British vs USA Made Razors (PIC HEAVY)

[Esox]

Seeing as I have both a British Flare Tip Rocket and a USA D2 Flare Tip SS, a British Tech and a USA post war D2 Tech, I thought I'd have a look at them and compare them to each other. I didnt know I was collecting 1958 2nd quarter razors, but apparently I am ha.

I just had my first shave with the SS today and upon inspection of the pics I noticed some differences between it and the Brit Rocket. The biggest is the design of the head and the TTO mechanism. I found the SS to shave very slightly milder or perhaps with slightly less blade feel would be more accurate compared to the Brit Rocket, and judging by the pics and the blade angle, that seems to make sense, although it is a very small difference.

My Brit TTO feels considerably different to the US version. Much smoother, firmer and tighter. Opening and closing it gives the feel of a precision piece. The SS on the other hand, feels quite a lot looser and not made to the same tolerances. Once closed however, both feel very solid and secure.

So pics. As I said, this post is pic heavy, but I've cropped and sized all images to 1920 width. All closeup pictures of both heads side by side have been set and aligned with a ruler at the center bar or the center of the top caps to keep things even. I've kept them as square as possible by eye.

The British razors are on the left in every pic.

The Techs. Both of which seem to be virtually identical outside of the handles and the finish on the caps. The Brit Tech may be slightly more aggressive looking at the blade profile, but I havent shaved with it yet.

Again, Brit on the left in all pics.

 

[Esox]

Cont...

Feel free to share thoughts, more comparisons and ideas, and more pics!

 

[rabidus]

I prefer NDC TTO's. They have less blade gap than the later ones, but are extremely efficient if wielded properly!

40-47 has the least blade gap. 48-50, the blade gap increased. '50- about '65, the blade gap increased again. After that the blade decreased.

40-50, the TTO's seem to do more slicing, where as the later ones seem to do more scraping.

The 48-50 Aristocrat is my favorite TTO.

THE 3rd generation British Aristocrat is built different from the 48-50 US Aristocrat, but they are very close in specs as far as blade angle and gap.

 

[Esox]

40-47 has the least blade gap. 48-50, the blade gap increased. '50- about '65, the blade gap increased again. After that the blade decreased.

I prefer NDC TTO's. They have less blade gap than the later ones

This is the type of information I'm looking for. Either between US versions or British, or both. The search for the perfect shave is complex.

After 1965 the gap decreased again, interesting. Maybe this is why I think of the T 1 Lady Gillette I have as a Long Handle TTO Tech.

I remember seeing a pic you posted of a pre and post 1948 Aristocrat showing side by side blade profile views. It was that picture, that in part, prompted me into buying the pre 48 I did buy. Hopefully, it arrives soon.

 

[rabidus]

I believe when Gillette made a change with specs, it was across the board! Hard to pin point British razors, they don't have Date codes, I don't own a lot of British razors, but from the ones I have and reviews, it makes sense.

My Rocket HD and US Red Tip shaved exactly the same. The Rocket is just heavier. Some treat razors like an axe or a hammer and use the weight of the razor, I treat it like a pen and I'm in total control at all times.

 

[BigJ]

Terrific thread! Great info.

 

[alex2363]

Terrific thread! Great info.

Excellent thread

 

[Esox]

This is the kind of information I was curious about when I was a lurker on this site, wanting to learn and understand and having a hard time finding the information I wanted/needed. I hope it can help others as much as so many members and their posts here have helped me understand the intricacies of razors, blades ect.

The variations of Gillette razors alone can be mind numbing to someone that has no idea it's all so complex. Forums are all about an exchange of information and helping others seeking help. I just want to do my part as I'm able.

 

[McKinneys]

I love studying all those tiny manufacturing differences of the Gillette razors. Thank you very much for these great pics!

 

[Badgerstate36]

Youre right, the Brit Gillettes are way nicer. Ive owned quite a few vintage Gillettes, they were all USA made though. I never tried a British one simply because they tended to be more expensive on Ebay and I never felt motivated to spend the money.

 

[Highspeedlane]

Great post!

This type of historical data is outstanding. Thank you sir.

 

[Esox]

Welcome guys!

 

[ERVARGASNY]

Excellent thread

Yes, what he said

 

[alex2363]

This is the kind of information I was curious about when I was a lurker on this site, wanting to learn and understand and having a hard time finding the information I wanted/needed. I hope it can help others as much as so many members and their posts here have helped me understand the intricacies of razors, blades ect.

The variations of Gillette razors alone can be mind numbing to someone that has no idea it's all so complex. Forums are all about an exchange of information and helping others seeking help. I just want to do my part as I'm able.

Thank you Esox, members are the heart of B&B and we appreciate your time and interactive participation.

 

[alex2363]

Yes, what he said

Hey, I gotta give you call soon buudy..I been extremely busy.

 

[ERVARGASNY]

Hey, I gotta give you call soon buudy..I been extremely busy.

No Problem, Anytime. Busy week for me, July 4th and all. Have a safe one all.

 

[jruschme]

One thing that I've wondered... Why did the British get more (and often stranger) razor variants?

For instance, in the US, we had five basic variants of the Tech over the years:
- Pre-War Triangle Slot
- Wartime Bakelite
- Wartime Oval Slot
- Post-War
- Post '60s.

OTOH, the British had any number of other variants such as the RFB and Hybrid Tech as well as OC Tech versions into the '70s or later.

Similarly, we got the SuperSpeed and they got the Rocket; the latter of which had a fundamentally different mechanism for opening and closing the doors.

So, what gives?

 

[Esox]

One thing that I've wondered... Why did the British get more (and often stranger) razor variants?

For instance, in the US, we had five basic variants of the Tech over the years:
- Pre-War Triangle Slot
- Wartime Bakelite
- Wartime Oval Slot
- Post-War
- Post '60s.

OTOH, the British had any number of other variants such as the RFB and Hybrid Tech as well as OC Tech versions into the '70s or later.

Similarly, we got the SuperSpeed and they got the Rocket; the latter of which had a fundamentally different mechanism for opening and closing the doors.

So, what gives?

I only have the two listed examples to go by. The Brit Rocket is I'm assuming, roughly the same age as the the D 2 SS. I believe my father bought it new in the mid to late 50's. As a matter of fact, I dont even have them anymore as both my fathers Brit Rocket, and the Brit Tech, along with my NEW LC and 50 Polsilver blades, went in the mail today to my nephew. He got me back into DE shaving, so it's only fair that I give him a good case, and start, of RAD.

If I could find my calipers I would have measured things, but they seem to have migrated from my reloading bench.

The Brit TTO mechanism is different. It has a thinner head profile compared to the SS along with a slight difference in blade angle and gap. The SS is slightly longer overall. The difference in length being nearly the thickness of the knurled collar above the TTO knob, which affects the overall length. The Techs by comparison show lesser differences. The Brit Tech seems to have slightly more blade gap while maintaining the blade angle. After shaving with all four of these razors, I personally find the British versions to be slightly more aggressive/efficient shavers. Why the British designs implemented those slight changes in comparison to US versions I have no idea but I'm certainly curious about it.

Why the variations in models from Brit to US I'm also very curious about and one reason why I made this thread. The information is most likely out there, but what I can find is scattered all over the internet across different forums and I feel it would be nice to have it all in one place if at all possible.

From what I can gather searching different forums around the internet, B&B seems to be the go to forum for advice of a technical nature, and from what I've found thus far, that holds true. Many members here certainly have an encyclopedic knowledge of the intricacies of this shaving culture.

Only speaking for myself, as I stated in my first ever post on this forum

After a few months of surfing the different forums and finding the majority of information on this one

I'm not finished learning yet!

 

[Hoka Hey]

I'm just guessing, but would think Gillette England had a certain amount of autonomy and independence from Gillette US. Probably their own engineering and design staff. Think of all the English designs that are absolutely unique. Flat bottom Tech, Flat Bottom NEW, Raised Flat Bottom NEW. Maybe absorbing engineering from Rotbart had something to do with it.

 

[rabidus]

I personally find the British versions to be slightly more aggressive/efficient shavers.

I have several US postwar Techs with different blade gaps. I think it's mainly tolerance issues. A few have a slightly different blade gap from one side to the other. I found the same discrepancies with the prewar Techs also.

I had prewar Tech's with blade gaps that ranged from .020"-.027". I have a British Tech like yours and there's no noticeable difference between it and the US for me.

If you buy enough of the same design from any country, you will see that they all probably suppose to have the same specs.

The NEW SC, while it came with different caps, which changed the blade exposure, all were constant with the blade gap at .023". The NEW LC has major tolerance issues. The blade gaps of the ones that passed through my hands had gaps ranging from .017" to about .030".

I've only seen the postwar Tech design range from .023 to .026 for US, Canada, and England.

I don't think the blade gap differences are on purpose, they sold trillions, even billions of these razors.

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