Most Versatile Razor of All Time?

[Wgg2017]

What razor works best across a wide variety of skins (sensitive to leathery tough) and whiskers (thin and sparse to coarse and thick)? In other words, what razor has the widest range of use?

My guess would be that the most versatile razor would be an adjustable of some type like a Slim or one of the other Gillette adjustables. Or maybe it would be one of the modern adjustables. I don’t really know as I only have experience with the Slim. It seems quite versatile, as it’s too mild at 1-3 and too aggressive at 8-9. 6 is probably the sweet spot for me.

I was just curious what everyone else’s thoughts were on the most versatile razor that would work well across the greatest range of skin and whisker characteristics. Please share your thoughts.

 

[Noclue]

Any medium aggressive DE would do for me (preferably with a scalloped head). As long as the razor isn’t too aggressive or too mild - it works.

For that matter, even something soulless like Gillette Mach 3.

 

[Saloogie]

I'd put the very common Gillette Tech up there.

They sold millions of them to men with all types of beards as a good all-around basic shaver. It might be the most copied and the most successful razor of all time.

 

[Quaznoid]

No-brainer: Tech

 

[Halfbeard]

Straight razor.

 

[DesertIguana]

Surprised no one when with Slim or Fatboy, as they are like Multi - Razors made with many settings.

 

[MNSunny]

I would also say Tech. I put that ahead of my adjustable (Progress and Slim).

 

[nemo]

Gillette Tech

 

[ERS4]

I would also say Gillette Tech.
As the DE razor with the largest sales volume and widest sales range in history, it has experienced the most practical user experience and evaluation.

Today's DE can no longer have so much user feedback, so any "ease of use" tends to be more of a personal experience.

However, when we put a razor on our face, it is a personal matter; no matter how many people experience it, it may not be the same as how it feels on your skin.

 

[DeBladeRunner]

Rockwell 6s

 

[Joezamboni]

Surprised no one when with Slim or Fatboy, as they are like Multi - Razors made with many settings.

Their success is interesting. The Fatboy especially was groundbreaking (and the Toggle). If one searches eBay the lack of superspeeds and techs available produced during the Fatboy years is very notable. The Slim/fatboy/super adjustable probably represented some of the most versatile razors for their time. In a “literal” sense these may be the most versatile razors ever made.

In a figurative sense, look at the tech. It might not offer the range as the adjustables, but when it came to just getting the job done well, being easy to use, how copied it was, and the roles it played in like the war, as a travel razor, the price appeal, mechanical simplicity, one of the last true safety razors produced by Gillette, and even as a give away by the American Red Cross.

 

[dotKomo]

Tech or Superspeed.

 

[dmshaver]

Here's another vote for the Tech. Put a Feather in it & it delivers a wonderfully efficient, comfortable shave. Use a milder blade & it shaves off the hair easily yet still quite comfortably.

 

[lancre]

For me, the pre-zamak Tech edges out the SuperSpeed.

The configurables (Rockwell 6, Karve CB, Yates 921, etc.) are nice, but no single configuration is more versatile than the venerable Tech.

The same would apply to the adjustables (Rockwell T2, FatBoy, Progress, etc.)

For versatility, pretty much everything else out there trails the razors I listed above.

Disclaimer:
I restricted my comments to DE razors. Otherwise, a Schick Type L that I had early on, and a Damaskene that I discovered much later would have been in the thick of things, nipping at the heels of the Tech and SS.

 

[profusion]

Old Type. Nothing fancy, but it just seems to do it all with no muss or fuss.

 

[AshleyC]

Well, a strict adherence to the meaning of the word "versatile" means adaptable to a wide range of circumstances.

That pretty much leaves adjustable razors. A TTO or three or two piece razor doesn't adapt to you. You adapt your technique to it.

A Tech is designed to work for the broadest spectrum of the population. An adjustable can cover that baseline AND/OR adapt to shavers outside of that zone.

The Gillette adjustables are still the best.

 

[Albert V]

Rockwell 6s

Limited experience with what’s out there, but that is my pick. I don’t tend to change plates during a shave, I simply select the plate for my current beard.

 

[Jay21]

Unless we’re talking only about DE, the most versatile razor is a straight.

 

[VerbaVolant]

What razor works best across a wide variety of skins (sensitive to leathery tough) and whiskers (thin and sparse to coarse and thick)? In other words, what razor has the widest range of use?
.
.
.
Please share your thoughts.

My thoughts. It all depends on the brain between the ears and the hand that holds the razor. Ignore these two and you will never know the answer.

 

[mozartman]

I'd put the very common Gillette Tech up there.

They sold millions of them to men with all types of beards as a good all-around basic shaver. It might be the most copied and the most successful razor of all time.

That's true, but I've never entirely understood why, other than low price and high availability. Other designs both old and new, starting with Gillette's own "Old Type", clamp the blade more firmly and work far better, for me, anyway. The blade in the Tech somehow feels unstable to me, though it shaves well enough. RazoRock's clone used to cost $7 iirc and even in these inflationary times is still only $10. Plus the Tech earns points for its elegant simplicity. Today's Gillette could use some of that!