More aggressive SS

[Metal241984]

Hey everyone, I have a question. I've been using my Gillette super speed for a few months now and I feel like I need a more aggressive razor. I think its a 1980, it has an A3 code on it. Black knurled handle, not the plastic kind. It just doesn't seem to be aggressive enough. I wont be able to upgrade for a while due to financial circumstances. Is there a way to make a non adjustable ss more aggressive? Also any suggestions on a more aggressive razor to upgrade to when I'm able to? Thanks.

George

 

[dcc]

Gillette Super Speed Red Tip!

 

[Jeff_H]

George, some people "shim" their razors, to make them more aggressive, but I'm not sure you can do it in a TTO. In theory I think you can, I just haven't heard of it.

You make a shim out of a used razor blade. Take a pair of scissors and trim off just the sharp edge of the blade. You load that in your razor and then load your shaving blade on top of it. In a 3 piece razor, it lifts the shaving blade up slightly and increases the blade gap. Some guys use 2, 3, 4 shims, depending on what they want. You could try it. The most it will cost you is a few minutes and a couple of old used blades.

As for more aggressive razors...wow, there are so many. If you want to stay in the Super Speed family, the 40's style Super Speed is generally regarded as the best shaving Super Speed there is. Not that they are super aggressive, just very efficient while still being smooth. They are also not extremely expensive. From there...the world is your oyster. You would have to give us some more parameters like your budget, style of razor (3 piece or TTO), open comb or safety bar....the list goes on.

 

[Metal241984]

Jeff that shim idea sounds pretty interesting, I'm going to give that a try. As far as razors go I would eventually like to try a 3 piece and open comb styles. As far as budget goes...its really slim.

 

[Jeff_H]

Well, Merkur makes a nice rather mild open comb. The 180 also know as the long pole and the 25C. That was my very first razor and I shaved with nothing else for 2 years. New in the $30 range. Even better, I would suggest a Gillette NEW long comb. You can pick them up in a variety of conditions starting as low as about $10 for well used user grade. I just bought one freshly replated from Krona Kruiser for ab about $40. From there....we can go wherever you want. We can talk more when you are ready to go that route.

Good luck with the shims. Let us know if it works for you.

 

[shoulderpet]

Hey everyone, I have a question. I've been using my Gillette super speed for a few months now and I feel like I need a more aggressive razor. I think its a 1980, it has an A3 code on it. Black knurled handle, not the plastic kind. It just doesn't seem to be aggressive enough. I wont be able to upgrade for a while due to financial circumstances. Is there a way to make a non adjustable ss more aggressive? Also any suggestions on a more aggressive razor to upgrade to when I'm able to? Thanks.

George

I don't have any ways to make the razor more aggressive but if you like the Super speed design then you would love the Gillette Slim (or Fatboy but the Slim is less expensive)

 

[Niles]

Gillette Super Speed Red Tip

+1

 

[mswofford]

George; First welcome to B&B! I had a similar experience with my black handled SS I bought new in 1967. It's retired after using included blades I gave it a final cleaning. Anyway, after carts and cans I bought a couple of Gillette NEW short combs. I understand a limited budget, I really do. When you are able, look at Gillette NEWs; they are not rare and they are highly regarded on B&B.

 

[BlackBard]

Hey everyone, I have a question. I've been using my Gillette super speed for a few months now and I feel like I need a more aggressive razor. I think its a 1980, it has an A3 code on it. Black knurled handle, not the plastic kind. It just doesn't seem to be aggressive enough. I wont be able to upgrade for a while due to financial circumstances. Is there a way to make a non adjustable ss more aggressive? Also any suggestions on a more aggressive razor to upgrade to when I'm able to? Thanks.

George

Why more aggressive?

 

[Mick]

 

[Oldschool]

George,
You can shim the SS with up to three shims with no problem and that will make it shave more aggressively. I have found that if you try to shim it with more than three, the doors can sometimes bind on the blade edge as you close them, and once that happens your blade edge may be compromised.

I have also found that I can get a more aggressive shave out of the SS by using a really sharp blade like a Feather or a Personna Med Prep. I recommend using a combination of one of those blades with a couple of shims if you want to get the maximum performance out of your SS. I've been experimenting with all of this lately and have been getting some really excellent shaves using three shims.

As far as the upgrade razor is concerned - you could ask any 10 of us that question and get at least 15 different answers - and all of them would be correct . I caught a bad case of RAD and bought a bunch of different razors ....... and I wouldn't trade any of them!

Happy Shaving!

 

[Metal241984]

Why more aggressive?

It seems like I have some spots where I find myself going over and over again to get a BBS but have irritation. Where as when I was using a Mach3 I never had a problem. I'm not switching back to a cart so I thought maybe a more aggressive razor would solve the problem.

Thanks for all the good ideas guys, I appreciate it.

 

[deoxy4]

As others mentioned you can shim. I have done it with many razors including TTO. To eliminate the doors catching and compromising the blade edge, you need to pulling down on the edges of the blade while twisting the knob to close the doors. It is a little tricky but not a big deal and can be mastered with a little practice. Three shims will make the razor noticeably more aggressive.

 

[Chesterfield]

Gillette Super Speed Red Tip!

+1

 

[jazzguy]

When you have funds I'd look for a New since you mention open comb and 3 piece.