James Neill made the Eclipse Red Ring in Sheffield and he also made the legendary Neillite plastic razor which was licensed and manufactured in the US in co-operation with the Four Hundred Company NY (he visited the US to make a deal about his equally legendary hacksaw blades, and I guess this was a spin off).
Anyway, I collect bakelite DEs and really really wanted a Neillite after hearing so much praise for them.[
I've never seen one for sale in UK but a member here pointed out to me that they are plentiful in the States - someone was doing some buying for me over there so I asked them to pick me up a couple of Neillites, and here they are:
The most famous thing about the Neillite is the differential aggression.
Like the British bakelite masterpiece the Souplex Double Six, one side of the Neillite head is fiercely aggressive and the other side is milder.
The Double Six achieves this differing aggression by differing blade exposures, but the Neillite does it with differing blade gaps - the guard on the side with fewer scallops (on the right in the lower photo) drops away more quickly making a bigger blade gap and a more aggressive shave.
I found the milder side with more scallops still reasonably aggressive maybe like a pre-war Tech, and the aggressive side is at least FaTip fierce.
Both sides have that lovely bitey feel that I associate with 30's and 40's bakelites.
Everyone does it their own way with differential razors and,hey!, it's good to have options - I use the aggressive side for WTG and XTG, and the milder side for ATG and irritation troublespots. I could even go ATG on the upper lip that way.
And the real magic is in the guard design. It stretches the skin perfectly (and is slightly longer on the more aggressive side to compensate for the increased blade gap) and, coupled with the plastic construction, this gives a very very smooth shave indeed.
So here's the Neillite then: super aggressive one side, gentle yet efficient on the other and incredibly smooth with classic bakelite looks and manufactured by a Sheffield legend (who is still trading today as Spear&Jackson).
And that's magic!
Anyway, I collect bakelite DEs and really really wanted a Neillite after hearing so much praise for them.[
I've never seen one for sale in UK but a member here pointed out to me that they are plentiful in the States - someone was doing some buying for me over there so I asked them to pick me up a couple of Neillites, and here they are:
The most famous thing about the Neillite is the differential aggression.
Like the British bakelite masterpiece the Souplex Double Six, one side of the Neillite head is fiercely aggressive and the other side is milder.
The Double Six achieves this differing aggression by differing blade exposures, but the Neillite does it with differing blade gaps - the guard on the side with fewer scallops (on the right in the lower photo) drops away more quickly making a bigger blade gap and a more aggressive shave.
I found the milder side with more scallops still reasonably aggressive maybe like a pre-war Tech, and the aggressive side is at least FaTip fierce.
Both sides have that lovely bitey feel that I associate with 30's and 40's bakelites.
Everyone does it their own way with differential razors and,hey!, it's good to have options - I use the aggressive side for WTG and XTG, and the milder side for ATG and irritation troublespots. I could even go ATG on the upper lip that way.
And the real magic is in the guard design. It stretches the skin perfectly (and is slightly longer on the more aggressive side to compensate for the increased blade gap) and, coupled with the plastic construction, this gives a very very smooth shave indeed.
So here's the Neillite then: super aggressive one side, gentle yet efficient on the other and incredibly smooth with classic bakelite looks and manufactured by a Sheffield legend (who is still trading today as Spear&Jackson).
And that's magic!
