"Must Have" vintage safety razors

[Silver Badger]

I'll bet you folks have had this conversation many times in the past but please humor a noob if you feel like sharing. From reading so far on this forum I've gathered that some of the best vintage D/E razors are:

-Gillette Fatboy
-Gillette Superspeed red tip and/or '40's slim handle
-Gillette Slim Adjustable

If there are any other super awesome vintage razors some of you have found and fallen in love with please share your recommendations!

Oh and of course this is for informational purposes only, err, for a friend who wants to know, yeah that's the ticket, I will NOT buy another razor no sir...

 

[ggamyang]

Gillette NEW, E type Injector

 

[MadRoad]

I'm a sucker for slant heads. Own 2 at the moment: vintage Merkur & Hoffritz. Merkur makes modern day slant heads: 37C & 39C

 

[johnmrson]

Toggle
GEM 1912
Any rhodium Aristocrat.
Double Ring

 

[maxman]

British Aristocrat Jr.
Rocket HD500

 

[Myosin]

What I have

>Red Tip
>50's super speed
>Gillette Slim

 

[PhatMan]

Silver Badger,

For me :

GEM/Ever-Ready 1912
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
GEM Micromatic ClogPruf
'E' or 'G' Model Schick Injector
English Gillette New (Long-comb) two piece

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

 

[Sledgehammer39]

Schick Type E
Gillette Super Adjustable
Gem 1912
Gem MMOC, MMCP
Gem Featherweight

 

[grimas42]

Looking at my list, I notice that for the most part, I prefer less aggressive razors.
>Tech
>83' SS
>78' Super Adjustable

 

[Nicktheswede]

Must haves or ones that would be awesome to have?

Must haves
-SS of some kind
-Adjustable either Slim or Fatboy
-Aristocrat
-Tech

Cool to have
-Any British Aristocrat
-Double or Single Ring
-NEW
-Any Rocket
-Toggle

 

[moshulu]

When I survey the postings on this sub-forum, I get the impression that most newcomers are going in for new razors: Muhles, EJs, Feathers, etc. I think that's too bad, but there is nothing I can do about it, and there it is. But if someone wants a classy vintage razor to accompany their shiny modern toy, I would recommend something really special, i.e., not a Fatboy, Slim, Tech or SS (as fine as these are). Something with some class, history and pizzaz. Something to be proud of, but, for practical reasons, not too rare or too expensive. And, of course, an excellent shaver. IMHO, there are five razors that fit that bill: Single Ring, President, Diplomat, #66 Aristocrat, and Eclipse Red Ring. The first may be a bit too aggressive for some, the others are smooth as silk. If I had to recommend just one, it would be the President: this baby has beauty and brains.

 

[Angry__Panda]

When I survey the postings on this sub-forum, I get the impression that most newcomers are going in for new razors: Muhles, EJs, Feathers, etc. I think that's too bad, but there is nothing I can do about it, and there it is. But if someone wants a classy vintage razor to accompany their shiny modern toy, I would recommend something really special, i.e., not a Fatboy, Slim, Tech or SS (as fine as these are). Something with some class, history and pizzaz. Something to be proud of, but, for practical reasons, not too rare or too expensive. And, of course, an excellent shaver. IMHO, there are five razors that fit that bill: Single Ring, President, Diplomat, #66 Aristocrat, and Eclipse Red Ring. The first may be a bit too aggressive for some, the others are smooth as silk. If I had to recommend just one, it would be the President: this baby has beauty and brains.

I think a newer shaver just going for a new razor is a good thing simply because it is daunting to think about all of this; "Single Ring, President, Diplomat, #66 Aristocrat, and Eclipse Red Ring." I have been here for a couple of months, I am on the forum a lot just looking at older threads with pictures and everything. The one thing I haven't done is sit here and browse the wiki all day (though I have read a lot of the articles there). I still don't know what those razors are. I mean I have an idea but I couldn't look at some on a counter and say, "Yeah, that right there is the Aristocrat and that one over there is the Red Ring." I mean sure I could probably identify the Red Ring because I imagine it has a red ring on it lol. But I found that it was nice my first DE shave (before I joined here) not to be bombarded with too much information (I really wish I could go back to that for my first straight shave lol). It adds unnecessary thinking.

I mean don't get me wrong, I agree I really want to try ALL the razors listed here at some point (just need to find them lol), but I think it might be better done after someone is comfortable with shaving. Or if a newer member comes in and says hey I bought the Merkur Futur and I like the adjustable part but it is too aggressive. Oh well then try to find yourself a Slim Adjustable and see how that works.

Anyways that is just my personal feeling.

 

[DVM2012]

Tech, Tech, and more Tech. Seriously, my favorite. I've tried a FatBoy, Slim, and a Toggle. They just weren't my cup of tea.

 

[Sterling Cooper]

From a collecting standpoint, I'd answer with the usual suspects: double ring, toggle, President, some of the rarer Brit Gillettes and so on.

From a shaving standpoint, a simple (less than 10 clams) 1930s bar handled NEW. The best shaver I have out of over 30 DE and SE razors.

 

[bepperb]

I think you've got to get either an adjustable slim or fatboy. I'm not sure you'd need both. Need is a funny word, though.

I just got a fatboy yesterday, and the quality is fantastic.

I'm not sure where I'll go from here. I'm thinking about getting a new and having it plated. EDIT: gillete new, 30's~ish... not a new razor. Though that's not off the table either. Or a Hoffiritz slant and have that plated.

 

[Slivovitz]

Maybe "must have" should be based on what's interesting to you in particular rather than on what's popular. I acquired many of the usual suspects before deciding that what really interested me were some of the more obscure injector and SE razors. Just a matter of personal taste, which would be totally different from somebody else's picks.

Not much interested in some of the "holy grail" razors, Toggle, Darwin, Gillette Bottom Dial Adjustable. Maybe if I could get one really cheaply, but I'll be just as happy without one. A Double Ring would be nice, but again, I wouldn't pay anywhere near the going rate.

What I'd do is read up on a bunch of razors, look through pictures and posts on this forum, and see what has the it factor for you. If you think a Fatboy is the coolest thing ever, then buy one, but don't get it just because everyone else wants one.

Mind you, now that I have a Fatboy, I may as well keep it.

 

[ateace]

My taste, whether it's with pens, watches or razors leans towards whatever was the most common items that most used.

So, for me, it would be Fat Boy, Slim, Super Speed, Tech, Old Type and NEW. Oh and you should have an Injector and a GEM.

The "Holy Grail" razors, as referenced by Slivovitz above, never appealed to me.

 

[Ozgun]

Gem g-bar

 

[12halfshell]

If you like art deco, Darwin's are too beautiful.

 

[ShavinBacon]

I never thought I would spend the bucks for a holy grail razor but something in me just had to have a Darwin Deluxe razor. Honestly, it was the best DE razor I have ever purchased. It is an amazing shaver and I don't think I have ever heard a bad thing about it except the price it commands nowadays due to it's scarcity but everyone is different. It fascinates me to read everyone's thoughts on here about how they love such and such razor that I personally did not like. In the end, it is all YMMV. Go with your gut. Do the research but if a certain razor appeals to you for no apparent reason, try it. You may be glad you did. I know I am.