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The English Red Tip Super-Speed

I finally tracked down a replacement English Red Tip SuperSpeed for a reasonable price ... very difficult to do indeed.

As pics show, it needs the TTO painted (I have a pre-mixed colour ready) .. and other than a tiny bit of plate loss underneath, all other plating is in great condition.
I know these Red Tips come in 3 flavours: the USA superspeed at 0.66mm blade gap ... the English superspeed at 0.81mm ... and the lesser found Red Tip Rocket that is apparently the same blade gap as the English superspeed, but nowhere near as smooth and comfortable.

Anybody here got all three, and care to give an opinion on how they rate??

I shall be giving the English and USA SS versions a side-by-side try out on the weekend to compare.
 

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Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I finally tracked down a replacement English Red Tip SuperSpeed for a reasonable price ... very difficult to do indeed.

As pics show, it needs the TTO painted (I have a pre-mixed colour ready) .. and other than a tiny bit of plate loss underneath, all other plating is in great condition.
I know these Red Tips come in 3 flavours: the USA superspeed at 0.66mm blade gap ... the English superspeed at 0.81mm ... and the lesser found Red Tip Rocket that is apparently the same blade gap as the English superspeed, but nowhere near as smooth and comfortable.

Anybody here got all three, and care to give an opinion on how they rate??

I shall be giving the English and USA SS versions a side-by-side try out on the weekend to compare.
I’ve used, but no longer possess, all 3; I agree with you that the British Red Tip SS is the best shaver of the 3 — a great combination of smoothness and efficiency.
 
The Red Tip Superspeed Made in UK is the only vintage I have held on
to...out of at least 15-20 the iconic Gillette superstars.

It is the bees knees of the lot...by a mile.

I think it would give a Wolfman 1.05 a real run for the money,
in smoothness and efficiency.

I nearly sold men n a fog of stupidity some time ago....luckily the
sale fell through.
 
Does anybody know an accurate blade gap of the red tip rocket for comparison?

If I see a red tip rocket - at a reasonable price - I would get it to complete the set; I already have the flair tip, TV Special, and blue tip in rocket flavours. However they rarely come up for sale, and even standard rockets are going for silly amounts; only recently a TV Special rocket went for £70+ without a case.
 
From another site:

"I have the US and English Red Tip SSs and the Red Tip Rocket. I love them all. If I had to only keep one however, it would without question be the English Red Tip Super Speed. More aggressive than its American cousin but noticeably smoother than its Rocket brother. In my opinion, the English Red Tip SS is one of the best razors Gillette has ever made. If you see one in the wild, do yourself a favor and snatch it up- regardless of any aesthetic issues. Great score on the Rocket though. Also and absolutely outstanding razor!"

For the UK Red Tip variants: I suspect the gap would be more or less the same...the Rocket employs a TTO mechanism that feels hydraulically smoother. But when it comes to the face, the general verdict seems to be that the SS is the winner.

Apparently the Red Tip Rockets weight 3 gms more than the SS. One theory I read was that the heads are the same, but the difference in weight causes an ever so slight difference in how they behave on the face. In any case, I feel anyone who has either one of them is not missing anything much. If I see a Red Rocket though, I might barge indiscriminately through a bevy of grannies and children to get it.
 
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The Red Tip Superspeed Made in UK is the only vintage I have held on
to...out of at least 15-20 the iconic Gillette superstars.

It is the bees knees of the lot...by a mile.

I think it would give a Wolfman 1.05 a real run for the money,
in smoothness and efficiency.

I nearly sold men n a fog of stupidity some time ago....luckily the
sale fell through.

Gotta love spell-correct. I’m assuming you meant to say that you nearly sold yours in a fit of stupidity.
 
Three Red Tips. Yes I do (w/cases) and I love them all!
 

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Yes - it it does look like the two superdpeeds both have the square ends on the side plates.

Well I used the English superspeed yesterday, and to be honest it was very smooth .. smoother than the USA Red Tip with less blade feel.
I have been using a HD Rocket the last few weeks, and I wouldn't be confident of telling them apart in a blind test for smoothness.

Efficiency wise; a bit closer than the HD Rocket, but I wouldn't say noticeably closer than the USA Red Tip.
 
I finally tracked down a replacement English Red Tip SuperSpeed for a reasonable price ... very difficult to do indeed.

As pics show, it needs the TTO painted (I have a pre-mixed colour ready) .. and other than a tiny bit of plate loss underneath, all other plating is in great condition.
I know these Red Tips come in 3 flavours: the USA superspeed at 0.66mm blade gap ... the English superspeed at 0.81mm ... and the lesser found Red Tip Rocket that is apparently the same blade gap as the English superspeed, but nowhere near as smooth and comfortable.

Anybody here got all three, and care to give an opinion on how they rate??

I shall be giving the English and USA SS versions a side-by-side try out on the weekend to compare.
I have the GSC homage, several Made in USA Red TIPs, and 3 English Red Tips. of the English, I have a Rocket marked III on the base plate, an American style marked III, and the other American Style marked II. my Flair Tip Rocket and Super Speed Rocket are marked II so I assume it is the same head/blade gap. the charts say 0.028 gap, 0.001 less than a US Red Tip. the two marked III on the base plate check at 0.032-0.033 gap which matches the chart on Badger&Blade. the GSC Homage felt rough so I only tried it once. the Red Tip Rocket and the plain Red Tip marked III are very smooth shavers. they feel comparable to my Fatboy set to 6 or 7. I use the Fatboy at 7 regularly, but I still equivocate comparing them. sometimes it(red Tip marked III) feels the same, sometimes it feels a little milder. I suspect the difference is more the blade and soap than the razors
 
There is little difference between them I'd say - you will get much more based on the preparation such as soaps, heat or hardness if water, and of course length of stubble.

I love the Red tips .. HD Rockets .. just about any TTO superspeed
 
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