slightly so.

The hybrid definitely has more weight, but I'm not sure whether the flat-bottom does.

 

[Alum Ladd]

The EFBT has about a .28-.30" blade gap, very close to the triangular Pre war which is in the same ball park, around .28"

Tolerances seems to have varied a little, but they were in that area.

The EFBT blade clamping and baseplate design is unique, and may help the shave experience. I enjoy mine muchly.

The 50's and 60's Techs have a gap of around .22-.25" rather milder, with slightly less 'Wow' factor. Good enough for daily shaves though.

An excellent Tech for efficiency is the late 50's and early 60's English Techs, which seemed to return to the .28-.30" gap.

My lovely little English 30gm Alutech is around 1960, and is my travel razor. I find it shaves similar to the Pre war and FBT.

 

[Joezamboni]

An excellent Tech for efficiency is the late 50's and early 60's English Techs, which seemed to return to the .28-.30" gap.

My lovely little English 30gm Alutech is around 1960, and is my travel razor. I find it shaves similar to the Pre war and FBT.

is this the style with the earlier etched cap or the later debossed style?

I tried the aluminum English post war etched cap. It’s amazing for head shaving but failed for my face. I couldn’t get it to be smooth no matter what angle. I wonder if the weight/how much I pull really has that much of an effect. I was expecting more aggression over the American since the safety bar seemed a little more rounded to give more of a gap. The American etched cap post war is much nicer for my face. Small but intuitive sweet spot, not aggressive but once you find the right angle it’s smooth and one of the few you can really apply pressure with and remarkably forgiving.

The later post war debossed cap I only have the American version of. It’s the “mid aggressive tech,” has a large sweet spot but lacks a notch in the smoothness category for me.

 

[lasta]

I agree with @Alum Ladd , the post war English Tech is a sleeper. I'd say on par with my thin handle Flat Bottom. But IMO, there is less than a shim's difference amongst all Techs.

For the price of a modern day Tech replica though, you might as well get yourself the whole collection! Techs are cheap, and very satisfying RAD suppressors.

 

[Alum Ladd]

is this the style with the earlier etched cap or the later debossed style?

I tried the aluminum English post war etched cap. It’s amazing for head shaving but failed for my face. I couldn’t get it to be smooth no matter what angle. I wonder if the weight/how much I pull really has that much of an effect. I was expecting more aggression over the American since the safety bar seemed a little more rounded to give more of a gap. The American etched cap post war is much nicer for my face. Small but intuitive sweet spot, not aggressive but once you find the right angle it’s smooth and one of the few you can really apply pressure with and remarkably forgiving.

The later post war debossed cap I only have the American version of. It’s the “mid aggressive tech,” has a large sweet spot but lacks a notch in the smoothness category for me.

Unsure about your terminology but mine is the flat capped as opposed to the shouldered (as I call it) top cap.

Its the brass top capped flat headed, I believe the shouldered style is made of zamack.

If you mean the Gillette marking its debossed I believe.

Unable to synch my photos at the moment (a glitch) but it looks like this

An old post (very old!)
What razor/blade did you use today - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/what-razor-blade-did-you-use-today.583388/page-8274#post-11574176

I have since discovered that the flat top caps are brass and pre-1962. I put mine at around 58-61. I think I under-aged mine a bit.

Excellent shaver to my face, reminiscent of a Pre war and FBT. Highly efficient 2 pass machine.

 

[Joezamboni]

I need to find an english brass flat cap Post war. The aluminum just doesn’t work at all for me.

 

[Alum Ladd]

I need to find an english brass flat cap Post war. The aluminum just doesn’t work at all for me.

I will keep an eye out for you.

 

[Sam Hanwich]

The EFBT has about a .28-.30" blade gap, very close to the triangular Pre war which is in the same ball park, around .28"

I'm sure everyone knows what you mean but just to be pedantic I'm sure you meant to type .028-.030" --- it gets confusing because measurements are often given in mm where it is usually .##mm and when given in inches it is usually .0##"

 

[Alum Ladd]

I'm sure everyone knows what you mean but just to be pedantic I'm sure you meant to type .028-.030" --- it gets confusing because measurements are often given in mm where it is usually .##mm and when given in inches it is usually .0##"

Thank you @Sam Hanwich!

I was tired and emotional when I typed that.

If you ever come across the English satirical magazine 'Private Eye', that means drunk

 

[Swingboy8]

The EFBT has about a .28-.30" blade gap, very close to the triangular Pre war which is in the same ball park, around .28"

Tolerances seems to have varied a little, but they were in that area.

The EFBT blade clamping and baseplate design is unique, and may help the shave experience. I enjoy mine muchly.

The 50's and 60's Techs have a gap of around .22-.25" rather milder, with slightly less 'Wow' factor. Good enough for daily shaves though.

An excellent Tech for efficiency is the late 50's and early 60's English Techs, which seemed to return to the .28-.30" gap.

My lovely little English 30gm Alutech is around 1960, and is my travel razor. I find it shaves similar to the Pre war and FBT.

Thanks for the infos, dear Alum ! That would explain why i find my UK Tech #24 ball end that good...