I bought a long-handled Super Adjustable last week. This was the first vintage razor I really fell for back in 2008, and I used it almost exclusively for a long time.
I ordered a Red Tip over the weekend. This was the second vintage razor I fell hard for, and it was my daily driver after the LH Adjustable.
I sold both of these razors in late 2011 when I decided to use modern razors. Over the years, I've bought and sold a couple of Red Tips. I've gotten great shaves with them every time, but I was hung up on a mental thing about using modern stuff. Anyway, I started combing some SOTD threads from various forums and realized that from 2008-2011, I used these two razors more or less exclusively and got great shaves and loved the aesthetics of both.
So I was shaving with my newly-acquired GC-.84P early last week and thinking, the shaves are all good. Always. And I miss using vintage stuff. The weight and balance is better for me with vintage razors than with all stainless tools. Plus old stuff is cool. And I started looking around. So here we are.
I had an absolutely fantastic shave with a Personna Med Prep and my LH Adjustable set to 5 today (thanks @Luecke2326 !). It felt comfortable and familiar as soon as I took the razor to my face, and the results were as good as any shave I've ever had. I'm really excited for the Red Tip to arrive in the next couple of days, and I can't see a reason to keep my modern razors around. I found a Superspeed from my dad's birth quarter in a box of assorted gear last week, and I will use that for travel.
I may convince myself at some point to go on a razor hunt again, but as I've reflected on how the Red Tip and Super Adjustable keep calling me back over the years, it seems if I can keep from just reaching for shiny things, I'll be pretty happy with my little trio of 50+-year-old Gillettes.
I ordered a Red Tip over the weekend. This was the second vintage razor I fell hard for, and it was my daily driver after the LH Adjustable.
I sold both of these razors in late 2011 when I decided to use modern razors. Over the years, I've bought and sold a couple of Red Tips. I've gotten great shaves with them every time, but I was hung up on a mental thing about using modern stuff. Anyway, I started combing some SOTD threads from various forums and realized that from 2008-2011, I used these two razors more or less exclusively and got great shaves and loved the aesthetics of both.
So I was shaving with my newly-acquired GC-.84P early last week and thinking, the shaves are all good. Always. And I miss using vintage stuff. The weight and balance is better for me with vintage razors than with all stainless tools. Plus old stuff is cool. And I started looking around. So here we are.
I had an absolutely fantastic shave with a Personna Med Prep and my LH Adjustable set to 5 today (thanks @Luecke2326 !). It felt comfortable and familiar as soon as I took the razor to my face, and the results were as good as any shave I've ever had. I'm really excited for the Red Tip to arrive in the next couple of days, and I can't see a reason to keep my modern razors around. I found a Superspeed from my dad's birth quarter in a box of assorted gear last week, and I will use that for travel.
I may convince myself at some point to go on a razor hunt again, but as I've reflected on how the Red Tip and Super Adjustable keep calling me back over the years, it seems if I can keep from just reaching for shiny things, I'll be pretty happy with my little trio of 50+-year-old Gillettes.
