Gillette Tech Slant

[Haiku]

I received my Gillette Tech Slant the other day from PlanofMan and had my first shave with it last night.

First: the Back-Story. I read about the slant project and contacted Ryan about purchasing one. Given the shipping costs to and fro it made more sense to me to purchase a razor directly from Ryan than to send him one to “slantify”. Ryan advised that he had tried slanting a Tech and it looked good. I bought it. It turns out that mine is the first Gillette Tech Slant available to the public.

Second: the Razor.

Ryan was right, it looks good. In fact, it looks great. Without a word of exaggeration, it looks like it might have come out of the Gillette factory. If there is anything about the razor that’s off, I sure can’t tell. It’s a beautiful razor. No mistake, this is a "user grade" ball-end example of a classic Gillette. It's not NOS or anything like and it's still a beautiful razor.

Third: the Shave.

I loaded a new Feather, did my usual prep and gave it a go. Three days of growth vanished effortlessly. The shave was so smooth that I didn’t know whether the razor was cutting hair or skipping over it until I looked. It was cutting just fine. Very efficient but with no blade feel at all. None. Two passes and a bit of clean up and I had a DFS with no irritation, no cuts, nicks or even weepers. I’ve come to like mild razors with sharp blades and I sure like this one.

Conclusion

If you are a Tech fan, you’ll love the Tech Slant. This is an improvement over the original IMO. A vast improvement as far as I’m concerned. The razor keeps all the best qualities of the Tech but makes it far more efficient. I don’t believe I’m exaggerating by saying that it looks like it might have come out of the Gillette factory. It’s a real surprise and a real contribution to the world of razors. The fact that mine is the first one available to the public makes just adds to the value this razor has for me. It is a prized addition to my collection.

 

[nemo]

What, no pic? I'm thinking of doing one myself.

Sounds good.

 

[emwolf]

Yes photos please

 

[Haiku]

I have to get a few good ones, but this will give you an idea. These pictures do not do it justice.

It's a sort of a Gillette version of a Valencia with a helix type of twist as well as a slant. The left side is lower than the right, the blade edge sits close to the safety bar on the left with a small blade gap, on the right where the blade sits further from the safety bar, there is a bigger blade gap.

 

[PLANofMAN]

...It's a sort of a Gillette version of a Valencia with a helix type of twist as well as a slant. The left side is lower than the right, the blade edge sits close to the safety bar on the left with a small blade gap, on the right where the blade sits further from the safety bar, there is a bigger blade gap.

This should clear up any confusion. The blade is evenly exposed when viewed from above. The right side big "gap" is pretty close to normal exposure for a regular Tech.

 

[BigJ]

Interesting indeed!

 

[Haiku]

Some pictures. As PlanofMan indicated, the edge of the blade is evenly exposed with respect to the safety bar. In other words, the distance from the edge of the blade to the edge of the safety bar is the same the length of the blade. The gap however is different.

As I think the pictures show, as far as I am concerned the razor could have come out of the Gillette factory looking like this.

 

[kingfisher]

Um, so do you just run it over with an SUV or something? I mean, how in the world is this done? Where did you get it done? We need more details here.

 

[nemo]

Um, so do you just run it over with an SUV or something? I mean, how in the world is this done? Where did you get it done? We need more details here.

You must have slept through the "twisted" threads this summer. Here's one --> Wanton destruction - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/wanton-destruction.592604/

 

[Haiku]

Um, so do you just run it over with an SUV or something? I mean, how in the world is this done? Where did you get it done? We need more details here.

If you look at the Wanton Destruction thread, you'll see examples of what PlanoffMan who posted above, has been up to.

My razor is pictured in his September 17 post.

Although I've not seen an Old type in person, I have an idea that the Tech turns out even better than the Old type.

 

[PLANofMAN]

Um, so do you just run it over with an SUV or something? I mean, how in the world is this done? Where did you get it done? We need more details here.

It's a custom die, made by @twhite for slanting old types. I modified it to do techs. Tom had to make another to do old types, since the modified jig doesn't work on old types.

The techs slant more consistently than the old types, as in a cap from one will usually work on another, and ditto for the baseplates. They do require a bit more hand fitting than the old types, but I think the photos speak for themselves for the result.

 

[Haiku]

I've now had my second and third shaves with the Tech Slant. Both were multiple day beard-growth shaves.

The Tech Slant does not disappoint. If I were limited to three words to describe the shave, I would say smooth, comfortable and efficient.

The razor works better with a Feather with a shave or two rather than a fresh Feather. This is a bit different from my experience with say the Aristocrat Jr. or the Gillette HD or MD 500 razors or my Christopher Bradley with plate B. With those razors I can't tell the difference between a fresh Feather or one that has a shave or two on the blade. But I would say that with the Tech Slant, the shave improves with the second shave using a Feather.

I hasten to add that the shave with a Feather loaded into the Tech Slant was great with the first shave, it's just that it seems to me that it improves with the second and third. That's not unusual with Feathers and that's what led lots of us to "cork" Feathers before first use. I've not done that in a while, and I'm not sure I would bother with the Tech Slant in any event.

I've been using the razor "as is" which is to say that I've used it with the original ball-end handle. I've not tried tried the head with other handles yet. While I intend to experiment, I'm having a bit of difficulty in imaging that the shave can be improved given how well the razor performs.

All in all, the Tech Slant is a great razor and its creation is IMO a terrific accomplishment. One of the few bright spots in 2020.

I just realized that the last few pictures I posted (Post #7) were not properly "white balanced" those pictures are too yellow and the razor looks like brass. It's nickel plated and the more accurate colour is to be seen in the top pictures and the ones that PlanofMan posted.

 

[PLANofMAN]

@Haiku just as an FYI, the ball end handle is the older 'old type' handle and not original to the razor. The original tech ball end handle would be narrower and solid. Unfortunately, I didn't have one of those to send with the razor head, otherwise I would have.

I'm not sure what the weight difference is between the handles, but I think the solid Tech ball end handles are a few grams heavier.

I hope this doesn't lessen your enjoyment of this razor.