Krona Head with Gillette Handle....I wish!

[Kevan]

I'm pretty much bonded with the Feather Stainless but every so often I take my trio of TTO's out for a spin. The last few shaves have been with the Slim and my new Fatboy, and today I used my Krona. And y'know what? This might seem like heresy but I think Schick just edged out Gillette in TTO head design, for my face at least. I've never done a direct comparison so I've never noticed it before now, but the faceted edges parallel to each safety bar on the Krona really enhance the razor's glide. I think I like it better than the Gillette heads, to be honest (note I've never used any Superspeed or related TTO models).

It's a shame that the Krona doesn't come with a better handle. True, the long plastic handle is great, but I kind of wish it had the solid feel and butter-smooth TTO knob of a Gillette. My Krona was shiny and lightly used when I got it but it seems with every use the knob gets more squeaky and sluggish, and it also doesn't have the extra "quarter-turn" I'm so used to with a Gillette.

So a Krona head with a Gillette handle....would it be a TTO RAD killer?

 

[Aaron622]

Yes, it would be great if the Krona TTO mechanism was the same quality as Gillette, but as far as the handle itself goes, I think it's perfect. Might not be too nice to look at, but it's very grippy, and I find that it's perfectly balance. I also like how it flairs toward the bottom, which seems to be pretty rare as far as handle designs go. Is your Krona an all plastic one or a metal-tipped variety?

 

[amishmotorboat]

So a Krona head with a Gillette handle....would it be a TTO RAD killer?

I'll let you know if I can get these merged, but I have to tell you, it's looking like the Krona is going on the "do not disassemble" list.

 

[amishmotorboat]

Ok, here is the simplest way. Just replace the doors by prying on the endcaps of a super speed head. The head pictured is the higher profile type, so that middle part sticks out quite high. On a lower profile head (post 1963), this shouldn't be such a problem. They fit on there like they were made to, i.e., they open and close exactly as they should.

I will not be attempting the two more difficult ways, but will describe them.
1 is to replace the entire shaft assembly, which would mean cutting a longer groove in the super speed (or lady gillette) head to accommodate the wider underside of the Krona blade holder. It would also include some fancy splicing together of shafts, both to get the right length and to get the right threaded end.

2 is to replace the bottom head of the Krona, either along with the previous way, or by itself coupled with the door replacement, while leaving the shaft and blade holder Gillette. I have no idea how tricky this would be, but I imagine very.

 

[amishmotorboat]

Yes, a perfect fit on a low profile head.
And you still get that 1/4 turn you like so much on an adjustable.

 

[Kevan]

Yes, it would be great if the Krona TTO mechanism was the same quality as Gillette, but as far as the handle itself goes, I think it's perfect. Might not be too nice to look at, but it's very grippy, and I find that it's perfectly balance. I also like how it flairs toward the bottom, which seems to be pretty rare as far as handle designs go. Is your Krona an all plastic one or a metal-tipped variety?

I like the flair too, and I agree about the balance.

My model is an all plastic one.

 

[Kevan]

Wow Amishmotorboat. Great work!

 

[Aaron622]

I would suggest trying to find a metal-tipped one. I haven't used a plastic-tipped Krona, but I've read that the construction is not as good. I don't think the metal-tipped version's mechanism is quite as smooth as a Gillette, but it's pretty close.

 

[kingfisher]

amishmotorboat rules.


I like the second one, that retains the Krona's low profile head but has the handle of a Slim. That's awesome.


I, too, love the shape of the Krona head; my only problem with the Krona is that it's just too mild for me.

 

[Kevan]

I would suggest trying to find a metal-tipped one. I haven't used a plastic-tipped Krona, but I've read that the construction is not as good. I don't think the metal-tipped version's mechanism is quite as smooth as a Gillette, but it's pretty close.

I started looking for one this week. There's a gold one on Ebay but I'm not interested in that.

Problem is, while used, the Krona I bought was shiny and looked new. I haven't found a metal-tipped one yet that looks new (outside of B&B).