Colonial General: Measurements, Photo Analysis, Review

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I've again been recently using the original SS General. It's a super smooth and quite efficient razor.

I'd probably buy the v2 General if one popped up somewhere.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Mine did not come with a handle and one wasn't available anymore at the time. The head geometry might be the only thing the same with the V2! The head on mine weighs 33grams and the post has a notch to get the blade as far back as possible. The baseplate width is 16mm. It is a completely different head with some lessons learned from this one obviously, but it is basically a neutral razor. I sometimes use it with a Pro Super!

I should add, thank you for doing this.

You're welcome. It sounds like they slimmed down the head and made it more neutral. That's interesting.

It would be important to note this razor is actually the 2nd version of the General, but it was the 1st in SS for Colonial. Originally the General was mfg'd out of Aluminum and then Brass in the original specs. Those specs were changed when they released the SS V1 you measured. If memory serves me the V2 SS specs were changed to make the head as small as they could get it without changing the shave properties... There are side x side pics in a post in this forum somewhere.

Jim @Chan Eil Whiskers, looks like our comparison has been done.

The V2 head appears to be smaller (front to back and top to bottom) than the V1. Also, due to the notch in the center post, the blade is more centered over the handle. I believe that this is one reason why the V2 feels and behaves a lot more like the Vector that the other AC razors in my Den.

L to R: Al SE1, X1 Slant, Ti Vector, The General V2.

L to R: Ti Vector, The General V2, X1 Slant.

In the second picture, you can see the blade in both the Ti Blackbird and the General V2 is right over the handle. In the X1 Slant, and the other AC blade razors in my Den, the blade is in front of the handle.

The General V2 is a very special razor.

 

[APBinNCA]

@never-stop-learning
Thanks for the top down pic, it's very interesting! I think this may partly explain why several people are finding their X1 slant to be a mild(feeling) shaver, but since this is about the General I will leave it at that. Looking at that reassures me that my V2 General is a Goldilocks razor.

 

[never-stop-learning]