British vs USA Made Razors (PIC HEAVY)

[Esox]

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.

Well, that just threw my entire theory out the window! LOL

I was under the assumption that all razors of a given type, year ect would have been made to the same tolerances, +- .002 to maybe .003" at most, which would have explained my Brit Tech. A .015" variation seems excessive in a razor to me and would make a startling difference in the shave and feel of the same type razors at either end of the spectrum. Thats surprising.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

I think one of the reasons for major differences in the design of the English razors, compared to their American equivalents, may have been later investment in new manufacturing equipment. Early Gillette razors all used baseplates machined from extruded brass. In the U.S. the baseplates of the T.T.O. designs all had baseplates which were stamped from sheet metal, with the process being adopted across the range, with the introduction of the Tech. With the English designs, extrusions continued to be used until much later, probably because of a lack of funds to invest in the new equipment which would be required. Of course, this is just my theory

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

This is such a good thread.

This chart is not comprehensive but it is useful to me.

Gap Comparison Chart Link.

Interesting stuff in this thread about all sorts of things including about the variations in gaps in the Gillette SS razors through time. Particularly interesting to me because I learned to shave with a SS mostly (also with a Fatboy, I think, and a Slim). I particularly disliked the SS, as I got weepers, nicks, and cuts. My guess is I was given one of the high gap SS razors.

The pictures are great. I'd seen this thread before, but forgotten about it. Interesting how things become more meaningful as your knowledge and understanding increase.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Esox]

I particularly disliked the SS, as I got weepers, nicks, and cuts. My guess is I was given one of the high gap SS razors.

Possibly the SS you didnt get along with wasnt closing as tight as it should. They can get a build up inside the handle and on the threads for the TTO mechanism that can stop the razor from fully locking the blade down.

My nephew had that very issue with his 1936 Sheraton when he got it, but after a good cleaning in an ultrasonic cleaner, that issue went away completely. My Regent was much the same when I got it.

My fathers Brit Rocket also had quite a lot of buildup inside the handle and it took me quite a while cleaning it out. If felt as though it had sand in it, but once clean was a wonderful razor.

TTO razors need that TTO knob fairly tight. A slight change in torque on that knob can make a dramatic difference in how they shave and feel.

 

[Ad Astra]

While researching my new Aristo-66, came across something interesting ...

Basically that having survived the shortages of WWII, the British wanted more durable goods. Americans might not grumble about replacing an American-made razor every 2-3 years (the horror!) but that the Brits expected goods to be well-made and last. So their razors are a little better. Makes sense.


AA