Since childhood, I've had this recurring dream where I'm in search of a particular place, wondrous and fantastical like Oz (I mean Mr. Blum's creation, but I'd love to hit Melbourne or Sydney one of these years...). At the very end of the dream, I discover that I need to board a certain train, on a certain track at a certain station, to reach my destination, but when I get there, I (a) miss the train as its lights vanish into the inky darkness of the station tunnel, or (b) manage to get on board...seconds before waking up.
I'll leave the meaning of the above to others (had a Jungian GF who had a field day with that one), but it's a good-enough metaphor regarding my new-found love/obsession with Gillette's Aristocrat. The funny thing is that I bought it on a last-second lark from someone here who was also selling the one razor I was really interested in: a late-model Super Adjustable. The B/S/T offer was put up by him in the middle of the night; I ended up responding a half-hour later, first to offer to buy the Super if it was still available, then, a few minutes later, committing to also buy the Aristocrat if it was still available. I got both, with a few sample blades thrown in (Dorcos & yellow Gillette 7 O'Clocks).
The Super Adjustable was (is) great, but it was the Aristocrat (late-40s version), loaded with a Dorco blade, that blew my socks off. Fast, smooth, close...in no particular order. Touch-up blade buffing (when I felt the need/desire) was so easy as to be scary. Right up there with my IP blades, but, for lack of a better term, with a touch more velvety elán. And, to point out that this wasn't a one-shave-wonder sort of fluke, I shaved with the same blade for several days in a row. Same closeness, same smoothness, next to no irritation or nicks. Public faceturbation has been difficult to curb this week.
This 'crat is gold. Traditionally, gold is not my fave color for anything: watches, razors, eyeglass frames and so on...just a bit too blingy, although I'll admit this Aristocrat's gold finish looks rather deep and rosy. I've looked at the rhodium/silver-finish 'crats here with more than a bit of envy, and that brings up a question: how consistent are the specs among different eras of these 'crats? If I could find a silvery version that shaved as well as the one I have, I'd be cross-eyed and painless. Naturally, I could live with my current 'crat indefinitely, finish notwithstanding; in the end, the shave's the thing, and I'm not much into keeping a razor as a mere collectible.
But, a silver 'crat would be golden to my eyes.
- Barrett
I'll leave the meaning of the above to others (had a Jungian GF who had a field day with that one), but it's a good-enough metaphor regarding my new-found love/obsession with Gillette's Aristocrat. The funny thing is that I bought it on a last-second lark from someone here who was also selling the one razor I was really interested in: a late-model Super Adjustable. The B/S/T offer was put up by him in the middle of the night; I ended up responding a half-hour later, first to offer to buy the Super if it was still available, then, a few minutes later, committing to also buy the Aristocrat if it was still available. I got both, with a few sample blades thrown in (Dorcos & yellow Gillette 7 O'Clocks).
The Super Adjustable was (is) great, but it was the Aristocrat (late-40s version), loaded with a Dorco blade, that blew my socks off. Fast, smooth, close...in no particular order. Touch-up blade buffing (when I felt the need/desire) was so easy as to be scary. Right up there with my IP blades, but, for lack of a better term, with a touch more velvety elán. And, to point out that this wasn't a one-shave-wonder sort of fluke, I shaved with the same blade for several days in a row. Same closeness, same smoothness, next to no irritation or nicks. Public faceturbation has been difficult to curb this week.
This 'crat is gold. Traditionally, gold is not my fave color for anything: watches, razors, eyeglass frames and so on...just a bit too blingy, although I'll admit this Aristocrat's gold finish looks rather deep and rosy. I've looked at the rhodium/silver-finish 'crats here with more than a bit of envy, and that brings up a question: how consistent are the specs among different eras of these 'crats? If I could find a silvery version that shaved as well as the one I have, I'd be cross-eyed and painless. Naturally, I could live with my current 'crat indefinitely, finish notwithstanding; in the end, the shave's the thing, and I'm not much into keeping a razor as a mere collectible.
But, a silver 'crat would be golden to my eyes.
- Barrett
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