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- #21
Thanks for the guidance Nemo!
I'm doing this wrong
- Thread starter gurdygurds
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Sounds like me a year ago 
The post-war tech is a great suggestion by @nemo as I found the pre-war a little more aggressive than I like. But the tech with a sharper blade like a Gillette Nacet is an effective combination. After moving to the Fatip Piccolo Gentile from the Tech, I found it to be similar and very easy comfortable shave. You will be amazed at the muscle memory you quickly develop once you stay with one razor for a couple of weeks or more. Not rotating with so many razors is also a great suggestion. Good luck and have fun! So in summary, Gillette Tech with sharp blade and Fatip closed comb if possible.
The post-war tech is a great suggestion by @nemo as I found the pre-war a little more aggressive than I like. But the tech with a sharper blade like a Gillette Nacet is an effective combination. After moving to the Fatip Piccolo Gentile from the Tech, I found it to be similar and very easy comfortable shave. You will be amazed at the muscle memory you quickly develop once you stay with one razor for a couple of weeks or more. Not rotating with so many razors is also a great suggestion. Good luck and have fun! So in summary, Gillette Tech with sharp blade and Fatip closed comb if possible.
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- #23
Restarted my double edge shaving journey this evening taking the advice of you all. A couple days since I last shaved and I made a point to really "map" the direction in different areas of my face before starting. Made sure the lather had enough water, popped a new Astra into the Tech using the post-war bottom plate, and decided to go with the Durham Duplex handle. Thought that the extra weight in hand would help me keep the angle. Amazing how shallow I could go "riding the cap" and still the tech would cut. Went slow, no pressure, and stayed mindful. Stuck with a single pass and will wait 48 hours before shaving again. Shaving this way already made me realize some mistakes I've been making while trying out these other razors. Too much pressure, way too steep, way too many passes with some going against the grain without even really knowing it. Obviously not a super close shave, but I never cared about that when I was using cartridges anyway. I'm going to do the same thing all of December. I hid my open combs so that I'm not tempted to abandon the practice and use them. Thanks again everyone! Face feels great and didn't do anything to irritate it this time.
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That is a classic line!
Learn to use the Tech, then get rid of everything else.
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- #26
I was thinking about this last night and may do just that. Solid advice.
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- #27
How do you all shave with your Techs? Bar? Cap? Somewhere in between?
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- #28
Use the force? Change the angle slightly until you hear angels sing? Use a Gillette Mach 3 and pretend you used a Tech?
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- #29
Well….I already fell off the tech wagon. (I’m sorry brother Quaznoid) This tiny handle arrived today attached to a Zamak Gillette head. Figured why not, offered $5 on ebay, and to my surprise the seller accepted. Popped it on another tech and then tried it on this old type. Just shaved with it with zero problems. I tend to choke up on the handle anyways so this was no big deal. Think I’ve got the hang of the old type and man I love this travel handle.
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Couldn't have said it better myself!
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- #31
Waited another two days and just used the prewar Tech for my best safety razor shave yet. Starting to get comfortable with the whole routine and really enjoying the process. While I still love the look of the old type open combs, the simple design of the Tech is really growing on me. The fat handle that I figured I would like the least, now seems to be the one I will be sticking with. I said from the beginning that I don't want even a small collection of razors and I am going to stick to that. The Tech will be more than fine for me as my daily razor. I found a postwar fat handle user in gold that I'm going to try out as well, but after that I'll be putting some razors up for sale.
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The Techs are great razors. IMHO, you should check out blades other than Astra SP. Something like Nacet, Perma-Sharp Super, BIC Chrome Platinum, 7 O'clock Black, etc. IOW, sharper blades work best.
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- #33
Yes, I'm sure I'll play around with blades in the future. That's an entire world of it's own it seems.
Out of the one you listed I would recommend the tech. They are great razors and I feel they have a short learning curve. No matter which razor you end up using, stick with it for a while and as others have mentioned, try different blades but even when doing this I would recommend sticking to the same blade/razor for at least a few shaves to get a good feel for it. If you are going to switch it up frequently I would recommend taking notes as it will get hard to remember what razor/blade combos you really liked or disliked 20 different combinations later.
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- #35
Everyone’s suggestions and guidance has helped a ton and the shaves continue to be smooth. No more issues with irritation and I’m getting the technique dialed in. Tech is very user friendly. I’m not having any issues with the Astra sp blades so I’m going to stick with them until they’re gone before I try other blades. I did receive a gold postwar fat handle so kinda cheated to try that one out. Didn’t notice much of a difference from the prewar to be honest. Plan is to still just keep one and shave and be happy. Might allow myself to keep one and an open comb but will see.
The Astra SP is my personal "reference" blade. A really good blade at a good price. It's sharp enough (not the sharpest) and has good longevity. I also find them very consistent. The only downside is that they do show corrosion if left in a razor for too long (I tend to loosen the cap and give the razor a good rinse, but I don't believe in handling the blade after every shave).
Of the four razors you mention I only have the two Gillettes. You can't go wrong with a Tech. It's moderate on the mild/aggressive scale but has the advantage that it doesn't clog up easily unlike an R89, for example, that's often recommended for beginners. Also, most Techs are cheap and easily replaced, which is important if you're giving it to a teenager who might not treat it with as much care as you would.
The Old Type is one of my absolute favourite DE razors, modern or vintage, and I find it's slightly more efficient and aggressive than the Tech. If the Tech isn't shaving close enough then try the old Type next. The caveat is that they don't like being dropped - most Old Types I see for sale have bent teeth in every corner. The older thin cap models shave slightly closer (in my view) but are even more fragile.
Regardless of which 3-piece razor I use I almost always fit a different handle. My preference is usually a modern titanium one, of which I have quite a few to choose from, but that's a very personal and subjective thing. My point is that there's no need to let the handle influence your choice of razor.
