A warm hello from Europe, gentlemen !
Fresh newbie on the forum but not on DE shaving. Indeed, i started shaving with safety razors in 2009 to 2013, then i stopped shaving & had to resell all my collection for several reasons, and i let grow a full beard until april 2019.
Since then, i've come back to wet shaving and this time is for good.
My favourite soaps are the Italian ones. I use a Simpson Colonel for the brush, i don't need another one. For the blades, i really appreciate the Gillette platinum, silver blue, bleue extra, Feather, Kaï, Treet carbon, Derby premium, etc..
For the aftershave, i never use alcoholic lotions or balms/creams but 3 drops of high quality macadamia nut oil. (1st cold press)
For the look, i don't shave on the mustache area because i always keep a pyramidal mustache, just like Robert Taylor in the movie "Undercurrent" (1946)
I think i've tested enough razors to have an objective point of view, here is the list :
Well, i don't think i have forgotten something.
The best memories i have in this 1st period were with the Merkur HD, the Gillette superspeed 'trinity', the slim/toggle adjustable, the single ring, and my favourite, the junior #53...
The worst memories i had in this period with vintage ones were with the new improved Bostonian (a nightmare), and the Mühle R89 for the new ones. (i will never buy Mühle razors again)
This junior #53 was the only one i didn't want to resell back in the days, but i made the mistake to send it in a US company to replate the silo doors.
I' m sure you know whom i'm talking about...
They never sent back my junior, they claimed a problem happened during the replating process. Instead, i received a half bent/damaged aristocrat open comb #15, without asking my opinion/permission !
Something very weird that might interest you, guys :
The junior #51 i bought from a Belgian guy to replace my stolen #53 was apparently in great shape, but it was insanely more agressive than my previous #53 !!
I think it had a big issue which probably came from the opening/closing system because the blade exposure was too much steep compared to my previous #53.
Much more agressive for the skin & in the same time less efficient on the beard than my #53... Its level of agressiveness was almost lethal !
Unusable in my case, but fortunately, i managed to resell it on Ebay with a big warning for the buyer about the problem.
For my 2nd period, i wanted to get razors i hadn't tested before but i also tried to find back a junior #53.
I found a british junior but it is the #48 of 1948, not the #53. And it is also a very good shaver, one of my favourite !
The Merkur Futur was too heavy for me and the shave was like my malfunctionned junior #51..
The Leresche open comb was kind of cool but a slightly too agressive for my skin for everyday/two days shaves.
To me, the 1956 british ball-end Tech #24 (full brass version) is one of the best double edge razors i've ever tested ! I love its smoothess and, in the same time, its great efficiency. For the ATG pass, it "digs"/goes deeper on my beard than any other Gillette model without being aggressive on the skin...
And an other thing i really appreciate with this one, it is that i can use almost any blade with it, the shaving perfomances will remain the same... (which is not the case with open comb or TTO models)
The German tech was rather good but much less efficient than my #24, in my case. I made a trade with an antique dealer and i swap the razor for a genuine Zippo lighter. (always useful to have one even if i've never smoked a cigaret in my life)
That's it guys, it was a bit long and you will probably find some English mistakes. In that case, i apologize in advance, i'm not an native English speaker & and i learned it very lately.
Fresh newbie on the forum but not on DE shaving. Indeed, i started shaving with safety razors in 2009 to 2013, then i stopped shaving & had to resell all my collection for several reasons, and i let grow a full beard until april 2019.
Since then, i've come back to wet shaving and this time is for good.
My favourite soaps are the Italian ones. I use a Simpson Colonel for the brush, i don't need another one. For the blades, i really appreciate the Gillette platinum, silver blue, bleue extra, Feather, Kaï, Treet carbon, Derby premium, etc..
For the aftershave, i never use alcoholic lotions or balms/creams but 3 drops of high quality macadamia nut oil. (1st cold press)
For the look, i don't shave on the mustache area because i always keep a pyramidal mustache, just like Robert Taylor in the movie "Undercurrent" (1946)
I think i've tested enough razors to have an objective point of view, here is the list :
1st period (2009-2013)
* Merkur & other brands
- Merkur 15c
- Merkur 34c HD
- Merkur 37c & g
- Merkur progress
- Henckels Zwilling 34s HD (2nd version, same safety bar than the modern HD)
- Feather popular
- Wilkinson black plastic razor
- Mühle R89
* Gillette
- old type single ring
- new improved bostonian
- new improved tuckaway
- 40's superspeed
- US blue tip superspeed
- US flare tip superspeed
- US flare tip TV superspeed
- US red tip superspeed
- US black handle superspeed
- toggle gold (1958) (found it in 2012 in NOS condition with original box for 150€ !)
- slim adjustable
- british aristocrat n°15 open comb (half bent/damaged)
- british aristocrat junior special (aluminum version, patent pending)
- british aristocrat junior n°53 (brit. pat. 430030, 1949)
- british aristocrat junior n°51 (brit. pat. 430030, 1949)
- british aristocrat n°66 (coronation set, 1953)
2nd period, the come-back (nowadays)
* Merkur & other brands
- Merkur Futur
- Leresche 3 pieces open comb HD handle
* Gillette
- german 70's aluminium Tech n° 34
- british aluminium tech n° 32 (1950)
- british aristocrat junior n° 48 (brit. pat. 430030, 1948) (--> got it for 15€ !)
- british tech n°24 (full brass version)
* Merkur & other brands
- Merkur 15c
- Merkur 34c HD
- Merkur 37c & g
- Merkur progress
- Henckels Zwilling 34s HD (2nd version, same safety bar than the modern HD)
- Feather popular
- Wilkinson black plastic razor
- Mühle R89
* Gillette
- old type single ring
- new improved bostonian
- new improved tuckaway
- 40's superspeed
- US blue tip superspeed
- US flare tip superspeed
- US flare tip TV superspeed
- US red tip superspeed
- US black handle superspeed
- toggle gold (1958) (found it in 2012 in NOS condition with original box for 150€ !)
- slim adjustable
- british aristocrat n°15 open comb (half bent/damaged)
- british aristocrat junior special (aluminum version, patent pending)
- british aristocrat junior n°53 (brit. pat. 430030, 1949)
- british aristocrat junior n°51 (brit. pat. 430030, 1949)
- british aristocrat n°66 (coronation set, 1953)
2nd period, the come-back (nowadays)
* Merkur & other brands
- Merkur Futur
- Leresche 3 pieces open comb HD handle
* Gillette
- german 70's aluminium Tech n° 34
- british aluminium tech n° 32 (1950)
- british aristocrat junior n° 48 (brit. pat. 430030, 1948) (--> got it for 15€ !)
- british tech n°24 (full brass version)
Well, i don't think i have forgotten something.
The best memories i have in this 1st period were with the Merkur HD, the Gillette superspeed 'trinity', the slim/toggle adjustable, the single ring, and my favourite, the junior #53...
The worst memories i had in this period with vintage ones were with the new improved Bostonian (a nightmare), and the Mühle R89 for the new ones. (i will never buy Mühle razors again)
This junior #53 was the only one i didn't want to resell back in the days, but i made the mistake to send it in a US company to replate the silo doors.
I' m sure you know whom i'm talking about...
They never sent back my junior, they claimed a problem happened during the replating process. Instead, i received a half bent/damaged aristocrat open comb #15, without asking my opinion/permission !
Something very weird that might interest you, guys :
The junior #51 i bought from a Belgian guy to replace my stolen #53 was apparently in great shape, but it was insanely more agressive than my previous #53 !!
I think it had a big issue which probably came from the opening/closing system because the blade exposure was too much steep compared to my previous #53.
Much more agressive for the skin & in the same time less efficient on the beard than my #53... Its level of agressiveness was almost lethal !
Unusable in my case, but fortunately, i managed to resell it on Ebay with a big warning for the buyer about the problem.
For my 2nd period, i wanted to get razors i hadn't tested before but i also tried to find back a junior #53.
I found a british junior but it is the #48 of 1948, not the #53. And it is also a very good shaver, one of my favourite !
The Merkur Futur was too heavy for me and the shave was like my malfunctionned junior #51..
The Leresche open comb was kind of cool but a slightly too agressive for my skin for everyday/two days shaves.
To me, the 1956 british ball-end Tech #24 (full brass version) is one of the best double edge razors i've ever tested ! I love its smoothess and, in the same time, its great efficiency. For the ATG pass, it "digs"/goes deeper on my beard than any other Gillette model without being aggressive on the skin...
And an other thing i really appreciate with this one, it is that i can use almost any blade with it, the shaving perfomances will remain the same... (which is not the case with open comb or TTO models)
The German tech was rather good but much less efficient than my #24, in my case. I made a trade with an antique dealer and i swap the razor for a genuine Zippo lighter. (always useful to have one even if i've never smoked a cigaret in my life)
That's it guys, it was a bit long and you will probably find some English mistakes. In that case, i apologize in advance, i'm not an native English speaker & and i learned it very lately.