Diplomat, Aristocrat, President

[heirkb]

So I've looked around the shavewiki and have yet to find an answer to this. In what ways are these three razors different? Plating seems to be one. Handle knurling seems to be another. Is the way they shave different as well? I'm talking about the 1940's-50's aristocrats, not the open combed ones.
I've also heard there is some variation in the shave within aristocrats of different years. Is that true?
I call upon you veterans of Gillette knowledge to help me out here
And if anyone has pics, that'd be even cooler, because we could use this thread as a reference thread for posterity
Thanks

 

[ctakim]

The 40's Aristocrat is gold plated with smooth knurling above the twist to open knob, the Diplomat is the same with textured knurling, and the President is a silver colored Diplomat. That is my understanding, but I also defer to the Razor gods!

 

[heirkb]

That's what I had figured so far, thanks for confirming. I'm also interested in shaving differences.

 

[BroJohn]

The Diplomat and the Aristocrat shave the same. I suspect that is case for the President also.

They are magnificent shavers.

-- John Gehman

 

[heirkb]

Hmm...I remember on an old thread I read that presidents shave like 40's aristocrats. Using some logic, it seems that it would be correct to say that shaves of aristocrat=president shave=diplomat shave.
Yet, I also remember slaglerock saying that Aristocrats from the early 40's shave differently from the 48-50-ish ones...hmmm...

 

[thirdeye]

I find the Diplomat and President shave pretty much the same and better than the Aristocrat. I'll have to scale them to be sure but my hands say that the Aristocrat is lighter than the other two. Of the three, I favor the Diplomat.

 

[blantyre]

I've not tried a Diplomat. The Aristocrat and President are similar in most respects, possibly the President is a bit more aggressive but it's not a big enough difference to tip it one way or the other IMO. I ended up keeping the President because I am on an "all silver" kick at the moment. They are both great razors in all respects.

 

[ctakim]

These are descriptions that my RAD fueled mind does not need to hear!!

Oh well, some new razors to save up for!!

 

[cfriend]

Can someone who has all three of these razors post some side by side by side comparison pictures? We can look them all up separately, sure, but I'm sure some B&B guru has all of them and wouldn't mind posting some pictures for us

 

[Conscientious Dennis]

My RAD fueled mind has made me order two Aristocrats, one a 1941 and the other a 1948. This will give me the experience with hopefully the different levels of aggression. I will report back later this week with the results. It is my understanding that the shift in aggression was first realized with the 1948 model.

 

[Hoos]

Even within the Aristocrats, there is a difference in shaving. I find the 1946-47 Aristocrat to be an excellent razor. The '48-'49 is just a little to aggressive for me.

Have not yet had the privilege of shaving with either a Diplomat or a President (among many other great Gillette razors).

But there's still time . . .

 

[highball]

These are descriptions that my RAD fueled mind does not need to hear!!

Oh well, some new razors to save up for!!

+1
Always a new razor to save up for

 

[dwestenk]

Can someone who has all three of these razors post some side by side by side comparison pictures?

Not sure where this picture is from, but here are
Un-notched Aristocrat, no date code Aristocrat, Diplomat, President.
View attachment 54560

 

[DunEdinRanger]

Does anyone know what the blade gaps are on these respective razors?

 

[heirkb]

Great picture! I remember seeing on another forum that not ALL presidents are actually fully knurled on the handle. Someone had a president that did not have knurling on the upper part of the handle (he had reason to believe it was not a replated aristocrat).
I don't think that the tiny differences in aggressiveness will affect shave quality for me. I shave with my slim, toggle and fatboy set up to 9 and have no problem at all, so it should be fine

 

[The Real McCoy]

You forgot the un-notched, un-dated "aristocrat" that has no end caps. These are Regent Tech's!

 

[heirkb]

Oh god. I remember all that Regent Tech confusion. People got those razors in various boxes and were unsure what to call them, because Gillette seemed to have recycled names.
So we're at these razors now:
Diplomat and President (basically same with some potential knurling variation on handles and different plating)
Early to mid 40's Aristocrat (I assume un-notched?)
Late 40's-50's Aristocrat
Regent Tech

 

[rainman]

Not sure where this picture is from, but here are
Un-notched Aristocrat, no date code Aristocrat, Diplomat, President.
View attachment 54560

The president I believe has the same TTO mechanism as a red tip if you look inside the knob.

 

[Conscientious Dennis]

I just received my two Aristocrats and would have to agree that the 1948 is the more aggressive of the two. I love the quality and weight. The shaves are just the best of the best.