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How do modern razors measure up to old Gillettes?

I have a Cobra Classis and that is the only modern razor I have left, I gave away all the modern razors I bought.

It's hard to beat vintage British Gillette razors, the fit and finish compared to American razors is substantial with the exception of a few. The Executive and President are on par with anything out there and the look is heads and shoulders above modern razors.

Some new injectors are on the market, but I also like my Schick adjustable that I have had for years.

When it comes down to it I just like the look and feel of vintage better..
 
My best razor, I use almost daily, is my 1948 vintage Gillette Aristocrat. No contest to this razor, for me anyway.
My other razor is the EJ long handle 3 piece.
Here's my Gillette (got near pristine for $70 from a bidding site):
$Aristocrat 1948.jpg

Mikey
 
I bought a metkur 1904 about 3 years ago then my first vintage a gillette NEW 3 months later I now have over 30 razors .I think vintage razors are carriers of rad.
 
I began my return to DE shaving 5 years ago with a $5.00 1957 Super Speed O saw at an antique store. I now have 12 vintage Gillette razors including NEWs from the 30', Techs from the 40's - 60's, Super Speeds from the 50's, a Fatboy, and a Slim. I have 3 modern Fatip razors. All in all, I find the "coolness" and quality of the vintage razors the way to go. Just something cool about shaving with razors that were around before and when I was born.
 
Playing guitar has always been a hobby. Shaving hasn't. I'm not sure "quality" is quite the right word to use for a handle designed to hold a razor blade.

We have made a hobby out of something that wasn't one when these things were made (Gillettes). It's a bit like talking about coffee in the 60's and coffee now. It wasn't a "thing" then. :)


That's not entirely correct. Collecting old shaving gear may be a new hobby - perhaps - but shaving gear itself has always been made not just to meet a utilitarian need but also as a high quality luxury.

Or did you think Gillette plated those "Aristocrat" and similar razors in gold and boxed them up in leather presentation cases, often with accessory brush and shavestick bottles and blade banks plated to match, purely to keep the underlying brass from getting scuffed? Or that people back in the straight razor days actually needed sets of seven matching ivory-handled razors with the day of the week inlaid on each blade in gold, all boxed in a velvet-lined leather case, simply to keep their stubble trimmed?
 
That's not entirely correct. Collecting old shaving gear may be a new hobby - perhaps - but shaving gear itself has always been made not just to meet a utilitarian need but also as a high quality luxury.

Or did you think Gillette plated those "Aristocrat" and similar razors in gold and boxed them up in leather presentation cases, often with accessory brush and shavestick bottles and blade banks plated to match, purely to keep the underlying brass from getting scuffed? Or that people back in the straight razor days actually needed sets of seven matching ivory-handled razors with the day of the week inlaid on each blade in gold, all boxed in a velvet-lined leather case, simply to keep their stubble trimmed?

Interesting thought but the vast majority of shavers did not go for the presentation sets and seven day straights. My father used the same old Gillette New most of his life (I still have it). It was cheap and cheerful but did the job well. My Grandfather had the same straight for many years and, again, it was a cheap purchase but shaved very well. There was always, as now, a niche market for luxury goods but it was never the norm. I think "high quality luxury" is not quite the correct term for razors in general.
 
I think the Fatboy, Thin, SuperSpeed, were pretty much a dime a dozen whose main purpose was to sell razor blades just like the cartridge handles of today. If Atra comes out with a red one for Christmas it's still just about selling more blades.

It's still hardly comparable to Strats. :)
 
Interesting thought but the vast majority of shavers did not go for the presentation sets and seven day straights. My father used the same old Gillette New most of his life (I still have it). It was cheap and cheerful but did the job well. My Grandfather had the same straight for many years and, again, it was a cheap purchase but shaved very well. There was always, as now, a niche market for luxury goods but it was never the norm. I think "high quality luxury" is not quite the correct term for razors in general.

I think the Fatboy, Thin, SuperSpeed, were pretty much a dime a dozen whose main purpose was to sell razor blades just like the cartridge handles of today. If Atra comes out with a red one for Christmas it's still just about selling more blades.

It's still hardly comparable to Strats. :)

Oh I agree with both of you that the vast bulk of the shaving market was always "utilitarian". And even if Gillette sold a few thousand of those $10.00 gold-plated Traveller sets in the 1920s as an upsell on their normal $0.50 razor, the company's true profit was certainly still in the blades. I'm just pointing out that that luxury / hobby / conspicuous consumption niche market is not a recent phenomenon in the shaving industry but has always been with us. (For that matter, some of the earliest razors known, dating back to the Bronze Age, are very nicely decorated and clearly high-status luxury items...)
 
Modern SS model razors hold up really well, and frankly most are better made than vintage razors. Not to say vintage razors have still held the test of time. But modern SS will cost you - as some have already pointed it out, they are not cheap to produce with the machining and labour required.

Commonly purchased zamak razors are not the same, but it doesn't mean they don't also shave well. YMMV.
 
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For example, my wife uses hair dryers that usually run about $40 and last about a year or two. If I could buy one that would last forever and cost me $185 I'd do it because I'd be saving money in the long run.
Do your wife a favour and get her a [FONT=wf_segoe-ui_normal]Sedu 4000i Hair Dryer. Google it as don't just take my word for it. You'll be a superstar in your wife's eyes as it'll blow her away [/FONT]:001_smile
 
Playing guitar has always been a hobby. Shaving hasn't. I'm not sure "quality" is quite the right word to use for a handle designed to hold a razor blade.

The original Fenders were super-utilitarian though - a hobbyist with money to burn would probably have dropped a lot more money on something fancier by a different company - and musicians swear by "pre-CBS" Fenders just as much as collectors do.
 
But, there is something about vintage, wondering about who owned it, what history it has seen, etc.

That's what's cool about these ones. They belonged to a family friend's father. I only met him a few times before he passed away, but since then, I've heard some stories that make him sound like a very impressive individual.

It's also really neat to be able to use something that's at least twice as old as I am and still does what it was meant to do.
 
I think quality by price the vintage razors have the modern ones beat easily. That's not to say there aren't some great modern razors. I know the zamak is not designed to last a lifetime, but I've got some super zamak head razors. There are some vintage that I wouldn't shave with again. I' done a few shaves with a single ring and it is not for me. As with anything of this nature, YMMV.
 
Having said that, I thoroughly enjoy my modern Merkurs. Merkur razors seem to have fallen off in popularity lately, I think due to the proliferation oBut I think they are brilliantly engineered and wonderful razors to use. If I get 5-10 years out of one, I'm fine with that. I don't consider something "disposable" just because I can't pass it on to my great-grandkids.
I agree, I like my 34C. It doesn't have to outlast me, just my attention span. Which isn't asking much.
I still want a 40's SS though. :001_smile
 
1950's Strats could vary a lot from instrument to instrument. For example there was a lot of variation with the pickups because they were hand wound and there was a bit of variation in the number of windings. There was also a lot of hand shaping and finishing back then, so each guitar was fairly unique. My observation is that the cleaner a vintage strat is, the worse it plays and sounds. The beat up ones are the players, the great sounding instruments.

Modern Strats are more like vintage Gillette Razors. A good design, well thought out, constructed using methods that could be repeated consistently over and over again. Gillette produced millions upon millions of razors that performed amazingly well and are amazingly durable using simple, well thought out designs and construction methods. There are a lot of 100 years old Gillette razors out there still in use.

There are a lot of good modern razors out there. Parker makes a good modern TTO and there are a lot of brands of three piece razors based on Gillette designs. They range from inexpensive Zamac to high priced stainless steel. I think that this is a good time to be in the market for a DE razor, there are so many choices both vintage and modern.
 
My primary razor is a 1934 Aristocrat. My travel razor is a NEW LC. I sometimes use Old Types and old 1912 or GEM MMOC SE razors. The only newer razor I use is my ATT R2 Titan. I have others, but these are what I prefer to use. The older brass razors have stood the test of time and are still going strong. I suspect the ATT will perform similarly, but I won't be around to witness that.
 
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Four razors, three vintage Gillettes. Guess which hasn't been used in over four months? The Micro Touch One. But it was my go to (and only) DE for over two years. Now I rotate three. A 58 Flare Tip Super Speed, a 63 Slim and a 67 Black Handle Super Speed. Even the black handle is 50 years old. Something about the symmetry of them. The D1 Flare Tip is my birth year/quarter. I am pretty satisfied with this set up. The symmetry - D1/M1 of the oldest and youngest feels right.
 
I have 4 Gillette razors. How old is vintage? My favorite is a 83' black handle super speed and my second is a ndc super speed. I also fairly use a 76' travel tec and a 84' super adjustable. My aunt gave me the black handle ss and the super adjustable, they belong to my grandpa. I am glad I gave up my mach3 earlier this year, I get way better shaves now.
 
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