This will be a long post with a lot of pictures. It will also be an ongoing post as I learn, adjust and adapt to and become proficient with a new razor. Along this journey I'll be testing many different blade types to find out which ones agree with it, and myself the most, along with different soaps and shave creams. Hopefully, at the end I'll settle on a single blade for this razor.
Not long ago I picked up a Gillette Regent Tech thinking it was an Aristocrat and really not knowing much about those Gillette TTO razors. As I've come to know and learn that razor, I've found it has more blade exposure than any of my other razors, and more than any other DE I've used including a NEW SC, NEW LC, British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket, D2 date code Flare Tip SS, D2 date code Gillette Tech, and a T1 Lady Gillette thats so mild I think of it as a TTO Tech.
The NEW SC is my favorite razor. Very rigid, which I need and yet incredibly smooth and quite mild given its blade gap. It gives me really nice comfortable shaves as long as all other aspects of the shave are up to the task at hand, including myself.
Along comes my Regent with blade exposure and I entered a new world of shaving. The longest a BBS shave has lasted me with my NEW SC and my, then at least favorite blade, Polsilver SI was around 9 1/2 hours. The Regent however, with a Polsilver blade gave me a BBS finish that lasted 23 hours. It was not, and is not however as smooth a shaver as I like the most.
I've looked at Gillette OLD types, learned as much as I could about them, tried to understand the differences between thick cap and thin and decided I'd like to try a Single Ring... sometime. At the same time I've discovered that I enjoy, and get great shaves from a little extra exposure of the blade edge. An aggressive razor was in order.
I did some research, read all I could and picked what I believe to be one of the best razors currently on the market.
The mailman arrived today.
There is something in there...
Oh yeah, we happy.
I'm honestly surprised with the quality of this razor. I'd be surprised if theres another modern razor of the same quality for twice the price.
This is a quality piece of equipment. The polish and the finish arent perfectly flawless as you may expect of a $200 razor, but it is very good.
The weight is substantial, even with the hollow handle. I dont have a scale to measure them, but it feels slightly heavier than my NEW SC and Regent and it has a nicer balance then either. My NEW SC, by comparison as I never noticed before, is head heavy. This Grande is not. It balances on my finger 1/2-3/4" behind the head. Pretty much where I expect I'll be holding it. The same as my Regent.
The handle itself is thick walled with fine threads cut into the neck. You can see right through the barrel of it. The handle may become slippery with wet and/or soapy fingers, but that will something to adjust too.
To the blade alignment issues I've read so much about and worries so many. Yes, you can put it together with the blade out of alignment. This is an issue I've never had to worry about with any of my Gillette razors, NEW SC and LC included as they're both 3 piece razors as well. I've only ever just dropped a blade in and tightened the handle up, but I did check them both before I ever used them.
The next pic is with the blade as far out of alignment as I can get it.
Does that worry me? No, not at all. Its easy to set square, especially as the handle has fine threads, allowing you to get the correct amount of tension quite easily while keeping the handle fairly snug. I dont have to chase the blade around and it literally only takes a few seconds to square things up.
Cont...
Not long ago I picked up a Gillette Regent Tech thinking it was an Aristocrat and really not knowing much about those Gillette TTO razors. As I've come to know and learn that razor, I've found it has more blade exposure than any of my other razors, and more than any other DE I've used including a NEW SC, NEW LC, British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket, D2 date code Flare Tip SS, D2 date code Gillette Tech, and a T1 Lady Gillette thats so mild I think of it as a TTO Tech.
The NEW SC is my favorite razor. Very rigid, which I need and yet incredibly smooth and quite mild given its blade gap. It gives me really nice comfortable shaves as long as all other aspects of the shave are up to the task at hand, including myself.
Along comes my Regent with blade exposure and I entered a new world of shaving. The longest a BBS shave has lasted me with my NEW SC and my, then at least favorite blade, Polsilver SI was around 9 1/2 hours. The Regent however, with a Polsilver blade gave me a BBS finish that lasted 23 hours. It was not, and is not however as smooth a shaver as I like the most.
I've looked at Gillette OLD types, learned as much as I could about them, tried to understand the differences between thick cap and thin and decided I'd like to try a Single Ring... sometime. At the same time I've discovered that I enjoy, and get great shaves from a little extra exposure of the blade edge. An aggressive razor was in order.
I did some research, read all I could and picked what I believe to be one of the best razors currently on the market.
The mailman arrived today.
There is something in there...
Oh yeah, we happy.
I'm honestly surprised with the quality of this razor. I'd be surprised if theres another modern razor of the same quality for twice the price.
This is a quality piece of equipment. The polish and the finish arent perfectly flawless as you may expect of a $200 razor, but it is very good.
The weight is substantial, even with the hollow handle. I dont have a scale to measure them, but it feels slightly heavier than my NEW SC and Regent and it has a nicer balance then either. My NEW SC, by comparison as I never noticed before, is head heavy. This Grande is not. It balances on my finger 1/2-3/4" behind the head. Pretty much where I expect I'll be holding it. The same as my Regent.
The handle itself is thick walled with fine threads cut into the neck. You can see right through the barrel of it. The handle may become slippery with wet and/or soapy fingers, but that will something to adjust too.
To the blade alignment issues I've read so much about and worries so many. Yes, you can put it together with the blade out of alignment. This is an issue I've never had to worry about with any of my Gillette razors, NEW SC and LC included as they're both 3 piece razors as well. I've only ever just dropped a blade in and tightened the handle up, but I did check them both before I ever used them.
The next pic is with the blade as far out of alignment as I can get it.
Does that worry me? No, not at all. Its easy to set square, especially as the handle has fine threads, allowing you to get the correct amount of tension quite easily while keeping the handle fairly snug. I dont have to chase the blade around and it literally only takes a few seconds to square things up.
Cont...
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