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1940s Super Speed

I just wanted to say I just had a very wonderful shave with my 1940s Super Speed.

I was doing a conparison between it and the 1941 Ranger Tech TTO that looks almost the same. The Ranger has much more blade feel. The Super Speed was so smooth and gave an efortless shave. Mine is in not to good shape but user grade. Id love to find one in much better condition some day.

What is your opinion of this great razor?
 
They are not uncommon to find and you can always restore yours for around $65 at Back Roads Gold. I have a 40's style Super Speed but it's, I believe, the last of that style made in the first quarter of 1954. Great razors and mine's sitting in the stand for tomorrow with a Derby blade.
 
They are not uncommon to find and you can always restore yours for around $65 at Back Roads Gold. I have a 40's style Super Speed but it's, I believe, the last of that style made in the first quarter of 1954. Great razors and mine's sitting in the stand for tomorrow with a Derby blade.
My Z1 is set for tomorrow with a Derby blade, as well. Best razor ever.
 
Mine is the First Gen Model. 1946 to the first few months of 1947 is what I read. And works so we "For Me" with the Perma Sharp Blade.
I've tested all my Techs over and over the last two months and found just the one type that works for me. Now I'm working my way through the TTO's. I will compare the best of the TTO and Techs against each other in a couple more months. When you have as many as I do, testing takes a long time. But of so much fun.

@AvocadoKing I get the feeling you don't enjoy this razor. I feel that people who enjoy the blade feel or an aggressive razor would not like the 1940s Super Speed. Am I on the right track here?
 
Which Tech works for you, @HazMat Shaver?
I seem to get along with the oval holes, and fat handles. Post War Tech. Although I do have a Flat Bottom England-made tech. It's right up there too depending on if I waited an extra day to shave. I must do 3 to 4 passes to get a clean shave with the gray whiskers so I find I have no need to use something that will try to scrape it all off in one pass. It won't happen so I go with comfort.

I must add that I recently did a comparison of the FB, Oval, and Triangle and thought I had it figured out. But that was last month. lol. Now after another month of testing I've come to this conclusion. I don't own a Canadian Tech.

Now, I have new razors with large blade gaps and more than standard numbers for blade exposure. SE and injector razors and I can shave with any of these new and old including straight razors and Kamisori's. So I'm no wimp when it comes to the edge. But we are talking vintage Gillette's here. That's what I used when I started shaving back in 70's. Then Uncle Sam had my attention for a few years and the Carts came into play. But that's another story. :)
 
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Here are some nice pictures to get us all warm and fuzzy about a wonderful line.
The 1941 Ranger Tech
proxy.php

The 1946 Ranger Tech, the new endcaps fitted
proxy.php

The first named Super Speed type, 1947
proxy.php

The lovely 1948 Super Speed (the packaging on these is so evocative)
proxy.php

A 1949 Super Speed, with a new case
proxy.php

The 1950 Super Speed with a great clue for dating models
proxy.php

And a 1954 Flare Tip, the first. This might be your example, @CCS
proxy.php

Or it may have been this 1954 TV special the last possibly before the Flare models
proxy.php

Like a vintage beauty parade!

I certainly love the Tech range, especially the Flat Bottom, which has amazed me with it's performance, but even now I get a great kick from using the TTO loading of the Super Speeds, so cool. It must have been a complete Wow back in 1948, when the Speed Pak and the Super with the notch for hands-free loading came out together.

Super Speeds make me smile.
 
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Here are some nice pictures to get us all warm and fuzzy about a wonderful line.
The 1941 Ranger Tech
proxy.php

The 1946 Ranger Tech, the new endcaps fitted
proxy.php

The first named Super Speed type, 1947
proxy.php

The lovely 1948 Super Speed (the packaging on these is so evocative)
proxy.php

A 1949 Super Speed, with a new case
proxy.php

The 1950 Super Speed with a great clue for dating models
proxy.php

And a 1954 Flare Tip, the first. This might be your example, @CCS
proxy.php

Or it may have been this 1954 TV special the last possibly before the Flare models
proxy.php

Like a vintage beauty parade!

I certainly love the Tech range, especially the Flat Bottom, which has amazed me with it's performance, but even now I get a great kick from using the TTO loading of the Super Speeds, so cool. It must have been a complete Wow back in 1948, when the Speed Pak and the Super with the notch for hands-free loading came out together.

Super Speeds make me smile.
Isn't that site wonderful?
 

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Mine is the First Gen Model. 1946 to the first few months of 1947 is what I read.
So does yours have the flat on the bottom of the neck, no notched center bar, and maybe the stamping seems a little heavier?
Also, there's no crease running along the safety bar, those shave nicely!
 
My personal opinion - I happen to prefer the '41 Ranger Tech over the Super Speeds. I have yet to find an early Super Speed with the no notched center bar, so I suspect that would probably shave more like the '41 Ranger Tech, which also shaves like my '46-'47 Aristocrat, also with the no-notched center bar.

All that being said, I do like the Super Speeds, whether it's a '40s style, or one of the many flare tips. They are exceptional razors that set the standard for all future TTO razors.
 
So does yours have the flat on the bottom of the neck, no notched center bar, and maybe the stamping seems a little heavier?
Also, there's no crease running along the safety bar, those shave nicely!
The flat on the neck, no. I guess I was mistaken. I didn't notice that little tidbit. I will post a picture as it's not looking like any of the others pictured above either.
And yes, I do love that site. What a wonderful way to see details.
 
IMG_20220909_213151574.jpg


Tell me what you think. The flat on the neck is the only thing I see differently. Wait, and there is a crease on the safety bar. Wish I had noticed that before. Oh well, that's one of the great things about this site. We have so many pros when it comes to identifying razors.
Thanks for pointing that out @nemo

IMG_20220909_214131871.jpg
 
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I just wanted to say I just had a very wonderful shave with my 1940s Super Speed.

I was doing a conparison between it and the 1941 Ranger Tech TTO that looks almost the same. The Ranger has much more blade feel. The Super Speed was so smooth and gave an efortless shave. Mine is in not to good shape but user grade. Id love to find one in much better condition some day.

What is your opinion of this great razor?
I think that's a fantastic Super Speed! That one, the early 50's black tip & red tips are my favorites (equally).
Yours looks really good. Seems perfect for daily use. I found mine recently in mint condition for like $20. They're out there if you search. And the black tip is just as good and can be had for less (I can't tell the difference between the two). I got a mint one for $15 a couple weeks ago:

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My personal opinion - I happen to prefer the '41 Ranger Tech over the Super Speeds. I have yet to find an early Super Speed with the no notched center bar, so I suspect that would probably shave more like the '41 Ranger Tech, which also shaves like my '46-'47 Aristocrat, also with the no-notched center bar.

All that being said, I do like the Super Speeds, whether it's a '40s style, or one of the many flare tips. They are exceptional razors that set the standard for all future TTO razors.
That is interesting. I would like to one day try one of these very interesting Gillette developments. It seems to me that Gillette in 1941, if war had not broken out, would have wedded them to the Tech family. Instead they are the precursor of the Super Speed. I have heard 46' Rangers had old stock 41' heads unused fitted post war, but that's just something I read somewhere.

So how does it shave compared to a Super Speed? Is it more efficient? Any differences in blade gap or exposure you can see?

I heard the 41 Ranger had a centre bar that was not as perfected as the 47 Super Speed, something about rigidity? No end caps also, would this affect the clamping of the blade in the head?

Would that influence the shave for better or worse?
 
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I think that's a fantastic Super Speed! That one, the early 50's black tip & red tips are my favorites (equally).
Yours looks really good. Seems perfect for daily use. I found mine recently in mint condition for like $20. They're out there if you search. And the black tip is just as good and can be had for less (I can't tell the difference between the two). I got a mint one for $15 a couple weeks ago:

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I have the black tip and red tip too. The black is in mint condition. I too found it for next to nothing. My red tip is pretty rough but it shaves fine. Well, Its been over a year so I think it does. LOL.

I found the 41 Ranger Tech to have much more blade feel. I have not tried to measure it. Just going by how it feels.
 
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