Thanks to @Anick (thanks again!), I've become the proud caretaker of a Gillette NDC super speed. I believe the lack of date code indicates it was made between 1948 and 1950.
My daily driver for the past few years has been a Gillette pre-war fat handle tech, so that razor is my basis for comparison.
First thing I did was give it a good cleaning. Once that was done, I noticed that it exhibited a bit of the "knob drop" phenomenon. Thanks to many helpful posts on here, I was able to repair it using the pipe cutter with a washer method.
Right off the bat, I noticed that the super speed is very mild, but still seems to be efficient. The larger sized head gives it a nice heft, such that I feel like I'm applying less pressure (not that I really apply much to begin with). It seems a bit more forgiving of technique than the tech as well. If I get sloppy with my angles, I notice no irritation, but it does result in a less smooth shave. If I pay attention, I've been able to get a BBS shave without issue.
A few "cons," though more like preferences:
1) The large head is a little large to see around. I keep a full beard and only shave my neck. Finding the neck line is more of a challenge with the super speed.
2) The handle seems abnormally thin. I think I do like the fat handle of the Tech better in that regard.
All in all, it seems like a great razor, and it has earned a spot in my now two-razor rotation!
My daily driver for the past few years has been a Gillette pre-war fat handle tech, so that razor is my basis for comparison.
First thing I did was give it a good cleaning. Once that was done, I noticed that it exhibited a bit of the "knob drop" phenomenon. Thanks to many helpful posts on here, I was able to repair it using the pipe cutter with a washer method.
Right off the bat, I noticed that the super speed is very mild, but still seems to be efficient. The larger sized head gives it a nice heft, such that I feel like I'm applying less pressure (not that I really apply much to begin with). It seems a bit more forgiving of technique than the tech as well. If I get sloppy with my angles, I notice no irritation, but it does result in a less smooth shave. If I pay attention, I've been able to get a BBS shave without issue.
A few "cons," though more like preferences:
1) The large head is a little large to see around. I keep a full beard and only shave my neck. Finding the neck line is more of a challenge with the super speed.
2) The handle seems abnormally thin. I think I do like the fat handle of the Tech better in that regard.
All in all, it seems like a great razor, and it has earned a spot in my now two-razor rotation!
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