Deutsche Optik is a small vendor that once sold great quantities of collectable optical equipment. In recent years with new management they also sell a variety of collectables, esp odd miitary gear like surplus medical equipment. Right now that have for sale French Army surplus open comb razors, Swiss Army razor strops and shaving soap. Might be worth a look.
Deutscheoptik.com shaving gear
- Thread starter binowatch
- Start date
Thanks for the heads up. I picked up one of the French Army OC razors.
Awesome site. Thanks!
++ 1
Sure is, I could browse there forever.
I liked this
http://www.deutscheoptik.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=947
FYI, that's a Gibbs razor, and my understanding is that those razors do not accept regular DE blades.
Ah. Well, live and learn. I read here that someone used a scissors to trim standard DE blades to fit a Gibbs.
In any event, the razor comes with three blades, so I'll get at least one shave out of it -- more if the blades are decent.
Actually, it turns out that this one does accept standard DE blades (see pic). Not a bad little razor; I may use it for travel. I'd say it's about as aggressive/mild as my Mühle R41 open comb (though the fit and finish -- well, there's no comparison).
That Gibbs blade is one tough customer. I switched back to my R41, with a Timor, mid-shave.
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what do you mean by tough ? It it an agressive shave , or what ? And to confirm , it WILL take standard DE blades ? Thanks , and i might have to get one of these !
Sorry, I wasn't clear. By "tough customer" I mean there was a lot of tugging and pulling. I had the feeling that if I continued for the whole shave, there would have been significant razor burn.
However, I've hand-stropped the blade, and am going to give it a second chance. We'll see. I like the dark blue color of the blade!
Yes, I didn't Photoshop the picture or alter the Lord blade in any way. It fits!
Thanks , and i might have to get one of these !
Don't get your expectations up. The finish on this razor is pretty rough. But it comes in a nice (cheap) little plastic carrying case with compartments for the handle, head, and a pack of blades. That's why I'm thinking of it as a travel razor. (Hmmm, since it's army surplus, I guess it was designed to travel well.)
You should try a regular blade, we'd like to hear if it's a good shaver.
Thanks for the Info . IMHO you should reserve your final opinion till you try it with a new made blade ? Perhaps those old french blades were just dull as on old farm hoe , and it could just take a nice new asra , derby , feather , ect to make her shine ? what do you think ?
again thanks for the info , going to order one of these babys monday !
again thanks for the info , going to order one of these babys monday !
How can anyone live without a good swiss army bone saw or a russian dinner bell ?
You should try a regular blade, we'd like to hear if it's a good shaver.
I think you're right. If hand-stropping doesn't help that old farm hoe, I'm gonna pop in a new Timor (my gold-standard blade) and see what's what. Watch this space for updates!
Tonight's shave with the Gibbs razor went well. Used the Gibbs blade for pass 1; after hand-stropping, it was slightly better than yesterday but still pretty rough. Changed to a new Timor blade for passes 2 and 3. Result: BBS (face)/DFS (neck). This is a fairly lightweight razor, nicely balanced. Mild, not aggressive; as I said yesterday, I find it comparable to the R41. I find it very easy to maneuver with this razor. It's a keeper. For the doubters among you, here's a picture of the Timor blade on the head. It really does work with a standard DE blade! 
Will post Update #2 after doing three passes with the Timor blade tomorrow night.
Will post Update #2 after doing three passes with the Timor blade tomorrow night.
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I used the Gibbs razor again last night -- three passes with a Timor blade; result: a comfortable, close shave. I still think that the Gibbs is on a par with the R41 in terms of aggressiveness. I'm going to use the R41 with a Timor tonight, just to remind myself how it feels.
Thank you. For the record, you are referring to the newer, milder R41 rather than the older version with the Fatip head, correct?
Correct. I had a very easy shave with the R41 last night (two passes plus ATG touch-up), so I'm a little unclear as to which razor is more aggressive. Maybe I'm just more used to the R41. I'm going back to the Gibbs tonight. Will report.
I have one of these also! my blades Wilkerson and Merkurs fit in addition to the Gibbs included.. What I also found and loved was wrap a rubber band around the plastic case it came in and one travel razor ready to go! And for $14.00 !
I have one of these also! my blades Wilkerson and Merkurs fit in addition to the Gibbs included.. What I also found and loved was wrap a rubber band around the plastic case it came in and one travel razor ready to go! And for $14.00 !
Ouch, I paid $20.
But, yeah, nice little razor, nice little case.After back-to-back shaves, I guess I'm rating the Gibbs as a bit more aggressive than the R41 (which rocks, by the way!).
(Ooh, whaddyaknow, 100 posts!)
Is shipping the standard $6.35 they advertise for orders under $25?
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