The blade remains clamp to the top cap. The blade angle and exposure do not change.
Adjustable Razors
- Thread starter warman2012
- Start date
Lets not get personal here guys.
+1! Great advice!! I would start with a Slim, terrific razor that I learned to shave with in the olden days.
My vote would be for a vintage Gillette Slim. I have 3 and I love them all.
Hard to beat a vintage Gillette then as they fairly mild razors even at the wide open setting. Hard to argue with ~70 years of good shaves. If you don't want to do the leg work to find a nice one at a lower price, the Rockwell 6C would be a good razor - for most it's just a matter of finding the plate/level of aggression that works for you and then sticking with that plate. There's usually a discount coupon code or two out there floating around for the Rockwell and we're also going in shopping season so you can probably get the cost down a bit as well. (I just picked up a 6S for $85.)
No one needs an adjustable razor? Well, I'm someone, and an adjustable razor is my favorite design of razor!
I have a tough beard of white old man whiskers. It's really nice to customize the aggression of a razor to one's beard and face. I have about 10 adjustable's, and I dearly love 'em all.
Probably the least expensive of the Gillette's is a used Gillette Super Adjustable, aka the Black Beauty, either long handle or short handle. A wonderful shaving experience!
Probably the best new adjustable for a modest price is a (made in India) Parker Variant adjustable razor. An outstanding value and performance!
A lot of guys use their adjustable razors at a wide open setting. I don't belong to that club. Of the 9 settings I use a setting of 5 or 6 on the adjustable Gillette's. The point of an adjustable razor IMO is not to use it as a highly aggressive razor, but to customize it to the unique needs of your facial skin and whiskers.
I'm a "set it and leave it" adjustable razor shaver, though for the final ATG pass in the mustache area I dial it down to the mildest or next to mildest adjustment. Years ago I thought an adjustable razor was gimmicky. But no more. I consider an adjustable razor to be the most profound development since the invention of the safety razor itself.
I have a tough beard of white old man whiskers. It's really nice to customize the aggression of a razor to one's beard and face. I have about 10 adjustable's, and I dearly love 'em all.
Probably the least expensive of the Gillette's is a used Gillette Super Adjustable, aka the Black Beauty, either long handle or short handle. A wonderful shaving experience!
Probably the best new adjustable for a modest price is a (made in India) Parker Variant adjustable razor. An outstanding value and performance!
A lot of guys use their adjustable razors at a wide open setting. I don't belong to that club. Of the 9 settings I use a setting of 5 or 6 on the adjustable Gillette's. The point of an adjustable razor IMO is not to use it as a highly aggressive razor, but to customize it to the unique needs of your facial skin and whiskers.
I'm a "set it and leave it" adjustable razor shaver, though for the final ATG pass in the mustache area I dial it down to the mildest or next to mildest adjustment. Years ago I thought an adjustable razor was gimmicky. But no more. I consider an adjustable razor to be the most profound development since the invention of the safety razor itself.
I have three adjustables, Ming Shi, Gillette Fatboy F2 and Parker variant. I love Parker variant. Fatboy is too mild for me.
Best modern adjustable razor for the price would be the Parker Variant. Very good razor.
I have other adjustables including the Rex, Fatboy, Slim and Super Adjustable.
My best shaves come from a 1973 Super Adjustable with the 84 handle (Brass baseplate). I’ve heard the nylon baseplates give a great shave also.
I go aggressive with the grain and across the grain but dial it low against the grain. Giving you my numbers would waste your time. Get BBS easy with each SA shave no matter the blade but found Kai works best in my Gillette’s.
Enjoy the hunt
I have other adjustables including the Rex, Fatboy, Slim and Super Adjustable.
My best shaves come from a 1973 Super Adjustable with the 84 handle (Brass baseplate). I’ve heard the nylon baseplates give a great shave also.
I go aggressive with the grain and across the grain but dial it low against the grain. Giving you my numbers would waste your time. Get BBS easy with each SA shave no matter the blade but found Kai works best in my Gillette’s.
Enjoy the hunt
I do not use an adjustable razor. The only utility I can see for an adjustable razor is if you want to use an aggressive setting for a WTG pass, a moderate setting for a XTG pass and a mild setting for a ATG pass. If that is your desire, the an adjustable razor is perfect for you. If you are not going to change the setting with every pass, you might as well shave with a non-adjustable razor.
I guess if you are new to DE shaving, having an adjustable razor would allow you to start with a mild setting as you develop the proper shaving technique. Then as your technique improves, you could try more aggressive settings. I went through that same learning curve by trying a variety of DE razors of varying type and aggressiveness.
I also shave straight razor. That experience taught me the importance of having a high quality shave soap, the right shave angle, and using minimal pressure. Those same principles apply to shaving with a safety razor. Even though I have sensitive skin, I can get a close comfortable shave a variety of DE razors, both safety bar and open comb. My razors vary in aggressiveness from a very mild VDH to a very efficient (some say aggressive) Muhle R41 that I acquired recently. Even though I have very sensitive skin, I can shave ATG with the R41 with no irritation. I just have to maintain the right angle and use minimal pressure. If my technique is poor, my face will suffer the consequences. Milder razors are more forgiving of poor technique.
I guess if you are new to DE shaving, having an adjustable razor would allow you to start with a mild setting as you develop the proper shaving technique. Then as your technique improves, you could try more aggressive settings. I went through that same learning curve by trying a variety of DE razors of varying type and aggressiveness.
I also shave straight razor. That experience taught me the importance of having a high quality shave soap, the right shave angle, and using minimal pressure. Those same principles apply to shaving with a safety razor. Even though I have sensitive skin, I can get a close comfortable shave a variety of DE razors, both safety bar and open comb. My razors vary in aggressiveness from a very mild VDH to a very efficient (some say aggressive) Muhle R41 that I acquired recently. Even though I have very sensitive skin, I can shave ATG with the R41 with no irritation. I just have to maintain the right angle and use minimal pressure. If my technique is poor, my face will suffer the consequences. Milder razors are more forgiving of poor technique.
That's about a perfect summary of what I would say. I think adjustables are great when one is beginning for just the reason mentioned and can still be great when one becomes more advanced if one's technique involves different grades of aggressiveness based either on pass or part of the face being shaved. There was a time when I ran milder on my neck. Then I learned to regulate better through pressure and angle and I no longer needed the assistance of a variable blade gap.
I learned to shave on an adjustable and love them. The ming shi is just fine, but I prefer the vintage adjustable razors. I can get an equally close shave out of a fixed gap razor as from an adjustable. My current favorite modern adjustable is the Parker variant.
There are at least three factors changing the shaving experience: blade exposure, blade gap and blade angle. An adjustable will not allow you to change all of these factors to your likening. They allow a bit of flexibility, but will not allow you to tune in your perfect shave, unless you have luck and the other settings just happens to be right when after you done your adjustment..
For example, I have noticed I prefer neutral blade exposure and big gap together with a thin cap for shallower shaves. Also the blade needs to be rigidly held. It looks like this is difficult to find among the adjustable razors. For me this means I get the best shave from a non-adjustable razor made with this geometry.
For example, I have noticed I prefer neutral blade exposure and big gap together with a thin cap for shallower shaves. Also the blade needs to be rigidly held. It looks like this is difficult to find among the adjustable razors. For me this means I get the best shave from a non-adjustable razor made with this geometry.
I'm a set-it-and-forget-it adjustable user too. I use different settings depending on the blade I'm using.
For example, a sharp blade works well at a lower setting for me, while a mild blade shaves well opened up a few clicks.
I recommend acquiring a Gillette Slim Adjustable. You should be able to purchase a user-grade razor for close to your price range. If you find you don't like it (which I doubt), it will be easy to sell.
For example, a sharp blade works well at a lower setting for me, while a mild blade shaves well opened up a few clicks.
I recommend acquiring a Gillette Slim Adjustable. You should be able to purchase a user-grade razor for close to your price range. If you find you don't like it (which I doubt), it will be easy to sell.
Another vote for the Slim adjustable! You can always post a WTB add on the BST here.
I started with 3 piece razors and eventually moved on to adjustables, but my 3 piece razors are still part of my rotation. Some prefer 1, 2 or 3 piece razors and will make very interesting comments about how adjustables are only good for beginners. From my experience and I have a lot of adjustables, 1, 2 and 3 piece ones, adjustables are really geared for people who understand each setting as it pertains to gap, preferred angle of attack and buying the right blade for your face to begin with.
Beginners can use them and dial them in very well but adjustables are perfect for persons with many years of experience. If you don’t move up and down the dial during the shave, I think you are really missing out but to each their own.
Like I mentioned, I own all the Gillette TTO adjustables and two non-TTO in the Parker Variant and the Rex. Although they are all different in their own ways, I’ve never had an issue with how the blades are held in any.
If you feel that adjustables don’t adjust past blade gap, you need a little more experience with your 1, 2 or 3 piece razors first. All razors are adjustable to a certain point, you can even loosen the handle slightly on your 3 piece and learn some things.
That experience with basic adjustments to any razor also includes finding the right blade for your face. Buy the sample packs first!! For example, putting in a nice wide blade like a Kai will fix your issues if you want more blade exposure with any razor. On the other end of the spectrum, if you learn that some baseplates like the Game Changer .84 and a wide Kai blade are too much for your face daily, a thinner blade will cure that. Lab Blues are amazing for daily shaves with the .84. If you are having problems with angle, not a big deal, you’ll eventually get that experience the more you dial in any razor.
I can get BBS easily with any of my vintage or modern adjustables, 1, 2 and 3 piece razors. You get there with experience. I love adjustables because I can get BBS much faster than my others in the morning with my daily work shaves. Although two of my razors, my pre-war Tech and Fendrihan Mark II are pretty fast also. I still enjoy taking my time here and there with my Bronze and SS Timeless razors and other higher priced offerings. They are beautiful and better built but not better shavers than my least expensive razors. Again, to each their own but I can get BBS with my Micro-touch 1 and EJ just like my Timeless razors.
Once you get that experience and dial in any razor, try not to roll your eyes when you see comments on the forums like, “This razor is too mild”, “Inexpensive razors don’t work as well”, “Adjustables are gimmicks” and “When are they going to come out with a more aggressive baseplate?”.
Some of us like beauty, some like historical significance, some prefer materials used to manufacture them, some like that mirror finish, some like the challenge of figuring out one and some of us like all of these like me.
Beginners can use them and dial them in very well but adjustables are perfect for persons with many years of experience. If you don’t move up and down the dial during the shave, I think you are really missing out but to each their own.
Like I mentioned, I own all the Gillette TTO adjustables and two non-TTO in the Parker Variant and the Rex. Although they are all different in their own ways, I’ve never had an issue with how the blades are held in any.
If you feel that adjustables don’t adjust past blade gap, you need a little more experience with your 1, 2 or 3 piece razors first. All razors are adjustable to a certain point, you can even loosen the handle slightly on your 3 piece and learn some things.
That experience with basic adjustments to any razor also includes finding the right blade for your face. Buy the sample packs first!! For example, putting in a nice wide blade like a Kai will fix your issues if you want more blade exposure with any razor. On the other end of the spectrum, if you learn that some baseplates like the Game Changer .84 and a wide Kai blade are too much for your face daily, a thinner blade will cure that. Lab Blues are amazing for daily shaves with the .84. If you are having problems with angle, not a big deal, you’ll eventually get that experience the more you dial in any razor.
I can get BBS easily with any of my vintage or modern adjustables, 1, 2 and 3 piece razors. You get there with experience. I love adjustables because I can get BBS much faster than my others in the morning with my daily work shaves. Although two of my razors, my pre-war Tech and Fendrihan Mark II are pretty fast also. I still enjoy taking my time here and there with my Bronze and SS Timeless razors and other higher priced offerings. They are beautiful and better built but not better shavers than my least expensive razors. Again, to each their own but I can get BBS with my Micro-touch 1 and EJ just like my Timeless razors.
Once you get that experience and dial in any razor, try not to roll your eyes when you see comments on the forums like, “This razor is too mild”, “Inexpensive razors don’t work as well”, “Adjustables are gimmicks” and “When are they going to come out with a more aggressive baseplate?”.
Some of us like beauty, some like historical significance, some prefer materials used to manufacture them, some like that mirror finish, some like the challenge of figuring out one and some of us like all of these like me.
Right. Comments like that often say more about the poster's beard type, how often he shaves, how slowly and carefully (or not) he shaves and how polished his technique is than about the razor.
Many a golfer has spent hundreds of dollars on new drivers and irons thinking that the new hardware will significantly improve his game. In most cases, that money would better have been spent on golf lessons learning how to improve his swing.
Many of us have the same attitude with shaving believing that a different razor, a different blade, a different hone, a different strop will make things better. Improving shaving, honing and stropping techniques, however, makes the biggest difference.
Many of us have the same attitude with shaving believing that a different razor, a different blade, a different hone, a different strop will make things better. Improving shaving, honing and stropping techniques, however, makes the biggest difference.
I'll echo what has been said by others, Gillette adjustables are terrific razors. Be patient & you'll find a Slim in your price range. I would stay away from the online auction sites & instead be looking at the BST sites. Remember, be patient.
Another type of adjustable though out of your price range would be a Rockwell with reversible base plates.
An even more adjustable variation on this is a vintage French made Bohin. Not only does it have reversible base plates, each the left and right sides on each side are different so that is 4 different settings right there on a single base plate. What makes it even more unique is you can adjust the blade exposure also because of the way the shoulders are designed. This one would be way out of your price range also. Some 3pc razors also allow for some adjustment by you not tightening the handle fully.
If you want to take a look at a Bohin here are some threads with pictures.
Bohin Adjustable - first shave and impressions (pic heavy)
Bohin Reversible base plate razor
An even more adjustable variation on this is a vintage French made Bohin. Not only does it have reversible base plates, each the left and right sides on each side are different so that is 4 different settings right there on a single base plate. What makes it even more unique is you can adjust the blade exposure also because of the way the shoulders are designed. This one would be way out of your price range also. Some 3pc razors also allow for some adjustment by you not tightening the handle fully.
If you want to take a look at a Bohin here are some threads with pictures.
Bohin Adjustable - first shave and impressions (pic heavy)
Bohin Reversible base plate razor
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