Been shaving this week with a 1969-made Gillette "The Knack" that I rescued from a local antique store.
For those that don't know the Knack, it's a kind of odd, mild-shaving plastic handle DE razor. More here in our own Wiki, with mr-razor's pix:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Knack
It's compared to the Feather Popular, due to the collar-type twist-to-open. But they are significantly different.
The Knack, with its metal TTO head- said to have come from Super Speed tooling- is quite top heavy compared to the Feather Pop. Along with its tapered plastic handle- which is practically weightless- it gives the razor handling characteristics that are unique. Not bad, just different. These things are tools, after all.
The tapered handle is a lot like an artist's paintbrush. One holds it so lightly I've had it fly out of my hand! It IS a mild shaver but slightly more aggressive than the super-mild Feather Pop. I took the Feather on a two-week trip, and found I had to sometimes use pressure to cut close, a sign of being too mild, in my opinion.
The Knack is mentioned as a lady's razor. Apart from a longer handle, it's quite different from the Starburst. The Starburst is more aggressive, has totally different balance, and does a great job on a face (and surely on long legs). The Knack is middle of the road, cutting-wise, compared to it. A fairly mean blade will do well in the Knack.
It's also called the last Gillette DE razor (as a variant of the Super Speed and sold overseas until 1998, I guess). You can see where Gillette was going: cheaper materials, mass-marketed ... it's almost the father of the cartridge razor! They were probably on the drawing board at that point.
Anyway. A neat Gillette collectable, and though a company cost-saver, proves they were still making a quality product.
Made to be practically throw-away, this one is till shaving almost 50 years later ...
Any love out there for Knack (or its British cousin Slim Twist)?
AA
For those that don't know the Knack, it's a kind of odd, mild-shaving plastic handle DE razor. More here in our own Wiki, with mr-razor's pix:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Knack
It's compared to the Feather Popular, due to the collar-type twist-to-open. But they are significantly different.
The Knack, with its metal TTO head- said to have come from Super Speed tooling- is quite top heavy compared to the Feather Pop. Along with its tapered plastic handle- which is practically weightless- it gives the razor handling characteristics that are unique. Not bad, just different. These things are tools, after all.
The tapered handle is a lot like an artist's paintbrush. One holds it so lightly I've had it fly out of my hand! It IS a mild shaver but slightly more aggressive than the super-mild Feather Pop. I took the Feather on a two-week trip, and found I had to sometimes use pressure to cut close, a sign of being too mild, in my opinion.
The Knack is mentioned as a lady's razor. Apart from a longer handle, it's quite different from the Starburst. The Starburst is more aggressive, has totally different balance, and does a great job on a face (and surely on long legs). The Knack is middle of the road, cutting-wise, compared to it. A fairly mean blade will do well in the Knack.
It's also called the last Gillette DE razor (as a variant of the Super Speed and sold overseas until 1998, I guess). You can see where Gillette was going: cheaper materials, mass-marketed ... it's almost the father of the cartridge razor! They were probably on the drawing board at that point.
Anyway. A neat Gillette collectable, and though a company cost-saver, proves they were still making a quality product.
Made to be practically throw-away, this one is till shaving almost 50 years later ...
Any love out there for Knack (or its British cousin Slim Twist)?
AA
