I Love the GC .68-P. Talk me Out of Buying a GC .84-P.

[Dovo1695]

I've been a good lad, and haven't purchased a new razor in several years, but I've got the itch again. I need a bit of advice. I love the Game Changer .68-P, and I'm toying with the idea of buying a .84-P baseplate for $30. My Game Changer is from early 2018, so my first question is whether or not it will fit the current base. My next question is for those of you who had a GC 68-P, and gave the .84-P a shot, which one did you wind up preferring after using them both for at least six months?

P.S. I have a deep seated and visceral hatred of open comb razors, so if you have an open comb version of either, please don't weigh in. Likewise, if you don't own and love the GC .68P, and you have not used a GC .84-P for at least 6 months, no need to weigh in. I'm looking for advice from folks for whom the honeymoon period for both razors is far in the rearview mirror. Other razors need not apply. Thanks!

 

[cwright]

Since I switched from .68 to .84 have not used the .68 plate again, switched 6 months ago. .84 is still comfortable, not that aggressive, much less buffing required.

 

[thombrogan]

You’d be cutting into your RazoRock Lupo .95 budget

 

[SharpieB]

The .84 is my favourite plate out of the 4 I own (both Jaws and the .68). I have only had it for a couple of weeks.

Not as aggressive as you would expect and super smooth. I doubt I will use my .68 much moving forward.

Get it.

P.s. Yes, of course it will fit.

 

[Pnwsancho]

I have 3 of the game changer .84s because they were well priced and I didn’t want to have to continuously break them down to travel. I had a weird living situation where I spent a lot of time in two separate houses so I had a full set of toiletries in each. The extra efficiency made it worth it.

My living situation has changed so I no longer need all 3, but it’s hard to get rid of one because they are so good and well priced. I mean, I want a Blackbird, but I’m not sure it will be so much better that it’s worth so much more.

 

[Ron R]

To buy just the base RR G.C plate.84 for your .68 complete razor makes good sense. I have the .84 razor and there is not much for blade feel with a regular blade IMO. I you have a Kai SS blade (extra wide by .009 thousands of inch or .0045" per side blade exposure than a standard Gillette blade)slip it in your .68 razor and that will pick it up a notch also. I use a Kai blade in my .84 now and like the extra blade feel + blade is sharp & smooth.

 

[Dovo1695]

To buy just the base RR G.C plate.84 for your .68 complete razor makes good sense. I have the .84 razor and there is not much for blade feel with a regular blade IMO. I you have a Kai SS blade (extra wide by .009 thousands of inch or .0045" per side blade exposure than a standard Gillette blade)slip it in your .68 razor and that will pick it up a notch also. I use a Kai blade in my .84 now and like the extra blade feel + blade is sharp & smooth.

That's a very interesting idea. The GC .84 spec sheet says that it has 0.05mm more blade exposure than the GC .68, which is almost exactly how much additional exposure a Kai would add (0.045mm).

This may be cheaper than I thought. I might give that a try before buying a .84 baseplate.

 

[Batchief909]

I have both, and much prefer the .84 plate. The .68 reminds me of the 3 Techs I already own. The Kai blade also does the same to the Techs that they will do for the GC .68 plate. The Kai blade will also kick the .84 up a notch as well.

 

[Bill_G]

For about $29 it's a no brainer IMO. I started with the .68 & later on added the .84 plate. I prefer the .68 because I can use it with my eyes close. But I'd buy the .84 plate while you still can.

 

[Dovo1695]

For about $29 it's a no brainer IMO. I started with the .68 & later on added the .84 plate. I prefer the .68 because I can use it with my eyes close. But I'd buy the .84 plate while you still can.

This is an excellent point. If they stop selling the 84 baseplate seperately, it will cost me twice as much. As rationalizations go, this is pretty solid.

 

[SharpieB]

This is an excellent point. If they stop selling the 84 baseplate seperately, it will cost me twice as much. As rationalizations go, this is pretty solid.

Also, if you don’t buy one now, it might be a while until they come back into stock. I just got one after waiting a couple of months.

 

[Dovo1695]

Also, if you don’t buy one now, it might be a while until they come back into stock. I just got one after waiting a couple of months.

Yup, they're perpetually out of stock for the baseplate only option. I should probably just buy it.

 

[Bill_G]

Also, if you don’t buy one now, it might be a while until they come back into stock. I just got one after waiting a couple of months.

This is true & their email notifications STINK!!!!!

 

[Lefonque]

Don't buy the .84. Did I succeed.
I have am .84 it is a good razor in reality.

 

[Dovo1695]

You’d be cutting into your RazoRock Lupo .95 budget

Not to worry, I've got the Lupo 95 penciled in for Sept of 2023. I have a very carefully laid out acquisition schedule.

 

[MTG Jr]

I had both the GC68 and GC84 and ended up selling the 68 plate because it was just superfluous, given how comfortable yet efficient the GC84 is. There was just no need for both. That said, the Lupo 72/95 provides a different shave experience altogether, and are worth pairing against the GC84.

 

[Jasper J.]

I also have both, .84 is indeed easier to use because the angle is easier to keep. If you like .68, you won't regret getting .84.

 

[Fred D]

I have the GC .68 in both solid bar and open comb. I have recently "upgraded" to the Lupo .72, and couldn't be happier. I still enjoy using my .68, but the Lupo gets used 95% of the time now.

 

[luv2shave]

To answer one of your questions on the top cap, I bought the GC first batch when they had the flat bottom base plate.

Subsequent base plates have changed only cosmetically in the base plate underside, however the cap remains the same and fit every successive release perfectly.

84p is a sweet spot for me over the 68p. Since reason for your hatred for OC is not known, you may find your opinion changing with the 68 oc plate.

 

[Dovo1695]

Italian Barber drives me crazy. I've abandoned 90% of my shopping carts there over the years because at least 1/3rd of the items I want to buy are out of stock. I typically need to buy at least 4 items to get over the $60 free shipping threshold, and since only 50% of the items at Italian Barber are in stock at any given moment, this it's nearly impossible to do. Knowing that they'll be out of stock of half of what I want, I usually go in with some alternates, today it was a handful of shaving sticks I'd like to try. Here is my shopping list:

I can understand being out of an obscure soap like Mogno, but Tabac and Cella, and La Toja? This has happened to me pretty much every time I try to place an order. On the bright side, it's saved me at least $500 over the past few years.