Gillette Heritage Initial Review

[njpaddy]

On the fence here, especially with an amazon gift card to burn. I used various old Gillettes for 4 years, then only a 34G for 5 years, before switching to a GC .68 in 2018. I do get better shaves with the slightly more aggressive GC, but I would still prefer a shorter handle like the 34. Reviews that say the Heritage is slightly more aggressive than a 34 have me interested. I need another DE, like I need another knife or more paracord. If I wait too long my wife will find something "useful" to use it on.

 

[ShaverAZ]

Lol. How does it shave? Looks similar to a Baili 131 head. Should work well.

Works just as well as a regular Tech - I was kinda surprised, since it cost under $3

 

[Teppanyaki]

I'm still using mine over a month after receiving it, which is a very good sign - still shaves smoothly and efficiently, still quite friendly. No razor burn still, which surprises me a little (I used to get razor burn with my Muhle R89, even revisiting the razor years later). Handle is good but not great for grip (great would be a deeply knurled handle). I'm now very happy with my purchase, and would reorder the same if something happened to my current one.

I have mixed feelings about the handle - I like it, but I don't love it. Some of the Muhle and EJ handles are nicer aesthetically, but my recollection is that none of them were decently grippy. If I had to pick a handle from either this or anything from EJ or Muhle, I'd go with the EJ Diamond Laser handle (I haven't tried it, but it looks gripppy and cool), then this.

 

[Lorteodt]

I just tried my Heritage today and I love it, it is so so very mild. It feels like you just can’t cut yourself with it. I don’t understand all the haters, okay the head is from Muhle, so what, it is still a great CHEAP shaver! Sure you can get a better wolfman shaver or a gamechanger, but at this pricepoint I absolutely think this is a great buy!!!

 

[Scrape&Splash]

So the thing many people who don't yet have a Heritage may be wondering: "How does it shave compared to something with which I am familiar?

For the last three weeks or so I've been dual-shaving with my near mint E4 Fat-boy and my Gillette Heritage. I don't know who owned this razor, but it's the best of my half-dozen or so Gillette Adjustables. It was likely owned by Niles Crane or Adrian Monk or someone equally fastidious. You couldn't find a better vintage un-restored Fat-boy.

I started with two new Personna Blue blades. I went back and forth between the two razors - a few strokes with each. I've used good soaps but avoided excessively luxurious soaps that might mask differences. I've used Harris triple-milled, Palmolive stick, Fine Vetiver, and Pacific brush-less cream. I've varied between 1-3 days without a shave and I've swapped the blades between each shave. I've put in 9 shaves this way. I was going to do 10 shaves to get the full experience from new to dull, but today was rough enough that I decided to call the end of the experiment. Here's the conclusion I've reached:

IMHO, the new Gillette Heritage is reasonably similar to my E4 (late 1959 in impeccable condition) Fat-boy on setting 6. It didn't take me long to zero-in on the equivalent setting. For the last 7 shaves, I've been varying soaps and brushes and letting the blades age to make sure the comparison was apt across soaps and lathering methods and blade condition. It is. But there are differences. I would say that of the two, the Heritage gives a slightly smoother and crisper shave than the Fat boy. However, I think that has more to do with the age and weight of the Fat-boy than actual differences between the performance of the design. The handle is slightly shorter on the Heritage, and undoubtedly the finish is slicker on the Heritage than the 60 year old finish of the Fat-boy. And the Heritage is slightly lighter. Moreover, the sound of the feedback is pitched slightly higher on the Heritage which means that it either supports more of the blade, or supports it closer to the cutting edge. Slicker, lighter, shorter, higher-pitched feedback will certainly come across as smoother and crisper. But for all intents and purposes, my E4 Fat-boy on 6 and the Gillette Heritage are (reasonably) equivalent.

All in all, for a skunk-works project, I think they nailed it. In an era where the handful of remaining old guys who worked for Gillette and stayed on after the P&G acquisition who actually remember how to wet-shave are probably getting leaned on monthly by the HR department for not using preferred pronouns... and they manage to put out a product that nails the wet-shaving experience like this? Nothing but respect. Well done.

 

[Lorteodt]

So the thing many people who don't yet have a Heritage may be wondering: "How does it shave compared to something with which I am familiar?

For the last three weeks or so I've been dual-shaving with my near mint E4 Fat-boy and my Gillette Heritage. I don't know who owned this razor, but it's the best of my half-dozen or so Gillette Adjustables. It was likely owned by Niles Crane or Adrian Monk or someone equally fastidious. You couldn't find a better vintage un-restored Fat-boy.

I started with two new Personna Blue blades. I went back and forth between the two razors - a few strokes with each. I've used good soaps but avoided excessively luxurious soaps that might mask differences. I've used Harris triple-milled, Palmolive stick, Fine Vetiver, and Pacific brush-less cream. I've varied between 1-3 days without a shave and I've swapped the blades between each shave. I've put in 9 shaves this way. I was going to do 10 shaves to get the full experience from new to dull, but today was rough enough that I decided to call the end of the experiment. Here's the conclusion I've reached:

IMHO, the new Gillette Heritage is reasonably similar to my E4 (late 1959 in impeccable condition) Fat-boy on setting 6. It didn't take me long to zero-in on the equivalent setting. For the last 7 shaves, I've been varying soaps and brushes and letting the blades age to make sure the comparison was apt across soaps and lathering methods and blade condition. It is. But there are differences. I would say that of the two, the Heritage gives a slightly smoother and crisper shave than the Fat boy. However, I think that has more to do with the age and weight of the Fat-boy than actual differences between the performance of the design. The handle is slightly shorter on the Heritage, and undoubtedly the finish is slicker on the Heritage than the 60 year old finish of the Fat-boy. And the Heritage is slightly lighter. Moreover, the sound of the feedback is pitched slightly higher on the Heritage which means that it either supports more of the blade, or supports it closer to the cutting edge. Slicker, lighter, shorter, higher-pitched feedback will certainly come across as smoother and crisper. But for all intents and purposes, my E4 Fat-boy on 6 and the Gillette Heritage are (reasonably) equivalent.

All in all, for a skunk-works project, I think they nailed it. In an era where the handful of remaining old guys who worked for Gillette and stayed on after the P&G acquisition who actually remember how to wet-shave are probably getting leaned on monthly by the HR department for not using preferred pronouns... and they manage to put out a product that nails the wet-shaving experience like this? Nothing but respect. Well done.

Great test, I tried a quick comparison with my old fatboy my self and I agree, it just about 6 (my exact fatboy sweatspot ) Think the Heritage will be my new daily shaver love the box, its worth the 35$ alone

 

[Jim99]

So the thing many people who don't yet have a Heritage may be wondering: "How does it shave compared to something with which I am familiar?

For the last three weeks or so I've been dual-shaving with my near mint E4 Fat-boy and my Gillette Heritage. I don't know who owned this razor, but it's the best of my half-dozen or so Gillette Adjustables. It was likely owned by Niles Crane or Adrian Monk or someone equally fastidious. You couldn't find a better vintage un-restored Fat-boy.

I started with two new Personna Blue blades. I went back and forth between the two razors - a few strokes with each. I've used good soaps but avoided excessively luxurious soaps that might mask differences. I've used Harris triple-milled, Palmolive stick, Fine Vetiver, and Pacific brush-less cream. I've varied between 1-3 days without a shave and I've swapped the blades between each shave. I've put in 9 shaves this way. I was going to do 10 shaves to get the full experience from new to dull, but today was rough enough that I decided to call the end of the experiment. Here's the conclusion I've reached:

IMHO, the new Gillette Heritage is reasonably similar to my E4 (late 1959 in impeccable condition) Fat-boy on setting 6. It didn't take me long to zero-in on the equivalent setting. For the last 7 shaves, I've been varying soaps and brushes and letting the blades age to make sure the comparison was apt across soaps and lathering methods and blade condition. It is. But there are differences. I would say that of the two, the Heritage gives a slightly smoother and crisper shave than the Fat boy. However, I think that has more to do with the age and weight of the Fat-boy than actual differences between the performance of the design. The handle is slightly shorter on the Heritage, and undoubtedly the finish is slicker on the Heritage than the 60 year old finish of the Fat-boy. And the Heritage is slightly lighter. Moreover, the sound of the feedback is pitched slightly higher on the Heritage which means that it either supports more of the blade, or supports it closer to the cutting edge. Slicker, lighter, shorter, higher-pitched feedback will certainly come across as smoother and crisper. But for all intents and purposes, my E4 Fat-boy on 6 and the Gillette Heritage are (reasonably) equivalent.

All in all, for a skunk-works project, I think they nailed it. In an era where the handful of remaining old guys who worked for Gillette and stayed on after the P&G acquisition who actually remember how to wet-shave are probably getting leaned on monthly by the HR department for not using preferred pronouns... and they manage to put out a product that nails the wet-shaving experience like this? Nothing but respect. Well done.

Nice write up! I didn’t do a side by side comparison with my Gillette heritage, but will probably do so next week.

If I knew someone just starting out and they didn’t want to go down the rabbit hole like I did, the Gillette heritage would be on my top 5 recommendations of razors under $40.

 

[JVandy83]

Glad to see I won't be regretting my purchase. Takes about 10-15 days for things to arrive from Amazon here, so I'm still looking forward to mail call.

 

[Lorteodt]

Glad to see I won't be regretting my purchase. Takes about 10-15 days for things to arrive from Amazon here, so I'm still looking forward to mail call.

Have you received your little wonder yet?

 

[Stuart Ganis]

For under $40.00 you can get a real Gillette, just saying..

Sent from my SM-T387V using Tapatalk

 

[JVandy83]

Glad to see I won't be regretting my purchase. Takes about 10-15 days for things to arrive from Amazon here, so I'm still looking forward to mail call.

Came in this weekend!

 

[andromeda673]

good deal.....it's a great razor, and you'll like it! I know I really like mine. It took a little to get used too, but it's a simple and easy razor to get along with, and really has a nice weight and feel to it.

 

[Ukrainian]

If they were to put Gillette logo on it and made in USA on the handle; hand is made in US according to the amazon
I would have purchased it

 

[warman2012]

This razor is blasphemy, plain and simple. If its not by the original company itself, its not a true Gillette. If its not from America, its not respecting the heritage that made Gillette what it is today. No respect for either the company's history or America at large. They can keep these knockoffs. I'll call it what it is, a nostalgia cash grab.

 

[echotron]

This razor is blasphemy, plain and simple. If its not by the original company itself, its not a true Gillette. If its not from America, its not respecting the heritage that made Gillette what it is today. No respect for either the company's history or America at large. They can keep these knockoffs. I'll call it what it is, a nostalgia cash grab.

"Anything to make a quick buck!" ... I have to agree with your observation. What gets me and appears to get to a lot of y'all, they didn't even have "Gillette" printed on the top plate! Wow! Seeing the $35 on Amazon for this razor, I just bought 2 Brand new in the box Muhle R89 in 2 auctions for $18 delivered & $20 delivered! Maybe I'll get my friend, a jeweller, to engrave "Gillette on the top of one of these!

 

[romsitsa]

This razor is blasphemy, plain and simple. If its not by the original company itself, its not a true Gillette. If its not from America, its not respecting the heritage that made Gillette what it is today. No respect for either the company's history or America at large. They can keep these knockoffs. I'll call it what it is, a nostalgia cash grab.

What about ABC sets? Or British Aristocrats?

Adam

 

[Whiterook]

What about iPhones, aren't they made by Foxconn? It's the global economy.

 

[Jim99]

This razor is blasphemy, plain and simple. If its not by the original company itself, its not a true Gillette. If its not from America, its not respecting the heritage that made Gillette what it is today. No respect for either the company's history or America at large. They can keep these knockoffs. I'll call it what it is, a nostalgia cash grab.

Didn’t Gillette manufacture razors across the globe?

 

[THall]

Looks like they made more than a quick buck on it as it has sold out multiple times and looks like it is going to be sold out again pretty soon.

The handle (US) and presentation case (China) are very nice. As far as price, I think it is more than competitive when compared to buying an R89 at regular retail. Unless you get a rare sweet deal on auction or find an R89 discounted at a Marshals, I thought the price was very fair and that is why I got one. In the very least, you can use that case for a homeless vintage Gillette.

 

[warman2012]

Didn’t Gillette manufacture razors across the globe?

What about ABC sets? Or British Aristocrats?

Adam

My previous statement did not account for international models because the subject of my original post was only taking into consideration here in the US and is meant to be talking strictly about the US release. Thing is, the case and razor are harkening back to the tradition of what Gillette made and sold in the United States, so I expect that history to be respected if they are going to release a new "vintage" razor with a "vintage" case. Meaning it should be made from a previous Gillette model of razor released, made, and sold here in the United States the exact same way as it was in the past.