Superspeed vs 40s Superspeed

[Ltltony]

I apologize if this has been discussed a bunch but I couldn't find it.

What are the differences between the 40s Superspeed and the 50s Superspeed that make the 40s so much more desirable?

 

[castlecraver]

Someone along the line (Corey?) probably made a post online about what an amazing, incredible, life-changing shave they got with their 40's SS. Presumably, no one so far has made a similar post about their 50's SS.

That's just my theory. Probably wrong, but so far, I've been somewhat unimpressed with my 40's SS.

 

[moses]

Probably wrong, but so far, I've been somewhat unimpressed with my 40's SS.

Personally I think it is the all around best basic razor ever made. But that's just me. I have not tried the later model, though. I do prefer the looks of the earlier one - maybe others do too.

-Mo

 

[Ken from Denver]

I can't find the posting, however there was a posting that showed a 40's, no date code SS, and a 1955 or 56 SS. The difference was considerable. The 40's SS had a much flatter head, while the SS from the mid 50"s had a much steeper, pitched head. This would have put the blade at very different angles to the skin. Thus, the 40"s are considered a milder, smoother shaver and the 50"s are perhaps a bit more aggressive, but of course YMMV. The illustrations with the thread showed a stark difference

 

[rayfound]

The superspeeds from 47 to 54 were all pretty much the same - and are generally considered by a lot of guys to be the best of the superspeeds (Many also contest they are the best non-adjustables period... some the best DE period, YMMV). I refer to these all as 40's style superspeeds, as they are all the same design. the first ones (47) had a straight blade bar, after this they were notched - I would doubt this has any impact on the shave, but id does make the 47 more rare/valuable...also easy to identify. Of course date codes started in 51.

After 54 it seems that there was a lot more change in the designs year to year, and even within the same year, and it became more confusing (at least looking back).

If you are interested in a razor from this era, you could PM me and I'll try to fix you up - I think I have a couple. For whatever reason, i use my '54 daily, but have grown somewhat obsessed with this razor.


-Ray

 

[nationalgrantham]

I have several of the "40's style" Super Speed's that are either X or Y (1952, 1953) and one true 1940's no date code Super Speed. I also have a C (1957) that has the flared knob on the end and I use them all regularly. Honestly...of all of those, the true 1940's no date code Super Speed is my least favorite of them all. I like my X3 the best. It seems to be the most forgiving. But really, they all are virtually identical. To the naked eye even the 1957 one has an almost identical head. I think the guard bar might be ever so slightly different.

When I finally found the no date code SS I thought I had found the holy grail. I took it home and put an Israeli Personna in it and was pretty underwhelmed. I was expecting to be able to wipe the whiskers off my face with it but it's just another regular old DE razor after all and I've still never gotten a more satisfying shave than my very first with a Gillette Tech Travel Razor and US Personna blade from CVS.

Josh