Hi all, I have only been wet shaving with a DE blades for a few weeks, but I made nice little find over the New Year's Day Weekend. My wife and I were down at her grandparents house. Her family is rather large (Her mother is one of 8) and as a result, when we go down there we actually usually end up staying in a part of the house that is totally unoccupied the rest of the time.
So anyway I was poking around in the Guest Bathroom and what did I find but a little brown case marked Gillette. I opened it up and sure enough there was a Gillette Aristocrat Razor in decent condition (The case is in somewhat less decent condition.. but that is ok). From the wiki, I was able to place it to the run of Aristocrats that were made from 1948-1950. I am not sure when this razor had last been used; my guess would be that it probably was at least 20 years ago (A conservative estimate on when this bathroom was last used as a family bathroom before my wife's youngest Uncle joined the Air Force).
So anyway, I brought it home, cleaned it up a bit and popped a Gillette 7 blade in it (It seemed appropriate to use a Gillette Blade in it
). Two shaves on it now in two nights.
Now, I only have one other razor, a 3 week old Parker 82R TTO Razor that has a longer handle and almost 3/4 of an oz more weight. So its an interesting comparison.
In general, I think both razors are well made (Not sure what the old Parker TTO head was like, but the new one seems pretty sturdy). The extra weight on the Parker seems to allow it to glide a bit more smoothly but that could also be differences in my prep since I got home (during the week, I normally shave in the evening and shower in the morning, during the break I was shaving with the Parker generally right after a hot shower... also was face lathering because I didn't bring my mug with me... I get a better lather in the mug, but perhaps face lathering is getting my skin more ready since its getting more time with the brush). Neither gets my neck completely smooth.. at least not without tearing it up.. but since I am only three weeks into shaving, that probably is my technique more than anything else.
--
Bill
So anyway I was poking around in the Guest Bathroom and what did I find but a little brown case marked Gillette. I opened it up and sure enough there was a Gillette Aristocrat Razor in decent condition (The case is in somewhat less decent condition.. but that is ok). From the wiki, I was able to place it to the run of Aristocrats that were made from 1948-1950. I am not sure when this razor had last been used; my guess would be that it probably was at least 20 years ago (A conservative estimate on when this bathroom was last used as a family bathroom before my wife's youngest Uncle joined the Air Force).
So anyway, I brought it home, cleaned it up a bit and popped a Gillette 7 blade in it (It seemed appropriate to use a Gillette Blade in it
). Two shaves on it now in two nights. Now, I only have one other razor, a 3 week old Parker 82R TTO Razor that has a longer handle and almost 3/4 of an oz more weight. So its an interesting comparison.
In general, I think both razors are well made (Not sure what the old Parker TTO head was like, but the new one seems pretty sturdy). The extra weight on the Parker seems to allow it to glide a bit more smoothly but that could also be differences in my prep since I got home (during the week, I normally shave in the evening and shower in the morning, during the break I was shaving with the Parker generally right after a hot shower... also was face lathering because I didn't bring my mug with me... I get a better lather in the mug, but perhaps face lathering is getting my skin more ready since its getting more time with the brush). Neither gets my neck completely smooth.. at least not without tearing it up.. but since I am only three weeks into shaving, that probably is my technique more than anything else.
--
Bill
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