Well, after nearly two weeks of biting fingernails, it arrived:
The Short Story: I opened the shipping box, unwrapped the bubble wrap, inspected (okay, ogled) the razor, gave it a quick cleaning, showered, lathered, loaded up a Dorco ST-300, and...
Simply wonderful.
A bit more aggressive than my gold, American 'crat, but just about as smooth, and oh so pretty. The neck of the handle has lost its silvery coating, but elsewhere it's intact, especially the head and TTO doors, which show nary a scratch. To reiterate: the Aristocrat, in any form, is All That. The Brit #66 just that little bit moreso.
The first shave with the #66 was a bit more rushed than I'd have liked, and I took a single nick as a result, but the shave was BBS, the Dorco blade proving to be a very good match, at least for my face. Build quality is astounding...I thought I understood all the hype about vintage Gillettes when I got my gold Aristocrat and Super Adjustable (which are great in their own regard). The #66 kicks everything up just a notch: heft, balance in the hand, and smoothness of shaving. Looks sweet, shaves sweet, IS sweet.
It probably helps that my "Brit-ocrat" comes in a notch or two below "mint." I'd probably be tempted to never use the thing if it was Absolute Pristine, which would be a shame. If it's not the pinnacle of DE shaving, it's damned close, as far as I'm concerned.
- Barrett
The Short Story: I opened the shipping box, unwrapped the bubble wrap, inspected (okay, ogled) the razor, gave it a quick cleaning, showered, lathered, loaded up a Dorco ST-300, and...
Simply wonderful.
A bit more aggressive than my gold, American 'crat, but just about as smooth, and oh so pretty. The neck of the handle has lost its silvery coating, but elsewhere it's intact, especially the head and TTO doors, which show nary a scratch. To reiterate: the Aristocrat, in any form, is All That. The Brit #66 just that little bit moreso.
The first shave with the #66 was a bit more rushed than I'd have liked, and I took a single nick as a result, but the shave was BBS, the Dorco blade proving to be a very good match, at least for my face. Build quality is astounding...I thought I understood all the hype about vintage Gillettes when I got my gold Aristocrat and Super Adjustable (which are great in their own regard). The #66 kicks everything up just a notch: heft, balance in the hand, and smoothness of shaving. Looks sweet, shaves sweet, IS sweet.
It probably helps that my "Brit-ocrat" comes in a notch or two below "mint." I'd probably be tempted to never use the thing if it was Absolute Pristine, which would be a shame. If it's not the pinnacle of DE shaving, it's damned close, as far as I'm concerned.
- Barrett
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