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Modern razor advantages

Hey guys,

When I first started DE shaving I was told the best way to go was with old Gillettes. Now several razors later (superspeed, fat boy, slim adjustable) I've found the aristocrat and I love it. It gets me a consistant shave albeit a bit of a mild one.

After some plate loss and SAD, I've thought about getting a new razor, something that I've never had. Are there any advantages to newer razors like the Merkurs as opposed to older Gillettes? If you were to recommend a new razor close to the aristocrat (maybe a bit more agressive) what would that be?

Thanks!
 
If you are talking about the open comb Aristocrat, the the Merkurs that I have tried are nothing like that.

If you are talking about the later Aristocrat, with the guard bar, I would say they are common enough on Ebay that you could buy one in good condition for the price of a new Merkur
 
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I have not tried an Open Comb Aristocrat, but did try the closed comb version.

The Edwin Jagger DE 89L is a beautiful razor, and it is meticulously crafted, though I am not sure how it rates compared to the Aristocrats.

I love my Slant Bar razor(s), but that may not be what you're looking for.
 
All new DE razors except the Futur, Vision and the Pils are using old designs that predate the Gillette TTOs.
There's also Chinese and Indian clone of Gillette TTOs but their quality does compare with the vintage Gillettes.
 

BigFoot

I wanna be sedated!
Staff member
All new DE razors except the Futur, Vision and the Pils are using old designs that predate the Gillette TTOs.
There's also Chinese and Indian clone of Gillette TTOs but their quality does compare with the vintage Gillettes.

I will throw a ball Bobs way. If you like an open comb and want a new razor that is definitely aggressive, I would highly recommend looking at the Bull Mastiff with the flared tip option Bob offers. It is well worth the price just in its beauty, and it shaves even better.
 
I will throw a ball Bobs way. If you like an open comb and want a new razor that is definitely aggressive, I would highly recommend looking at the Bull Mastiff with the flared tip option Bob offers. It is well worth the price just in its beauty, and it shaves even better.

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Can't go wrong with a BRW Bull Mastiff & NEW setup.

JB
 
The issue of agressiveness in a razor always confuses me. No matter which razor I use, whether it be a Slant, Futur, SS, FB, Injector or Gem, or any other,I still need 2 passes with a touch up. But as someone already mentioned, the EJ DE89l is one very good razor.
 

BigFoot

I wanna be sedated!
Staff member
The issue of agressiveness in a razor always confuses me. No matter which razor I use, whether it be a Slant, Futur, SS, FB, Injector or Gem, or any other,I still need 2 passes with a touch up. But as someone already mentioned, the EJ DE89l is one very good razor.

The main objective of a DE or SE or straight is gradual beard reduction. Hence the multiple passes.
 
There are good new razors and crappy new razors. There are no crappy vintage razors, only because all the crappy ones broke and/or were tossed out years ago.
 
I'm not sure how old the Progress design is, but it claims to go back five generations, probably at least 100 years.
 
The Progress design must date at least to the 50s, so it's hardly a new design.
Most of these companies producing 3 piece razors are using the 3 post design that Gillette abandon in the 30s for the more accurate center bar/corner nib design used with the NEWs and the Techs.
You almost never hear of alignment problems with the NEWs of the Techs.
 
Perhaps the only advantage of some of the newer designs (such as the Feather All Stainless, PILS, and the Muhle/ Edwin Jagger head) is that the blade tabs are either fully covered up, or mostly covered up.

If you have ever cut your ear open with these blade tabs, you will know it bleeds like crazy, and will thus be thankful for having the blade tabs covered up.

The PILS, and Feather All Stainless fully cover the blade tabs, while the Muhle/ Edwin Jagger covers about 90% of them.
 
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