Gillette Bulldog

I imagine there are few reviews because there are few razors? My Bulldog is 94 years old and luckily has zero cracks and over 99% of it's silver plating. The silver really makes it different than other platings and makes it classy.

A good example is not cheap so not a razor to experiment with unless you get a deal on a user.

Quality is typical vintage Gillette. I believe these were triple plated in silver. Like mentioned, if you get one without cracks, you are lucky.

I docked it a few points for friendliness only because it is an aggressive razor and takes time to adjust to, but if you are willing to be patient then it will yield a great shave.

Grip is great and the twisted knurling is cool.

I love the old mechanism as you don't have to hold the head to change the blade. Too bad the tubes cracked after time.

Nice balance. Overall a sweet old, collectable Gillette that I am glad I picked up!

I was lucky enough to get my bulldog in a lot with a bunch of other razors. Not realising what it was at the time, it was put to one side and forgotten about. When I realised the burned black finish was actually tarnished silver I polished it up and gave it a go.

Yes, the old school quality is there. It looks nice, sits in the hand well and does the business on the whiskers.

Quite an aggressive razor and probably not for the beginner, I would say the shave is the same as my other old types, single rings and double ring.

By all means, grab yourself one of these if you are after a collectable. They are rare and are an investment razor, especially if you can find one without the usual cracks in the handle.

If you want a razor to shave with, you can probably save yourself some money and get a single ring. My face could not tell the difference and, to be honest, they were both too aggressive for me.

What - no reviews of the Bulldog yet? Note: I didn't take a picture of the razor I used. Here is a link to a good example. Credits to brumble for this B&B post and picture:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1004283&postcount=11

I had the pleasure of using a Gillette Bulldog that was sent to me by a B&B member to borrow. I have used a lot of different razors (Merkur 38C, Vision, New Standard, Tuckaway, SS Red tip, 40's SS, 50's SS flaretip, Tech, NEW, British NEW, Rocket HD, FatBoy, Slim, Schick Injectors) but this was the first Old Style head that I had ever used.

This razor is a magnificent beauty, demonstrating craftsmanship from a bygone era that simply can't be purchased in a new product today. If you like vintage razors this is is a must have to collect or to try shaving with. These don't come up very often on B&B BST or Ebay so expect to wait and pay good money if you see one listed. Or you could get lucky and score one on the cheap at an antique store or estate sale. Happy hunting!

I found that this razor was more difficult for me to get used to than any other razor I have used to date. Some razors I have tried for the first time I find just work for me with little or no learning curve. Others have taken me a few shaves to get used to. After a week and a half I still feel I am getting used to this razor and haven't mastered it yet. I suspect that the head geometry of the Old Style Gillettes is different enough and the angle is very different from what I am used to.

Because I had trouble getting the angle right I used very delicate strokes. One of the nice things about this razor is you get a very loud, distinct sound when you are shaving the whiskers off. It's louder than most other razors I've used with the exception of the Merkur Vision which flat out sings when removing stubble. I like that kind of auditory feedback in a razor so I consider this a plus.

Back to the shave: When you get the angle right the shave is great. Even though I had trouble with the angle I was doing my usual three pass shave plus touch up and getting great BBS shaves. I still get a few nicks when I use this and with my regular-rotation razors that doesn't happen.





Some of my rating justifications:

• Price: I went with a low number here. These are scarce and expensive.
• Quality: This represents some of the finest razor craftsmanship you can buy.
• User Friendly: I had problems with the angle so I went a bit lower here.
• Grip: This classic barber pole knurling provides excellent grip. The handle diameter is also larger than most razors (i.e. like SuperSpeed) which also facilitates grip.
• Ease of blade replacement: As with all three piece razors, blade replacement is pretty easy. Only thing easier is TTO.
• Aggressiveness: I would rate this more aggressive than the Gillette NEW. Probably closer to the New Improved.
• Adjust-ability: Not adjustable so I just went with an average number
• Balance: I like the balance of this razor. Nice and heavy at the head. Still a beefy body but again more weight at the head.

Overall I would recommend checking out this razor if you like vintage Gillettes. I would start with the more ubiquitous models first like the FatBoy, Slim, SuperSpeed, Tech and then check out open comb Gillettes like the NEW before you dig around for a Bulldog. But if you get RAD this one will be on your list and it won't disappoint.
Discussion thread for this review.