3 razor head shave: GS1 Custom Handle

[Krona Kruiser]

The market for custom handles has expanded that accommodate most budgets. I've really enjoyed my Weber Bulldog handle and have had an appetite for others.
I recently acquired a GS1 custom handle and when I first held it, was really impressed with the look, weight, and feel of the handle. It's constructed from marine grade 316 stainless and weighs about 80 grams, the thing is hefty. The knurling is pronounced and won't slip from the soapiest of hands. The thing looks like some sort of an assault weapon round. It's well constructed and made in the USA.
First impressions are important but the proof is in the shave.
I've been busy with home projects and hadn't shaved for a few days. Even my wife, who takes my BBS shaves for granted said I looked like a bum. I figured a good way to try the handle out was going big and giving some of my favorite 2 piece heads a shot.

I chose my favorite head/blade combos for this experiment.
-FaTip head with a Gillette Rubie
-Merkur 1904 CC head with a KAI
-triangular Tech head with a Feather

My brush was an M&F along with some Arlington soap. My shave consisted of 4 passes (WTG, XTG, ATG, polish pass)
This is how it went:
Pass 1: You can feel the heft right away. This plowed most of my 3 day growth. Finding the angle was no problem. Since it's pretty hefty, extra attention must be made to not push too hard. However, due to the thick knurling, I can gingerly hold it to guide it along my face.
Pass 2: I felt the feedback of this pass especially using the KAI on the Merkur head. Again, holding it gently did wonders.
Pass 3-4: This is where the handle shined. It's balance is ideal for ATG passes. The handle has a "wide waist." By that I mean that the handle has a wide area where you can hold it and it's not top or bottom heavy.
I also did a little buffing and got myself a BBS shave!!!!!

Overall impression:
This handle stands out and would be a great addition or first custom handle under $40. It fit all 3 of the heads mentioned and I assume will fit an R41 as well. I felt that it looked best with the FaTip head (that thing looks best in whatever handle you throw at it).
The color on this handle is a bit more matte than the Weber bulldog. To me it's a nice contrast but may be a detriment to some. Also, there was a bit of dark residue on my hands when I was playing with it. It's most likely due to rouge used during the last part of turning the handle. No problem though. It came off quickly with a quick spray and brush with Scrubbing Bubbles.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

Here's a pic of it alongside the Weber Bulldog for comparison.

 

[z3driver]

Here's a pic of it alongside the Weber Bulldog for comparison.

Nice looking handle. Thanks for posting the comparison pic. I wonder if the GS1 could be available in a shorter 3" version like the bulldog? I would go for that.

 

[celestino]

They are quite nice and hefty! Good to hold in the hand.

 

[ArNav]

Mine is in the mail.
I like that it's bigger than Weber though...

 

[Krona Kruiser]

They are quite nice and hefty! Good to hold in the hand.

Yup. It adds a new dimension to old favorites. Since I'm on vacation and have time to kill, I'm gonna play around with more head combos. I'm thinking SC NEW, LC NEW, and oblong tech head for my next shave.

Mine is in the mail.
I like that it's bigger than Weber though...

It's nice to have both. But that's my RAD talkin'.......

 

[ArNav]

It's nice to have both indeed. Those are the two reasonably priced stainless steel handles on the market. I already have Weber, now it's the turn of GS1.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I gave it a shot with a SC NEW, LC NEW, and oblong hole tech and had really good results with it. Your hands get used (and enjoy) the handle's heft.

 

[StuMcB]

Looking good there Krona.

 

[alex2363]

Thanks Krona, i will update the FaTip handles thread with this handle.

 

[MaxP]

Great post. And great pix. Thanks for sharing.

 

[alex2363]

noTE: These listings will change daily please see end of thread for updated list. So far this is the latest findings as of **November/21/2012...

1) Fatip Grande Nickel :
Do fits : 1) Tradere,2) Edwin Jagger DE8, 3) Gillette Fat Tech handle, 4) Gillette New Comb, 5) Weber Bulldog, 6) Weber classic, 7) UFO-Godzilla 8) Parker 91r
9) Parker 48r, 11) Ikon Bulldog ( some members say it fits), 12) Gillette Old OC 1909 ABC Handle, 13) UFO Goliath Handle, 14) 7o'clock OC Handle(Made In England), 15) UFO/Kaiser, 16) Sabi Fat Handle, 17) GS1 Handle
Do not fit :Ikon Bulldog, Muelle R41
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2) Fatip Piccolo :
Do fit: 1) Weber Bulldog handle, 2) Tradere, 3) Ikon OSS , 4) UFO Kaiser, 5) Feather AS D1, 6) Gilette New Fat Handle, 7) Gillette Fat TEch Handle, 8) Parker 98R, ---
9) IKON Bulldog *( some say it dont fit), 10) UFO-Godzilla, 11) Edwin Jagger DE89, 12) Gillette 7'oclock (GB), 13) Gillette New OC LC ball end gold plated (GB), 14) Gillette New OC LC ball end Sheffield/Laurel (GB), 15) Gillette Old OC ball end silver plated (US), 16) Gillette Old OC short travel handle (US), 17) Gillette Tech fat handle (GB), 18) Gillette Tech slim handle (fat alike) (GB), 19) Gillette Tech straight aluminium, 20) IKon Bulldog handle -( fits, but loose until the final turn), 21) Lord L6 , 22) Mercur 985CL (2 piece travel), 23) Mühle R41 2011, 24) Tradere, 25) Sabi Fat handle, 26) GS1 handle

Do not fit: 1) Mariner long handle, 2) R41 Grande handle, 3)Ikon Bulldog, 4) EJ DE89, 5) Gillette New OC LC ball end silver plated (GB), 6) Gillette Tech ball end aluminium, 7) Gillette Tech ball end brass/nickel, 8) Gillette Tech black bakelite ,

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
3) Fatip Grande Chrome :

Do fit: 1)Bob Razor Works Deluxe XL, 2) Weber Bulldog, 3) *Ikon Bulldog(some say it wont fit)*, 4) Tradere (many members say it fits), 6) UFO-Godzilla, 7) 7 oclock,
8) Gillette New OC, 9) LC ball end gold plated (GB), 10) Gillette Old OC ball end silver plated (US), 11) Gillette Old OC short travel handle (US), 12) Gillette Tech slim handle (fat alike) (GB),
13) Gillette Tech straight aluminium, 14) Lord L6 , 15) Mercur 985CL (2 piece travel handle), 16) Parker 98R, 17) BRW Bull Mastiff Deluxe - (Fits. Starts loose, but tightens up ), 18) 98R Heavy Duty Premium Barberpole, 19) Sabi Fat Handle, 20) GS1 handle

Do not fit : Tradere Handle(on some, many do fit)
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4) Fatip Grande Gold :

Do fit : 1) Feather AS, 2) BRW Bull Mastiff Deluxe / Fits. Starts loose, but tightens up sufficiently, 3)UFO-Godzilla, 4) Sabi fat handle, 5) Gs1

************************************************** ************************************************** **********************************************

***Handle and FATIP Razor specs Section***:


Razor Specs:

1) Fatip Grande Nickel: Handle length 77 mm/ total length 85 mm/ WT 65 g/ ( Thread 4.35)
2) Fatip Piccolo : Handle length 70 mm/ WT 72 g/ Heavier than others
3) Fatip Grande Chrome : Handle length 77 mm/ total length 85 mm/ WT 65 g/ ( Thread measure 4.38mm)-Screw: 4.36 MM width : 14.05mm length
4) Fatip Grande Gold : Handle length 77 mm/ total length 85 mm/ WT 65 g/


HANDLES SPECS:


1) Tradere ( head 4.80, WT 66 gm)
2) Edwin Jagger DE89 ( threads 4.89mm)- whole razor Weight = 76g
3) Gillette Fat Tech handle
4) Gillette New Comb- Gillette Bar Handle/SC New =WT 20.4/ - Gillette Ball Handle /LC New = WT 24.7
5) Weber Bulldog (needs 2 extra turns for fit), 2.4 ounces / 3 inch long /
6) Weber Classic- wt 58 gms ........3-7/8" in length (9.8 cm)
6) Weber 'New' Classic -wt 76 gms
7) Ikon Bulldog,
8) Ikon OSS [head 4.85- wt 100 gms - 95mm long - 12.25mm diameter] (works but is loose until the final turn) ,
9) UFO Kaiser (polished SS, 100mm lg, 13mm diameter, 91 grams wt)
10) Mariner long handle

11) R41 Grande handle ( whole razor WT 35.5)
12) Bob Razor Works Deluxe XL,
13) Feather AS. ( whole razor Wt 90 gms / 3 1/2 in long)

14) UFO-Godzilla (316L Stainless Steel. 85 mm long. 15/15 mm caliber. 103 gr weight.

Thread is M5x0.8.The neck ends to 8.5 mm)
​

15) UFO Goliath XL- 316L Stainless Steel. 100 mm long. 15/15 mm caliber. 123 gr weight./Red Bronze. 100 mm long. 15/15 mm caliber. ??? gr weight (pending)./Thread is M5x0.8. 16) Heavy Duty Premium Barber-pole handle (89 gm).
17) lord 16
18) LC ball end gold plated (GB)
18) Gillette Old OC ball end silver plated (US),
19) Gillette Old OC short travel handle (US),

20) Gillette Tech slim handle (fat alike) (GB),
21) Gillette Tech straight aluminium,
22) Mercur 985CL (2 piece travel handle),

23) Parker 98R ( 4" handle and weighs 3 oz. whole razor wt)

24) Parker 91r (handle length 99mm, weight 80g (head+handle)
25) Parker 48R (handle length 91 mm, weight 96g (head+handle)
26) BRW Bull Mastiff Deluxe XL- (93 grams/ 96mm long, 13mm diameter on the main handle and 15mm diameter on the magnetic knob on the end.)
27) UFO Goliath - 316L Stainless Steel. 85 mm long. 15/15 mm caliber./ 103 gr weight.Red Bronze. 85 mm long./ 15/15 mm caliber./ 115 gr weight/.Thread is M5x0.8

​

28) Gillette 7'oclock (GB)
29) Gillette New OC LC ball end gold plated (GB)

30) Gillette New OC LC ball end Sheffield/Laurel (GB)
31) Gillette Old OC ball end silver plated (US)
32) Gillette Old OC short travel handle (US)
33) Gillette Tech fat handle (GB)
34) Gillette Tech slim handle (fat alike) (GB)
35) Gillette Tech straight aluminium
36) iKon Bulldog handle
37) Lord L6
38) Mercur 985CL (2 piece travel handle)
39)Parker 98R Heavy Duty Premium Barberpole
40)Sabi fat handle

41) GS1 - 3 1/2 inches long, 1/2 inch in diameter and weighs in at 80 grams. Where the handle meets the head is 8.5mm and should fit most razor heads as the threads are M5x0.8. ​

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I love that list. It's gonna grow and grow!!!!!!

 

[alex2363]

I love that list. It's gonna grow and grow!!!!!!

Thanks to you and our members for contributing to it

 

[Jordy]

I have one of the GS1 Handles myself and its a beauty nice and balanced.

 

[ArNav]

Just got mine from the mail and it feels considerably more weighty than Weber Bulldog.

 

[cstephens]

Well written and enlightening review, Krona. Thanks for the effort.

 

[Attila]

Thanks for the writeup. Well done!