Gillette Adjustable Razor

[rossination]

I posted a while back about some razors I bought off eBay when I was just getting into wetshaving. The razor on the right (picture below) is some sort of Gillette adjustable razor. I always have a hard time with it, because it opens really far if I'm not too careful (the knob seems to be loose), and it slips out of my hands so easily (used to my Merkur long handle), but I get a fantastically BBS shave with it when I pop in a Derby.

So, my questions are:
>> What kind of beast am I dealing with?
>> Is there a way to tighten down this knob?
>> Is there a way to make this more "non-slip"?

I imagine some sort of rubber band could be used to solve questions 2 and/or 3, but I'm not quite sure how. I'm more open to solutions that don't make the razor look ugly, of course.

Thanks in advance -

Daniel

 

[Jim]

Hello Danial
The razor on the left is a TECH razor from Gillette a fine and much under rated razor perfect for a beginner - the one on the right at first look seems to be a late super speed but something seems off (It might be a Wilkinson razor) I am not sure what you mean the knob is loose or do you mean that the butterfly doors will not stay shut when you shave? and its slippery ? please clarify.

 

[moses]

Perhaps it will help to point out that the razor on the right has been correctly identified as a late model Super Speed, which is NOT adjustable. Thus, the knob has only two positions. Open (turned all the way so that the barn doors flop wide open) to change the blades, and Closed (turned all the way the other way, so that the doors clamp down on the blade. When it is all the way closed, and turned so that the knob does not readily turn any further, is the knob or the doors loose? If not, then there is nothing wrong with the razor. You aren't supposed to be able to used the knob to adjust blade exposure or anything.

The handle I can sympathize with. I wish more earlier Gillettes had used longer handles.

 

[rossination]

Oh, how foolish of me. So I guess it's not supposed to be adjustable! That explains why it seemed "loose" when I had it open halfway. Regardless, it is a great razor - I like it a lot.

And thanks for the heads up on the Tech on the right - I had been suspecting as much. I'm liking these old razors more and more...

 

[Jim]

Perhaps it will help to point out that the razor on the right has been correctly identified as a late model Super Speed, which is NOT adjustable. Thus, the knob has only two positions. Open (turned all the way so that the barn doors flop wide open) to change the blades, and Closed (turned all the way the other way, so that the doors clamp down on the blade. When it is all the way closed, and turned so that the knob does not readily turn any further, is the knob or the doors loose? If not, then there is nothing wrong with the razor. You aren't supposed to be able to used the knob to adjust blade exposure or anything.

The handle I can sympathize with. I wish more earlier Gillette's had used longer handles.

I am so glad you realized this- I just ran in from the grill thinking "he said adjustable"

 

[moses]

Yup, that's the reason.

A lot of people like the Super Speeds a lot. I love the 40's early fifties model, but haven't tried any of the later ones. If you like it a lot, but have trouble holding on, maybe one of the slightly earlier texture metal handle ones would have a better grip for you.

 

[Jim]

This post might help with your grip issue.. Kyle's post

 

[moses]

I am so glad you realized this- I just ran in from the grill thinking "he said adjustable"

Yeah.... took me a minute to realize what was wrong too....