Item Description
I scored a pair of these (NOS) for 7,50 (euro) including shipment. I was expecting to get what I paid for especially after my experiences with a pair of more expensive Golf razors (also from the GDR) which couldn't even load a blade before I 'improved' them. I only bid on them because I have a weak spot for the minimalistic design, cheap materials and sometimes dubious craftmanship of warsaw-pact products. Former GDR products are usually very minimalistic and I wasn't expecting anything from this Tech-like full-aluminium razor.
The top plate is polished, at the outside. The inside looks like it came untreated at all directly from the mold. The safety bar part is made from sheat material and probably anodized. The handle is slightly knurl-like machined and it is done nicely. All in all nothing special but much better made than I expected; blade allignment and blade gaps are all ok and, apart from a little oxidation on the polished top plate, it doesn't look bad.
The shave went not bad either though I feared after the first WTG-pass that the LM68 would be too mild. Xtg was better but the real surprise was the ATG pass; absolutely great! Usually with (too) mild razors the ATG doesn't work for me simply because I cannot make the right angle; the razor does not allow the shallow angle I want for a comfy ATG. Gillette Techs and the Wilkinson Classic suffer from this, to name a few.
Not so here; this razor is made with my ATG in mind and I am surprised to find a mild razor like this (it is about as foolproof as a Tech) capable of these kind of cutting angles. Hence my 8 on aggressiveness. A very good shave in 3 passes.
Grip is simply good but not because of the 'knurling' but because aluminium has a better grip than most plated materials, especially when wet(-tish).
Balance on a razor without weight is never a 10 I guess but mounting a blade helps....
All in all a razor that really works well with a bit of nostalgia from a company that still excists but is private now, instead of a VEB (people's company). They recently stopped making DE's (plastic ones) but still produce DE blades (Croma). Not made like the Mühles and EJ's but no trash either and a nice addition to my collection and if you can get one for reasonable money, just take it!
Too bad it is impossable to get a picture uploaded.
EDIT: Thanks to the mods for fixing that!!
The top plate is polished, at the outside. The inside looks like it came untreated at all directly from the mold. The safety bar part is made from sheat material and probably anodized. The handle is slightly knurl-like machined and it is done nicely. All in all nothing special but much better made than I expected; blade allignment and blade gaps are all ok and, apart from a little oxidation on the polished top plate, it doesn't look bad.
The shave went not bad either though I feared after the first WTG-pass that the LM68 would be too mild. Xtg was better but the real surprise was the ATG pass; absolutely great! Usually with (too) mild razors the ATG doesn't work for me simply because I cannot make the right angle; the razor does not allow the shallow angle I want for a comfy ATG. Gillette Techs and the Wilkinson Classic suffer from this, to name a few.
Not so here; this razor is made with my ATG in mind and I am surprised to find a mild razor like this (it is about as foolproof as a Tech) capable of these kind of cutting angles. Hence my 8 on aggressiveness. A very good shave in 3 passes.
Grip is simply good but not because of the 'knurling' but because aluminium has a better grip than most plated materials, especially when wet(-tish).
Balance on a razor without weight is never a 10 I guess but mounting a blade helps....
All in all a razor that really works well with a bit of nostalgia from a company that still excists but is private now, instead of a VEB (people's company). They recently stopped making DE's (plastic ones) but still produce DE blades (Croma). Not made like the Mühles and EJ's but no trash either and a nice addition to my collection and if you can get one for reasonable money, just take it!
Too bad it is impossable to get a picture uploaded.
EDIT: Thanks to the mods for fixing that!!
