To be fair, I think the razors in question are abused ones that have been bought by people who didn’t know they were damaged or who planned to have them repaired. It’s not as if these razors need to be sent in for repair on a regular basis if you use them with a little care.You're a funny guy.
Razor Emporium and Chris/Cap have substantial business revamping/fixing Gillette TTOs. I don't think they see many Techs.
Super speed revisited
- Thread starter glm38
- Start date
Hmm...and abused Techs?? They pretty much don't exist. I'm not that OCD but the misaligned doors on most of the TTOs I've acquired (admittedly not impacting shave at all) annoy me.
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I just received my first vintage razor: a 1956 B2 Super Speed Red Tip. I can't tell why it gives a better shave than the Van Der Hagen TTO I picked up from Wally World but it has given 2 outstanding shaves to this newbie without any cuts and almost no razor burn/bumps -- which were really left over from the VDH. (both using Astra blades)
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What I really meant was, I thought you were making it sound a little like owning and using a tto must involve regular maintenance by a professional..
When you say misaligned doors, do you mean when the edges of each door are not level with each other when closed or when the doors are both level with each other but higher at one end of the center bar (t-bar) than the other?
I don’t have any with that problem although I’ve seen plenty for sale on the Bay that clearly do. I do have a couple where the doors seem slightly higher one side than the other but level with each other. I think I’ve half wrecked a Parat trying to fix the issue...looked at it from all angles and really can’t see what the problem is. To my eye, the whole head is not quite at 90 degrees to the handle either. I am a bit OCD and it has driven me to distraction.
Yeah, you can't unsee these things...
SS SOTD
Y4 Superspeed
Fresh Voskhod
BOSC Special Reserve soap (darn slick)
Omega 10005 boar
First attempt in many months, still not getting what I want out of this razor. Careful, light touch avoided any blood or razor burn. But... too much touch up, moderate sting from the alum, and didn’t make it to DFS. Doors seem plenty tight to me, but the blade is not as rigid as I would expect from my two and three piece razors.
I never used a TTO back in the day. Started with a Schick injector and went to an Old Type and a Merkur 36 slant, so I don’t have any memories of a brand new TTO to set a baseline expectation for my vintage SS. Should blade rigidity compare evenly with a slant or a 3 pc OC?
Y4 Superspeed
Fresh Voskhod
BOSC Special Reserve soap (darn slick)
Omega 10005 boar
First attempt in many months, still not getting what I want out of this razor. Careful, light touch avoided any blood or razor burn. But... too much touch up, moderate sting from the alum, and didn’t make it to DFS. Doors seem plenty tight to me, but the blade is not as rigid as I would expect from my two and three piece razors.
I never used a TTO back in the day. Started with a Schick injector and went to an Old Type and a Merkur 36 slant, so I don’t have any memories of a brand new TTO to set a baseline expectation for my vintage SS. Should blade rigidity compare evenly with a slant or a 3 pc OC?
- Thread starter
- #29
I've got several TTO super speed models. I think the flare too is my favorite. I like the red tip too though.
Part of the reason I stopped using TTO razors was concerns about fragility. They will last practically forever but if dropped not so much. But then again I've never dropped one LOL.
I've bought a number of TTO razors on eBay and only one had misaligned doors.
I agree. A 1954 is still in my 7 razor rotation. It's one of my best shavers even though I have many high end vintage Gillettes. Matter-of-fact last time I used (with an Astra) I had 3 days growth and hit a very near BBS/zero irritation with only 2 passes.
I think the super speed lasts forever. I’m using super speeds older than me and they’re fine. My father used the same super speed for at least 20 years. Unless they’re dropped from an airplane, they should survive a fall as long as the doors are closed.
Pretty much any brass or stainless razor will last, right? Those with moving parts are more prone to failure than those without. Pretty simple. Ain't nothing wrong with the SS, just not everybody values its TTO feature.
In my experience I've seen more issues with stripped, nearly stripped, or cross threaded threads on a 3 piece than issues with TTOs. Either one will last a very long time with a little care, but a three piece is far from bulletproof and a TTO is far from fragile.
You should look for razors in better condition. I've never acquired a Schick of Gillette vintage with any issues. Sure techs can have problem just like the Old Type and New Type have problems with the corners being dropped and no longer holding the blade properly.
I'm not really interested . As I've said, for me SS shave no better than Techs (yes I've owned Red Top and Post War SS) and I'm not interested in TTO for the hell of it. There are lots of other razors out there with more appeal for me. I'm not saying anybody need share that opinion.
Then why are you involved in a discussion revisiting a TTO ?
I read pretty much everything....Because I like to understand other people's opinions. I'm open to new insights even if acquiring a new one isn't on my hit list. And as I've owned or used an awful lot of razors my opinions might be worth something. I'm not completely against TTOs, look at my avatar. The first DE I ever owned was a Superspeed.
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I have tried to like the Red Tip, but never have been able to get as good a shave with one as I can with my 40's Style Super Speed.
Okay.
I have 67 that I picked up for like $10 a few years back that I just started shaving with again. It does a nice job.
