I have a Gillette Fat Boy and a Gillette 1971 Q-1 Black Beauty. I have tried each 3-4 times and they just don't do anything for me. My normal rotation is a DE89, 34C, Gillette New OC and RR jaws. I like these razors better than the TTO's. Am I missing something or doing something wrong?
Gillette TTO's Am I the only one with no love?
- Thread starter nwohio
- Start date
For me the adjustable TTO's are at the bottom of my rotation. I have a Fat Boy and a Slim that I hardly use. I'm partial to Aristocrats.
The adjustables are hit and miss for me; one Fatboy I had didn't agree with me, the next one did. The Slim and Black Beauty never did get along with me. I do quite like a 40s Super Speed though, it's my favorite of DE razors.
I get great shaves with my non-adjustable Gillette TTOs (Ranger, '71 Black Handle SS) but my adjustable TTOs are generally a miss (Fatboy, Slim)
I don't shave often enough with my Executive Adjustable or my gold Super Adjustable to really formulate an opinion either way.
I don't shave often enough with my Executive Adjustable or my gold Super Adjustable to really formulate an opinion either way.
Got rid of all my safety bar razors (except for my great uncle's). Kept my Senator & Sheraton, otherwise there isn't a TTO in my den. SWMBO has a Lady Gillette & a Knack, but that's not MY den is it?
Not at all. I get better shaves from my EJ DE89 than my SuperSpeed every time. There is just something about shaving with "history", if that makes sense, that makes me squeeze it into the rotation.
I like my Tech just fine.
Nope, I'm the same way. I prefer modern razors. I've got a '51 and a '62 SS, and they're fun and all that, but they're just not anything I enjoy shaving with every day. I'm probably going to sell one of them.
For a while I had the same experience. I had never tried the NEW at the time (I have since inherited my great uncle Jiro Kai's).
2 things helped me crack the code. First was something that must come naturally to most but not to me, The TTOs require a different angle when holding the razor against the face. The handle has to be further out than my DE89. In fact I had to remind myself of it a lot because muscle memory tends to take over.
The second thing was a realization that I haven't heard anyone else mention (although I'm sure someone has I just haven't read it yet) which is that the blades they used when these TTOs were thicker than the ones we use today. That means that they flex differently among other things. I routinely use a slim that when set to 1 is so mild that blade almost rests on the safety bar. I happen to have some NOS blades that I put in to see what they looked like. There was more blade gap than with modern blades. From this I figured that if your TTO is adjustable then dial it up further and it works. If it isn't then you might want to shim it.
Hope this helps.
APBT
P.s. For some reason one of the things that helped me the most was something I heard someone say which was basically to ignore the guard when looking for the right angle. Instead to focus on the blade being an extension of the cap of the razor. That helped me a bunch. I know it isn't really anything different just a different way of thinking about it but it helped, YMMV (obviously)
2 things helped me crack the code. First was something that must come naturally to most but not to me, The TTOs require a different angle when holding the razor against the face. The handle has to be further out than my DE89. In fact I had to remind myself of it a lot because muscle memory tends to take over.
The second thing was a realization that I haven't heard anyone else mention (although I'm sure someone has I just haven't read it yet) which is that the blades they used when these TTOs were thicker than the ones we use today. That means that they flex differently among other things. I routinely use a slim that when set to 1 is so mild that blade almost rests on the safety bar. I happen to have some NOS blades that I put in to see what they looked like. There was more blade gap than with modern blades. From this I figured that if your TTO is adjustable then dial it up further and it works. If it isn't then you might want to shim it.
Hope this helps.
APBT
P.s. For some reason one of the things that helped me the most was something I heard someone say which was basically to ignore the guard when looking for the right angle. Instead to focus on the blade being an extension of the cap of the razor. That helped me a bunch. I know it isn't really anything different just a different way of thinking about it but it helped, YMMV (obviously)
Lots of love for my 40's SS. My techs are beautiful, but they just don't shave like the SS. I'm going to try shimming the fat handle some day, it feels perfect in my hand, just too mild
- Thread starter
- #12
I think I will give the shim a try. I am guessing you put the shim under the blade?
I've been partial to the Made in England, LC news for quite a while now, the TTO's have been gathering dust
I'm partial to 3-pieces. They just seem to have a better feel to me. I did shave with a Milord this morning though and got a pretty decent shave after probably several months of not using a TTO at all. Still like the feel of a 3-piece though.
Same boat. I like the early Gillettes, m0st of mine are pre 1920. I think the Fatboys great look to at, but not really a great shaver. Love the look of the 40's Super Speeds and Ranger Tech,but too mild.
A Red Tip with a feather blade, that's another matter.
A Red Tip with a feather blade, that's another matter.
I've tried a few Super Speeds and thought they were good, but the best razor I've used is my 1930s Gillette NEW LC.
Fatboy, then called the 195, was the first razor I owned; given away in 1960 on a United Airlines flight. Used it 20+ years, then stupidly lost it and fell into the Vale of Darkness, a.k.a. blue Bics and Mach 3.
Now when I went back to DE shaving very recently, I had to start with another fatboy. So far, fabulous. But I am very interested indeed to see the non-TTOs so highly praised. Hmmm. Maybe when I save up some bucks.
Thanks.
Yrs, Robert ("Vespasian")
Now when I went back to DE shaving very recently, I had to start with another fatboy. So far, fabulous. But I am very interested indeed to see the non-TTOs so highly praised. Hmmm. Maybe when I save up some bucks.
Thanks.
Yrs, Robert ("Vespasian")
I've tried four of them, no dice. The blade angle is too flat so they feel like they scrape rather than cut whiskers.
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