Have modern DE razors become more popular than vintage?

[Possum092]

Nobody values used shaving products or razors, except us on these boards. My heirs want money, stocks, or gold coins…not a stack of vintage hard to find blades, used imported soaps, or expensive DE razors equipped with o-rings.

 

[ewk]

I have a dear friend whose husband had a large inventory of guitars, equipment, and model airplanes. At his unfortunate and untimely passing she was very grateful to have the spreadsheets he kept describing the items and their worth. You will be doing a great favor to those you left behind if you catalog your collection now.

 

[CCS]

The whole thing will be such a chore with guns, guitars and amps, records, audio gear, books, etc., that I'm gonna do like the Egyptian Pharaohs and take it with me. I commissioned a large tomb on an acre and it's all going in there on display, just like me! In 4000 years, I'm gonna be famous!!

 

[Ladit]

The quality of a razor doesn't depend on its age. The best razors in my collection are Greencult, Rocnel, Globusmann and Henckels. It also doesn't depen on the price, I paid between 1 and 700 Euros per item.

 

[ShaverAZ]

I may have some really dumb relatives, but I doubt any are stupid enough to let razors like this go to waste:

 

[StewB]

There are some good modern designs. The Henson is a good example: I'm not aware of any "vintage" razors with this kind of head design.

 

[Alum Ladd]

There are some good modern designs. The Henson is a good example: I'm not aware of any "vintage" razors with this kind of head design.

I would like to try a Rockwell 6S & a Pearl Flexi. I tend to like sub £100 things

Sometimes there is a blurring of "vintage" and "modern". The Tech has mostly vintage examples extant, yet it is still being marketed to the Far Eastern and Indian markets as the Sterling, etc. It's a Tech with a plastic handle. There are obviously many Tech clones out there, many at premium prices. So is the Tech vintage or current, or a mix?

The Parker 74R is a brave but QC wise, hit or miss attempt to mimic a Gillette Super Speed. The 87R seems to be attempting a Rocket HD 'homage' I have heard that when they are good, the 74R & 87R are very good.

 

[CCS]

I would like to try a Rockwell 6S & a Pearl Flexi. I tend to like sub £100 things

Sometimes there is a blurring of "vintage" and "modern". The Tech has mostly vintage examples extant, yet it is still being marketed to the Far Eastern and Indian markets as the Sterling, etc. It's a Tech with a plastic handle. There are obviously many Tech clones out there, many at premium prices. So is the Tech vintage or current, or a mix?

The Parker 74R is a brave but QC wise, hit or miss attempt to mimic a Gillette TTO Rocket HD or Super Speed. I have heard that when they are good, the 97R is very good.

Interesting about the "Sterling". You can get one shipped from India for as little as $6. Is it really a mild Tech head or something else? Aren't razors like the Jagger DE89 supposed to be modeled on the Tech's head? Because if that's the case, it sure doesn't compare to my Ball End Techs. I hate the damn thing.

 

[StewB]

Aren't razors like the Jagger DE89 supposed to be modeled on the Tech's head?

No, I don't think so...

 

[Alum Ladd]

Interesting about the "Sterling". You can get one shipped from India for as little as $6. Is it really a mild Tech head or something else? Aren't razors like the Jagger DE89 supposed to be modeled on the Tech's head? Because if that's the case, it sure doesn't compare to my Ball End Techs. I hate the damn thing.

It's a Tech or Gillette's most modern take on it. There's also the Chinese one with the Gillette Blue blade. Shanghai made I think. I've got one in it's pack, not tried it yet. I've heard it's better.

Some guys on the forum were shaving with them for a few weeks a few months back.

The EJ DE89 head is a completely seperate animal I'm pretty sure.

Pure genius in a way. Almost the modern Tech. A reinvented everyman razor.

I always get a great shave from my little DES89 Kelvin.

 

[CCS]

It's a Tech or Gillette's most modern take on it. There's also the Chinese one with the Gillette Blue blade. Shanghai made I think. I've got one in it's pack, not tried it yet. I've heard it's better.

Some guys on the forum were shaving with them for a few weeks a few months back.

The EJ DE89 head is a completely seperate animal I'm pretty sure.

Pure genius in a way. Almost the modern Tech. A reinvented everyman razor.

I always get a great shave from my little DES89 Kelvin.

I've complained about the DE89 here a couple times. I got it about 10 years ago to have something new but I didn't like it over the vintage stuff I had so it just sat on the shelf. I used it a couple times recently and felt the same as I had way back. Maybe there's something I don't get about using it. It sure is pretty.

 

[CCS]

No, I don't think so...

Good because it's nothing like a Tech save for a 3-piece design!

 

[Alum Ladd]

I've complained about the DE89 here a couple times. I got it about 10 years ago to have something new but I didn't like it over the vintage stuff I had so it just sat on the shelf. I used it a couple times recently and felt the same as I had way back. Maybe there's something I don't get about using it. It sure is pretty.

I'd say use it like you would a Tech.

It's got a narrow angle, I use mine steep.

My little Kelvin is very short handled. Maybe that helps.

When you get the angle right it's sweet.

 

[CCS]

I'd say use it like you would a Tech.

It's got a narrow angle, I use mine steep.

My little Kelvin is very short handled. Maybe that helps.

When you get the angle right it's sweet.

Yeah, I should give it a go again. I probably am not used to the angle for that razor vs. others that I guess I've built a muscle memory with. It is a lovely looking, nicely weighted razor. I only have two new model razors, this and my AS-D2 and I always grab that when I want to use a modern razor.

 

[ShaverAZ]

It's a Tech or Gillette's most modern take on it. There's also the Chinese one with the Gillette Blue blade. Shanghai made I think. I've got one in it's pack, not tried it yet. I've heard it's better.

Some guys on the forum were shaving with them for a few weeks a few months back.

The EJ DE89 head is a completely seperate animal I'm pretty sure.

Pure genius in a way. Almost the modern Tech. A reinvented everyman razor.

I always get a great shave from my little DES89 Kelvin.

Here's the Chinese. I got it for under $3 a couple of years ago. Pretty mild shave.

 

[Ron R]

I use both vintage and modern razors, the latest CNC razors are very accurate when you flip the razor to the other side to use and they are using exotic metals like stainless steel, bronze and Titanium. The old Star brand, Gillette, Gem, Schick and Valet auto-strop razors also had excellent machined tolerances with excellent stamping technology with very good quality controls IMO before being shipped to retailers across the world.
I get very similar results using Vintage or Modern razor and enjoy the variety and what the old timers used from the early 1900's from a safety razor point of view still in its infancy stages of development.
Star brand (Kampfe brothers of Brooklyn NY) where the real first successful inventors of the Safety razor on a mass production scale and prospered for many decades being #1 manufacture world wide in the 1880's for their revolutionary SE lather catcher razors for men's grooming needs.

 

[Leverspro]

It's been years since I've looked at shaving forums (probably 8-10?) and, unless I remember wrong, it seemed like most guys if they didn't buy a Muehe or Jaggar, preferred vintage razors. Now, I keep reading of new razors that I've never heard of and various plates that offer different gaps and people spend hundreds of dollars for them. I do have a Jagger DE89 from about 10-12 years ago and a Feather AS-D2 from5-6 years ago but everything else is vintage Gillette (Super Speeds, Techs, 195, Slim, and an Aristocrat). Curious to hear from you new razor buyers why you prefer them (assuming you do) over vintage products?

For me, yes, modern razors rule. I won't digress into the usual argument of a what relatively inexpensive hobby this is. If you've been gone for ten years then you've been gone longer than I've been wet shaving. I started with some old Gillettes but it wasn't long before my experience with modern razors made me put the old ones down. Purely a personal choice but no doubt influenced by the darling razors that appear here.

 

[CCS]

For me, yes, modern razors rule. I won't digress into the usual argument of a what relatively inexpensive hobby this is. If you've been gone for ten years then you've been gone longer than I've been wet shaving. I started with some old Gillettes but it wasn't long before my experience with modern razors made me put the old ones down. Purely a personal choice but no doubt influenced by the darling razors that appear here.

Thanks for your reply. I've been shaving long enough that those vintage mid-60's Gillettes were new when I started shaving. As I wouldn't dream of spending the kind of money that some of these new razors sell for, I'll never have the experience of using any of them. As I think I mentioned, spending the $120 for the Feather AS-D2 was a hard decision to make but it turned out to be a nearly perfect razor for me. However, I'm not sure it really gives me a better shave than a ball end Tech with a Feather blade.

 

[Curly Straight]

Those sort of prices are way out of my world view. I've seen a couple DE razors in the $700+ range! I don't see their worth compared to other $500-700 items (like a nice Sig or a nice Chris Reeve knife (the latter of which is also outside of my pricing world view - I make do with Benchmade). Cool for the guys that feel there's value in those razors but they aren't for me. I mean, I'm still guilty about the AS-D2 and that was only $120 when I bought it new.

CCS,

These sort of prices are out of my budget as well, particularly with all the inflation we are currently experiencing in the U.S. which is sucking up my hard earned dollars. So I completely agree with you, with but one exception to your comment. And I’m not trying to hijack this thread.

But I cannot skimp on my CCW kit as I have not only myself to protect, but a lovely wife, children, and grandchildren. So I’ll pass on the $700 razor regardless of who made it - when. But I will carry a SIG everyday. Or a good old American-made Benchmade! (Just not the current Benchmades from China).

Those who think their Taurus (whatever), Ruger LCP, Kimber R7’s, Diamondback DB380 or DB9, S&W M&P, EZ, Shield or Shield Plus, KelTechs, Springfield Armory (anything they sell here as a U.S. product which is actually made in Croatia), or several other notable manufacturers which according to the “gun rags” qualify as “duty or reliable CCW self-defense” guns - don’t shoot enough to discover their failures.

There’s enough historical data on SIG’s as superlative and unbelievably reliable defensive tools (going back to 1949) to explain why ALL of the U.S. Armed Forces have chosen the P320 since 2017, with many Special Forces groups worldwide having chosen SIG handguns for over 70 years. And now our U.S. Armed Forces have selected the SIG NGSW’s as their next select-fire platforms, as well as a variety of SIG optics and suppressors.

So while I’ll pass on super expensive shavers like the over-priced Wolfman, I’ll not bet my life on anything but the best. And no military testing of small arms was more stringent than those SIG has won. Much to the disappointment of all those Berettas, Glocks, and HK’s that failed the same testing. Nothing is more important than protecting my family and there is no price on that I’m unwilling to pay.

But I can (and do) shave with an $8.00 1954 Super Speed and get as great a shave as my more expensive modern razors. Guess I just threw money away on those high dollar shavers?

Curly Out

 

[CCS]

I'd say use it like you would a Tech.

It's got a narrow angle, I use mine steep.

My little Kelvin is very short handled. Maybe that helps.

When you get the angle right it's sweet.

Just wanted to report back that I used the DE89 today with a fresh Astra SP and realized, thanks to your comment. that I had just not been hitting the angle right. Different than my Techs and steeper than I had been using it. Bottom line, it worked a treat, so thank you!!