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Another newbie ahead...

Hi,

I started DE shaveing recently and bought myself a Muehle (or sometimes Muhle) R89. Currently I am testing different blades. Favourites so far:
ASTRA Super Platinum and Gillette 7o'clock sharp edge (Yellow ones).
One thing on my wishlist is a real vintage razor. I want one not for getting something rare or something which will be worth a million in ten years or
so :) but for being used.
Since I have a sensitive skin I think it is good practice to combine a mild razor with smooth but sharp blades to avoid to pass the same area of the skin
more often then needed. (and please correct me, if I am wrong...I am newbie still :)
I saw quite a few videos about vintage razors but the more I saw the more I got confused because the amount of opinions outnumbered the amount of
fact by far....
For what vintage razor model should look for? Which model is not that hard to get?
Gillette Tech? Maybe? Then...pre war, post war, aluminum? brass? Zamak? (Neodym, Gallium, Unobtanium...??? ;) ) Or better a Schick Krona? Or a...
...
Please de-confuse me!
A said: I want a vintage razor for using it.
Cheers!
dullhead
 
Welcome!

Look for a Gillette Tech as they are mild. Even a Red a tip SuperSpeed is t that aggressive by today’s standards though.

keep your eye out at antique shops and flea markets. Most of my antique Gillettes were $10 or less.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
Welcome to the forum. I would look around for a Gillette Tech, great razor and they made millions of them and plentiful out there in the wild and on the internet. Also I would consider a Schick Krona, another great razor. The only problem will be trying to stop buying once razors you start.
 
Welcome to B&B!

I like the pre war Tech best but any Tech will do. Also the Schick Krona or pre Krona's are nice mild razors and usually inexpensive.
 
Hi SharpleB, hi cryhavoc.

thank you for your replies and your welcomes ! (I am no native speaker, sorry....)

Flea markets here in germany are currently kind of a problem due to the corona situation.

At "Ebay Kleinanzeigen" (sorry...don't know how to translate this..."Kleinanzeigen" translates into "classified advertising", but I think this confuses more than it would help...) the cheapest I could get is about 28$US.
Which leads to my next question:
Is there any type or model of the Gillette Tech which is preferrable (or to avoid) in regard to its intended purpose (being used instead of being part of a collection)? ...beside obvious things like "broken", "missing parts", "corroded" or things like that of course. For example: The combination of an alkaline "environment" (from the lathe soap) and aluminum/alumnium gives me an aching stomach...is there someting like a Gillette Tech made from aluminum/aluminium? Anything else to look for/keep an eye to/... ? Any known weak spot or "predetermined breaking point" (not intentionally made by Gillette of course...I am only trying to describe...) that I need to put my intention to when watching the photos made by sellers?
And - since I am in germany instead of the US - the amount of offered Gillette is significantly lower...and these razors are more
rare.
And: How does the Muehle/Muhle R89 compares to the Gillette Tech when it comes to the shaving itsself?
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
I started DE shaveing recently and bought myself a Muehle (or sometimes Muhle) R89. Currently I am testing different blades. Favourites so far:
ASTRA Super Platinum and Gillette 7o'clock sharp edge (Yellow ones).

I love the Astra SP blades. My go-to for DE.

One thing on my wishlist is a real vintage razor.

I've been doing a long-term run with the RazoRock Stainless Steel Stealth Slant Version (I think) Four. The RRSSSSV4 is a vintage razor, although of recent vintage. It is no longer made but they are still available from people who don't know what they're holding. :) I find it a nice mild DE that also shaves really close. Close enough that a DFS is simply de rigeur and almost not to be remarked.

I like it, but I can see that if I was a face shaver it'd be a little chunky to fit in some spots. Another razor that I find fairly mild and "safe" feeling is the good old Merkur 37 -- I have a vintage one from sometime in the '60s but they're still made brand new and many people find them quite congenial.

Finally, if you can lay hands on an Above the Tie S series slant they are also highly regarded. Many people like the S1 (smooth bar). I find the S2 (open comb) to be also quite safe feeling and gives me wonderful shaves with the Astra SP blades.

And yeah, I really like slants. :)

Welcome to B&B!

O.H.
 
Hi all :)

Many thanks for all the welcomes!!! :)

One offtopic question: The avatars (yours and mine) show an additonal hat(?) currently....what does it mean?

What blades I tried so far (in no paricular order):
X Shark super Chrome blades
X ASTRA super stainless
* ASTRA super platinum
X Gillette Nacet
X Rapira Platinum Lux
? Gillette 7'oclock Sharp Edge (Yellow)

* fine, currently the reference I compare the others to
X not my cup of tea: most of the time the regarding blade either needs to be passed too often
over the same area to get everything shaved OR the area around my jaw bone become irritated
(burning sensation)
? currently testing, no final verdict but looks good

"X" by no means should imply "bad razor blade" - it only means that based on my current shaveing
experience, which really not THAT much, and "me" this blade does not work as good as the reference.
As soon I come across a better blade than my reference it will become the new reference.

In the sampler pack I got are more blades, which are currently untested:
Gillette Perma Sharp
Gillette Rubie (no "extra","super", etc... plain "Rubie")
ASCO Super Stainless
BIC Chrome Platinum
LADAS Super Platinum
Shark Super Stainless
VOSKHOD Reflon coated
SUPERMAX Super Stainless
Gillette Super Stainless (green, St. Petersburg, Russia)
TREET PLATINUM Super Stainless
TREET Carbon Steel DE Blade
RAPIRA Swedish Super Steel


For environmental reasons I prefer blades, which come in a cardboard box with no extra enclosure of plastic foil and no Teflon coating. Is there any list of blades and their coating, which is reliable, known? I only know of the listing at razorbladesclub...
Which of the blades above are known of being Teflon/PTFE coated?
 
Welcome aboard!

First, congratulations on your progress.

In terms of vintage options I would try to pick up a Tech or Slim, then go from there!
 
@dullhead I will have a look but I should have a post war Tech around. It will not be super shiny but usable.

pm your adress and I'll send you some goodies

edit:
It is a French Spiral Tech with aluminum handle
IMG_0792.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hi Multumm in parvo,

....hhrrrmmm....<cough>
I am not a newbie when its comes to computers and the internet...but...where is the PM-functionality hidden in this
forums software...? :confused1

I visited your profile and my profile and found nothing. Or is it because I am new to this forum?

Cheers
dullhead
 
Hi,

thank you all for all your welcomes! After haveing had a not-so-nice experience in/on (?) another shaveing forum, this is a nice++ experience. :) (and hopefully this sounds as intended...I am no native speaker)

The idea with the extras on ones Avatar is great! Didn't saw such in any other forum...great!:):)

Yesterday I found something:
With a magnifier lense (15x), which has two cold white 5mm LEDs attached, I took a look at the edge of some unused blades. Then I slowly tilted the blades until the light from the LEDs were reflected by the outer most part of the edge (where "it cuts"...) into the lens. It was very interesting, how different smooth these edges where.
The the ASTRA Super Platinum ones were like a mirror (the yellow G. 7'oclock where similiar):
Even, without scratches or parts broken off.
Others shows traces of the grinding process and there very little parts broken off already (unused blade!).
I cannot say, whether what I saw has any impact on the shaveing experience but at least it is according to my
shaveing experience with the ASTRA Super Platinum and the Gillette 7'oclock yellow.

I need a scanning electron microscope...I will put it in my wardrobe right beside my timemachine... ;)

A latin phrase says: "Per aspera ad astra" - "through hardships to the stars" (wikipedia).
Taken verbatim I could mean: After some rough experience with other blades take the ASTRA Super platinums. :) :) :)
 
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