Gillette gold tone open comb.

I had to write a review on this razor as I was so impressed by it. I have been DE wet shaving for years now with my 66 year old skin and have a beard that is not very tough or bristly being on the softer blondish brown hair side. I can get away with shaving every other day if I am not going someplace decent. That being said, when I do shave, I like to do the three passes to get the BBS. Now I have about 17 razors and my main everyday razor is the Gillette Black Beauty Slim. This razor has the proper blade gap setting of .017 on the number one setting and I use it on the number two and get a wonderful close shave in the three passes. And I can whip it around my face with no problem. I use the Tobac to give me lots of glide. I mention this to give you an idea of which razor works best for me. As I do not have thick beard, I never thought to try an open comb design as I understood it to be really aggressive and much to hostile. I also don’t even like to think about razor burn.
So I was looking at this Gillette new open comb on Ebay and read the reviews of how unaggressive it was and figured I would try it for fun. I was taken by surprise. It was not that aggressive. I would put it in the same area as around a 5 setting on my slim. It maybe that it is kind because I held the correct angle or was using very little pressure. But, I put on the Tobac and went with the grain, across the grain and then against the grain and had no razor burn, no cuts, and a very smooth shave. I don’t think it will replace my slim for the everyday shave, but if I want a little closer shave then I would not hesitate to go to this razor. One other thing I loved about this razor is that there are 4 tangs that hold the blade very firmly in correct placement. Something the Progress Adjustable could use. Hope this helps someone find a little gem in the world of DE wet shaves.

I wanted to really love this razor, it looks great - so I gave it more effort than I may have another razor. I really prefer on my Merkur HD, and the Gillette Adjustable for several reasons.

This razor is very particular about the angle of attack that you use it at. Poor alignment will make for a very harsh shave - it is not forgiving.

Once you get better at the alignment - I am someone with a pretty thick beard and thick hair the shave is adversely effected by the fact that this razor clogs easily, which will cause a rough shave - unless you loosen up the blade when you rinse in between passes, or you bang it on the sink - it just gets full up with hair.

Clogging of the razor is one of the reasons I got away from the Mach 3, and the first few DE razors I dealt with didn't have this problem - which was one of the big plusses of DE razors for me. The Merkur has a very large space behind the razor that allows for much better clearance.

I saw mine on e-bay. It was pretty dirty but was inexpensive ($4.25 plus shipping--still well under $10.00) so I thought, "What the heck? Go for it." Am I glad I did. I cleaned and sterilized it and used it for the first time this morning with a Red Personna blade and Roger & Gallet l'Homme shave soap. The result was a close and comfortable BBS shave. My go to razor has been a Gillette Milord. The shaves I get from it are great. However, my Gillette New is definitely going to give it some competition. Though the reissue and patent numbers on mine are the same as those given in the first post, mine is slightly different in that the top plate and handle seem to be brass covered in copper while the comb piece is brass. If anyone has information about this difference, I'd appreciate knowing what it is. I do agree with others that changing the blade is a bit more of a pain than the TTO operation of my Milord. That, however, is a minor quibble. If you can get one at a decent price then I highly recommend that you give this razor a try.

pal;1051871 said:

My barber gave me my NEW Open Comb and since the first day I use it, it has become my favorite. So simple and easy. It gives better shaves than anything I have ever used. The comb lifts your beard before it is cut. Neck hairs are cut with ease. Almost, every time I use my NEW I get a BBS. If you can get you hands on one, do so at all cost. And that is the beauty of this little razor. They are cheap. Most people are fighting over Fat Boys and Aristocrats and spending big bucks, While the best razor ever can be had for less than $10.00.

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I have got silver version of this razor and this is a great shaver.

My barber gave me my NEW Open Comb and since the first day I use it, it has become my favorite. So simple and easy. It gives better shaves than anything I have ever used. The comb lifts your beard before it is cut. Neck hairs are cut with ease. Almost, every time I use my NEW I get a BBS. If you can get you hands on one, do so at all cost. And that is the beauty of this little razor. They are cheap. Most people are fighting over Fat Boys and Aristocrats and spending big bucks, While the best razor ever can be had for less than $10.00.

I picked up mine at an antique store. The thing really looked bad, but I decided the price was right $10CAD. I brought the sad looking thing home and cleaned it up real well.

I was amazed at how well it cleaned up. It really is an attractive razor. The shave with this thing is amazing. I usually do 3 passes with my red tip. Two passes with this razor gave me the same shave.

The only issue that I have with this razor is loading up the blade and making sure that the blade aligns up with the two heads.

As far as I understand, this is the Gillette NEW. There is really something special about how this razor shaves. It has the amazing properties of giving extremely close, and yet smooth, shaves. If I haven't shaved for two-three days, there is no other razor that can give me a closer shave with such a small number of passes, and without any risk of razor burn (YMMV, this depends on your technique).
The open comb design does wonders for efficient beard reduction without having to use pressure or going over the same area too many times. It is one of my absolute favourite razors, even though I would like it to be heavier and the pattern on the handle is not deep enough to get a perfect grip.

This is one of my favorite Gillettes. Smooth non-aggressive shave. Great balance and weight. I don't like the 3 piece unscrew routine for blade replacement. I would like a slightly more aggressive shave. It's hard to find one in nice condition but they are usually inexpensive when you do find a good one.

I was in a flea market and saw the saddest, most neglected little razor in one of the cases. It was filthy and forlorn and $1. I had to take it home just out of pity and let it be with some other Gillettes. Well, I cleaned it up and it looked a lot better. Then I decided "Why not?" and threw a Derby in it. This little puppy gives great shaves! Hard to believe, but what a well balanced little pup. It is never gonna be good looking ever again, but it sure does the job today!

I recently purchased this beautiful gold tone razor for $2.00
This Gillette open comb razor is marked Reissue Pat. 17567 Pat. No. 1815745 Pat No.1858316 It has a diamond around the word Gillette.
The razor's finish is in great shape. This is a three piece razor with open comb and weighs approx 2 oz. The open comb design made me a little nervous. However the beauty of this razor convinced me to clean it well and shave with it. I found it easier to place the razor parts on a washcloth for assembly. VS total assembly with hands.
The handle and other parts locked the razor blade in place with no wiggle or play. After careful study of the fully assembled razor the fear of shaving with this DE razor dissapeared.
This razors open comb is rounded a little and protects like a safety bar and was smooth enough to be comfortable while shaving.
I personally believe the open comb design allows more hairs to be in contact with the razor blades cutting edge and there is a different sensation is felt during the cutting strokes when compared to a straight safety bar.
The blade to bar and angle is a somewhat similiar my other Gillette adjustable with setting barely over 1 and not quite 1 1/2
The same brand new personna razor blade used with great success performed a little different in this razor.
A higher quality blade may work better in it. More shaves should perfect my shaving technique with this razor.
The open comb is very nice and does protect my face very well and allowed the longer neck whiskers that normally lay flat during shaving to be cut off.
The three piece design is easier to clean and dry than flip top design and feels better on the face.
This resulted in fewer passes on the neck and less irritation.