Best vintage gillette razor?

[dmnall]

Slim Adjustable IMHO!

Cheers,

 

[mpetruzz]

Slim all the way!

 

[rac]

hi all
quite like my #66 aristocrat , but some old techs are good for trimming side burns and neck .

 

[vitaman]

One, there's damn few people who have TRIED all the Gillettes.

Two, each razor shaves differently with a different brand blade in it.

Now, there may be less difference from blade to blade, than there is from razor to razor, but it's still possible that you will like a Gillette Tech with a Dorco in it less than a '40s Super Speed with a Dorco, but you might prefer the Tech to the 40SS with Feather blades. I don't know, I'm a newbie, but I know enough to know that different blades suit different razors.

So if you multiply the number of Gillette razors out there by the number of blade brands readily available, let's see, that's.... 14 gazillion possibilities. OK, ok, but there's at least 30 different Gillette models and variants that are passably easy to find, and at least 15 different types of blades, so that makes at least 450 potential combinations. Eliminate half the blades immediately (if you have a bad shave with, say a Dorco, you likely won't choose it again no matter what razor you switch to), you're still well over 200 possibilities. Since you have to shave at least a week with a given razor/blade combination to get a good baseline, you're going to be at it for four years before you can settle on your favorite.

And that's before you've tried the GEMs.

[There is a third complication, that two different exemplars of the same razor shave differently. Given that all of the good razors are half a century old or more, and many have taken more than a few hard knocks in the process, there is no guarantee that any two Fatboys will shave identically. But that complication is impossible to control for, so it's hardly worth discussing further.]

I can tell you of the nonadjustable Gillettes I've tried, the 40's SS is my favorite, and of the adjustables, I prefer the Slim to the Fatboy. Of the blades I've tried, so far my favorite is the Iridium. But I haven't tried the famous, feared Feather yet.

It was a simple question.....What do you think is the best Gillette razor?

 

[strat1117]

I'm partial to my no-date Gold Aristocrat.

 

[Zumkopf]

I was a simple question.....What do you think is the best Gillette razor?

If all he's doing is taking a poll as to everyone's individual Gillette favorite, of the ones I've tried so far, it's the 40s Super Speed, with the Slim a close second.

But I don't think it's fair to give a "best" answer without at least noting what goes into it. If I say what my favorite Gillette is, I wouldn't put much weight in that, since so far I haven't tried that many different Gillettes (4) or types of blades (3). OTOH, if Guido says what the best Gillette is, I'd take that opinion over ten like me. And I'll bet even Guido agrees that swapping blades can make a middling razor your favorite.

 

[vitaman]

If all he's doing is taking a poll as to everyone's individual Gillette favorite, of the ones I've tried so far, it's the 40s Super Speed, with the Slim a close second.

But I don't think it's fair to give a "best" answer without at least noting what goes into it. If I say what my favorite Gillette is, I wouldn't put much weight in that, since so far I haven't tried that many different Gillettes (4) or types of blades (3). OTOH, if Guido says what the best Gillette is, I'd take that opinion over ten like me. And I'll bet even Guido agrees that swapping blades can make a middling razor your favorite.

He wasen't asking what goes into it, he said nothing about blades (that's a whole different thread) and, I have alot of respect for Guido, but he wasen't asking for Guido's opinion, he was asking for everybody's opinion.

 

[Zumkopf]

It was a simple question.....What do you think is the best Gillette razor?

He wasen't asking what goes into it, he said nothing about blades (that's a whole different thread) and, I have alot of respect for Guido, but he wasen't asking for Guido's opinion, he was asking for everybody's opinion.

Geez, I didn't think I was getting into a flame war here. I was just pointing out that there's a lot of variables, and the razor someone picks as the "best" Gillette may simply reflect his favorite out of the few he has tried, not the best that Gillette made.

That said, by a quick and dirty count, it looks like 14 people named a favorite (or two), but 9 gave some variant of "it's impossible to say" or named four or more. So I think your reaction somewhat excessive.

BTW, since your favorite seems to be the same as mine, I think we should be sharing blades rather than crossing them.

 

[norman931]

One, there's damn few people who have TRIED all the Gillettes.

Ahem. There are AT LEAST a thousand of us!

 

[rainman]

Red Tip. The debate is over. Mine is the right answer.

 

[gaseousclay]

Geez, I didn't think I was getting into a flame war here. I was just pointing out that there's a lot of variables, and the razor someone picks as the "best" Gillette may simply reflect his favorite out of the few he has tried, not the best that Gillette made.

I agree, there are too many variables to consider. I only have 6 Gillettes in my rotation (with another on the way) and each gives a significantly different shave. so, since I haven't tried the multitude of other Gillettes available on the market choosing a "best" Gillette is impossible. but, for the sake of this thread if I absolutely had to pick one from my rotation i'd say my Tech gives me a damn good shave. It's lightweight and easy on my face

 

[tgarza]

Merkur Slant. J/K lol.

 

[Hoos]

One, there's damn few people who have TRIED all the Gillettes.

True, that is.

But there are a few of us who've tried a damned lot of them.

Sure, there are a few I haven't had the privilege to try (Diplomat, President, a number of the non-US ones, etc.). But, of the American ones, I've tried most of the primary models - single ring to Pocket Editions to Goodwills to Tuckaways to Aristocrats to Khaki Editions to Techs to Big Boys to several others.

And some of our more esteemed colleagues here have tried even more.

IMHO and YMMV, the best vintage Gillettes in terms of shaving are the 1940-50 Aristocrats and one of the British models (though I'll admit to a strong fondness for the Pocket Editions as well). But there are plenty of folks who would disagree with that and some who would agree with that.

 

[hyo]

Fatboy. The Rocket is growing on me though.

 

[RoyalKooparillo]

I think the #15 is a triumph of design and engineering.

 

[buddydog]

I've tried a lot of them....I really haven't tried one I didn't like.My favorite....

[/IMG]
Is it the best?I don't know....

 

[SilkySmooth]

Best overall NEW with short open comb

Best TTO HD Rocket

 

[blades]

My favourite

Gillette NEW Open Comb (long combs).

yep it's the best

 

[Koss]

Best gillette razor? The one that finds itself currently in your hands at the time of your shave.

 

[vitaman]

Geez, I didn't think I was getting into a flame war here. I was just pointing out that there's a lot of variables, and the razor someone picks as the "best" Gillette may simply reflect his favorite out of the few he has tried, not the best that Gillette made.

That said, by a quick and dirty count, it looks like 14 people named a favorite (or two), but 9 gave some variant of "it's impossible to say" or named four or more. So I think your reaction somewhat excessive.

BTW, since your favorite seems to be the same as mine, I think we should be sharing blades rather than crossing them.

And your reply in post # 19 was not excessive?