Gillette Tech First Impressions

[aldomarino]

With a mild razor, a sharp blade usually works best. Try a Feather or similar.

The Tech has a narrow effective angle. Outside of that angle, whiskers don't get fully cut. This is why people complain the Tech is too mild. You do not have to "ride the cap". Aim for a more neutral angle. To find it, listen to the whiskers being cut and stay in the middle of that zone where you will get the closest shave.

Right, and also, back then the Techs were made, usually a person only owned one razor, and they used it every time they shaved. They also used the same brand of blade very time as well...the local drugstore probably only carried three or maybe four choices.

Anyway, using the same gear every time meant that not matter what it is, people got used to it and learned the best approaches, and it worked.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

I didn't think much of Techs till I decided to train myself to get a good shave with one (as in: is it this bit of metal or me that's doing it wrong? ).

I love my Tech and my custom olive wood handle:
View attachment 1221157

None of this cap-riding nonsense for me. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool steep angler.
Of course, YMMV.

I'm with the King (C. Gillette) all the way. Check out the "2nd WAY" below:
View attachment 1221164

Go steep, or go home.

 

[ShavingBarristr84]

I found them to be wildly overrated.

I find them to be wildly underrated. A superb shaver, especially with sharper blades. And the best head shaver out there.

 

[Quaznoid]

Have pre-war and post-war Techs. I prefer the post. My Ball-handle with a Lord Plat or Lab Blue gives me an easy 2pass BBS everytime. I find Techs extremely easy to use, a great razor for the beginner or old salt.

 

[chuckd]

I have a postwar Tech with a ball end handle. It works best for me with a less steep angle than the Merkur 34C that you mention, like (for me) most vintage Gillettes, and when paired with a sharper blade like Personna Lab Blue, Feather, etc. Using an Astra SP didn't produce quite as close a shave, but any of the other blades that I mentioned produce BBS - although Feathers only last three shaves for me in a Tech.

Since I can get a very close shave with a Tech, I don't consider them to be "mild" like a Merkur 15C, etc.

 

[Samon]

I find them to be wildly underrated. A superb shaver, especially with sharper blades. And the best head shaver out there.

Years ago when all I had were Gillette techs and a Gillette Brit aristocrat jr I asked on here for advice on blades. I bought GSB on recommendations and got nothing but terrible shaves from both. I quickly went to straight razors but always picked up the tech to see if I had learned anything new. Nope. I could barely shave my head with them, tried every angle, all the prep, more/less pressure and never once had a close or smooth shave. Same for my face, always a terrible shave only with lots of blood. They were demoted to display pieces.

The only time a tech gave me a properly close shave was when I used a feather blade I was given, and it wasn't very smooth. After that revelation a couple of years ago I have since gone through several razors and a dozen or more blades. GSB are horrible for me, in every other razor I've tried they are sharp but so harsh and unpleasant I gave all but 1 tuck away to my leather faced friend. I have also sold every vintage Gillette I had as they just aren't suited for me. Amazing how YMMV really is a thing and I'm glad those old bits of history still work with pride for others.

 

[South Dakota Guy]

Years ago when all I had were Gillette techs and a Gillette Brit aristocrat jr I asked on here for advice on blades. I bought GSB on recommendations and got nothing but terrible shaves from both. I quickly went to straight razors but always picked up the tech to see if I had learned anything new. Nope. I could barely shave my head with them, tried every angle, all the prep, more/less pressure and never once had a close or smooth shave. Same for my face, always a terrible shave only with lots of blood. They were demoted to display pieces.

The only time a tech gave me a properly close shave was when I used a feather blade I was given, and it wasn't very smooth. After that revelation a couple of years ago I have since gone through several razors and a dozen or more blades. GSB are horrible for me, in every other razor I've tried they are sharp but so harsh and unpleasant I gave all but 1 tuck away to my leather faced friend. I have also sold every vintage Gillette I had as they just aren't suited for me. Amazing how YMMV really is a thing and I'm glad those old bits of history still work with pride for others.

My experience is similar to yours. I don't have much luck with vintage Gillette razors. I did use one of my post war ball handle Techs last weekend and went with a steep angle and it was better than my first use when I tried to ride the cap. The Tech may not have much of a blade gap but it feels to me like it has plenty of blade exposure. I will continue to play with it from time to time but I have so many modern razors that just give me better shaves and do it more easily.

 

[never-stop-learning]

I didn't think much of Techs till I decided to train myself to get a good shave with one (as in: is it this bit of metal or me that's doing it wrong? ).

I love my Tech and my custom olive wood handle:
View attachment 1221157

None of this cap-riding nonsense for me. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool steep angler.
Of course, YMMV.

I'm with the King (C. Gillette) all the way. Check out the "2nd WAY" below:
View attachment 1221164

Go steep, or go home.

With my Techs, I sometimes go steep and sometimes shallow/neutral.

Whichever approach I use, I get a wonderful shave.

 

[Heavy_Metal_Hound]

I love my made in England Ball handle tech. Every time I switchover to my tech after using another razor I’m newly amazed at how good this razor is. You don’t often see a company’s mass produced budget option having this level of quality or longevity these days. Plus it’s both a good beginners razor and a great start to a classic razor collection.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Ball End Tech provided a great shave with Astra SP blades for me. It’s been a while, just might have to try a DE weekend to shake things up.

 

[FloppyJoe]

The Tech is one of the best razors available. It is a mild shaver and works well with a sharp blade. Feathers, GSB and the new Swedes all work fine as do others.

You can also dial up the razor by loosening the handle 1/16th of a turn. A little practice and a good blade and it is nothing but good shaves with no drama.

 

[dmshaver]

Congrats on getting your Tech. Be prepared, it is a gateway razor. I hope it gives you many years of quality shaves & enjoyment. Enjoy!

 

[razorhead63]

You just can't beat a Tech. I have many many razors but if I could only keep one it would likely be one of my five Techs

I completely agree with you.

 

[Tpach]

I get better shaves from my ball end tech than my fat handle

 

[ajkel64]

Techs are great, all models. Nuff said.

 

[BigJ]

Stick with that Tech for awhile (especially with sharper blades) and I predict that it will become a favorite!

’Tough to beat a Tech!’

 

[Benzadmiral]

Now, if you want to be ‘wowed’, put a Feather or Polsilver or Kai blade in it. You are smart in riding it shallow.

The Feather is what I usually load in my fat-handled, postwar Techs now. Also the Personna Red, but usually the Japanese blade.

The Tech is the razor I choose when I have a 24-hour beard and need a mild but close shave. That's not to say it can't be used on a 48-hour growth; I've done it; but I have more aggressive razors for that.

 

[kingfisher]

It's not hard to get a great shave out of a Tech. If you are having problems getting a good shave with a Tech, the problem is yours, not the razor's.

If you usually use razors that have a ton of blade gap and a fair bit of blade exposure, your poor technique is often rewarded, as the effective angle with one of these razors is very wide. A smaller gap razor like the Tech requires the user to maintain the proper angle; once they do, they are rewarded with a nice, smooth shave.

 

[zoidberg]

I get better shaves from my ball end tech than my fat handle

I have a number of Techs, all made in England (the place I reside) and I find my Ball End Tech to be quite a bit more efficient than my Fat Handle Tech.

The latter is the one I use the most though, I find it seems to suit subcontinent blades (as does my Old Type) and the Fat Handle definitely has a sweet spot for finding the right angle.

For daily shaves I find a Fat Handle Tech to be near enough perfect for my facial hair and skin, it took a while to get used to it, so I would recommend the same to the OP.

I find it's a great razor worth making the initial effort with.

 

[Medivh]

It's not hard to get a great shave out of a Tech. If you are having problems getting a good shave with a Tech, the problem is yours, not the razor's.

If you usually use razors that have a ton of blade gap and a fair bit of blade exposure, your poor technique is often rewarded, as the effective angle with one of these razors is very wide. A smaller gap razor like the Tech requires the user to maintain the proper angle; once they do, they are rewarded with a nice, smooth shave.

I keep seeing people saying that it takes a lot more skill to get a BBS with a super mild razor than a very aggressive razor and I think that's partly true, but not entirely. That's not always the case and it depends on a huge variety of factors like face and skin type and probably others as well. I have a tough whiskers and very dense beard and while I can get BBS with my Tech razor, it's nowhere as fast or as enjoyable as with some of my more efficient razors, especially if I haven't shaved in 3+ days.

I've been a DE shaver for 6 years now and my first DE razor was a British Tech from the 70s and I know that's not much, but i've tried over 20 razors so far and I keep learning new stuff and I can safely say that when I pick a blade that work for me, get a nice prep with cold water and use Arko for instance, I can get BBS with pretty much any razor regardless how mild, inefficient, aggressive or efficient is even if I try it for the first time without getting irritation, cuts, nicks, weepers, creepers or whatever like 95% of the time.

But that doesn't mean that all razors shave the same or that I can achieve the BBS as easy or as fast. For those with softer whiskers and not so dense it might not matter that much what type of razor they use if they are skilled enough, but that definitely affects those with though whiskers and very dense beards. For instance, even when I get a BBS and my skin is as smooth as glass, I can still see small dots on my face, which are impossible to remove no matter how many times I try, while others have absolutely nothing when they get BBS and that's one of the reasons why I think my beard is a bit different than most people.