The Tech Clone Wars
- Thread starter never-stop-learning
- Start date
Better late than never, I have a number of other Tech-likes en route. And even some non-Techs, but that's another matter.
I have come to the conclusion that the Black Tiger must be a RiMei 2002/2003 BTW. In the meanwhile, I have learned that, however, RiMei is popular enough to have knock-offs, though it seems likely that the Black Tiger is the real thing.
Some sellers indeed list it as a stainless steel razor, though this claim seems highly dubious, given how little the razor costs.
All of this searching and collecting and collating information has got me thinking, it would be really cool to have a central database of sorts that listed Chinese razor models and their features. This would be helpful for ID'ing and keeping track of rebadges and so son.
Would such additions be welcome on the B&B wiki?
I have come to the conclusion that the Black Tiger must be a RiMei 2002/2003 BTW. In the meanwhile, I have learned that, however, RiMei is popular enough to have knock-offs, though it seems likely that the Black Tiger is the real thing.
Some sellers indeed list it as a stainless steel razor, though this claim seems highly dubious, given how little the razor costs.
All of this searching and collecting and collating information has got me thinking, it would be really cool to have a central database of sorts that listed Chinese razor models and their features. This would be helpful for ID'ing and keeping track of rebadges and so son.
Would such additions be welcome on the B&B wiki?
Just tell them it is stainless steel, foreigners love stainless steel. To be fair, sellers telling people what they think will want to hear is nothing new. I don't normally take for granted anything of what salespeople say, regardless of their nationality.
Global Shave Club also claims their Black Tiger is 100% steel. Not stainless steel, mind. Just steel. And steel being not at all an exotic material, I wouldn't rule out there might RiMei razors made of steel out there.
On a more general note, steel isn't such a fancy or expensive material per se, and although stainless is more difficult to work with, steel items in general are not regarded as high tech, or desirable, in most sectors, these days.
It's largely a matter of perception and marketing. There are goods that were originally made of steel and have moved on to more expensive materials, and now customers perceive steel as a budget / old-fashioned / low-quality option, even though materials that were adopted later are not necessarily superior under all respects. For other products, stainless is your garden variety material nobody gives a second thought about.
But back to razors, as stainless becomes more common, and their prices drop as a consequence, room is created in the higher-end of the market, for makers to consider moving to other novelty materials, for which they will be able to ask more.
If they spot an opportunity to profit, Chinese manufacturers might market stainless DEs, too; I don't doubt for a minute they lack the resources or expertise, like I said stainless is anything but exotic.
Not that I'm going to lose any sleep over this, though, as I'm OK with materials other than stainless, as long as the performance is good and the price commensurate.
Global Shave Club also claims their Black Tiger is 100% steel. Not stainless steel, mind. Just steel. And steel being not at all an exotic material, I wouldn't rule out there might RiMei razors made of steel out there.
On a more general note, steel isn't such a fancy or expensive material per se, and although stainless is more difficult to work with, steel items in general are not regarded as high tech, or desirable, in most sectors, these days.
It's largely a matter of perception and marketing. There are goods that were originally made of steel and have moved on to more expensive materials, and now customers perceive steel as a budget / old-fashioned / low-quality option, even though materials that were adopted later are not necessarily superior under all respects. For other products, stainless is your garden variety material nobody gives a second thought about.
But back to razors, as stainless becomes more common, and their prices drop as a consequence, room is created in the higher-end of the market, for makers to consider moving to other novelty materials, for which they will be able to ask more.
If they spot an opportunity to profit, Chinese manufacturers might market stainless DEs, too; I don't doubt for a minute they lack the resources or expertise, like I said stainless is anything but exotic.
Not that I'm going to lose any sleep over this, though, as I'm OK with materials other than stainless, as long as the performance is good and the price commensurate.
New Gillette Sterling's (Tech's) can be purchased on eBay for £5. Looking at some of the gross old Techs on here makes me shudder, sorry guys.
While I understand one's aversion to shaving with a used vintage razor, the Gillette Sterling razor is no comparison to the vintage Tech. The Sterling is a far inferior razor. You are much better off getting one of the other quality Tech clones mentioned in this posting, such as the Razorock Tek II, or whatever Bali equivalent is available in your part of the world. Enjoy!
Can you explain why it's inferior?
We all eat in restaurants using cutleries, plates, cups, glasses etc. that were used countless times by God knows how many people some of which are dead, which now that I think about it's way more gross and unhygienic than using an old razor, but we rarely think about that.
The post you replied to was about the mangy-looking, used Techs with worn-down plating and crusty handles, i.e. the kind of razor one is most likely to get, buying sort of cheap Gillette Techs off eBay.
I know and most of the vintage razors that i've got during the years were not in perfect shape. Some of which were in very good condition and they just needed a good cleaning.
Obviously, you can't be 100% sure if the razor you're buying is in good shape or not from the photos alone, but i'm pretty sure the very bad ones are very easy to spot compared to those in better shape.
I get what you're saying, but what he said can be interpreted in many different ways and just because you see things your way it doesn't mean that your way is the right one. A Tech in good condition without plating issues or whatever CAN be found for around 5 pounds/dollars, which was MY point. Whatever he likes it or not and considers the Tech to be gross or whatever it's his choice though, all i'm saying is that it's not impossible to find a Tech in very good condition cheap and the rest it's just points of view and opinions.
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Not this again.
Now, back to our regular programming:
FWIW I'm not as happy about the Baili as I hoped I would be: I have the Victory Shaver aka 171 aka "New/Upgrade" (think it has the same head as the Tek II, i.e. the wider one with protected tabs)
As far as mild razors go, I'm finding my KGC performs much better on my beard, when loaded with a Feather.
I suspect this might have something to do with the Baili having a quite sizable blade gap, compared both to the KGC and, as far as I understand, the majority of Gillette Techs and possibly Tech copies, too.
The design of the Baili's upgrade head also is very successful in muting most, if not all, audible feedback, which overall I find to be a minus rather than a plus.
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Why did you even started responding to me when the whole thing wasn't even addressed to you? What kind of ''special'' person are you? You think because you have an opinion that everyone else should agree or care about it? Nevermind, I don't want to read more of your bs, just keep it to yourself........
I find those cheap chinese techs with the gillette branding to shave poorly. I've tried a couple. If you like it, the more power to you. Ymmv is the name of the game in this hobby.
The geometry is similar, but the materials are not as good. It's a die cast zinc alloy head with a plastic handle. It's made to be inexpensive to manufacture and shaves OK but feels cheap.
The older vintage Techs are all brass razors with nickel plating. They have lasted 60 or more years and will continue to do so. If you get one with intact plating it can be cleaned up and sanitized. They were inexpensive back in their day, but they were well-made.
Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls. I would like to remind everyone that we are discussing Tech Clones, not striving to save the world.
Play Nice!
It's only shaving.
Play Nice!
It's only shaving.
In my opinion, it's very hard to beat the quality shave from a British Gillette Flat Bottom Tech. That said, I really like the Yaqi Tech head. It's cheap and shaves very well PLUS covers the tabs (a pet peeve of mine about which Gillette has never asked me my opinion). One of the razors I learned to shave on, though, was a simple REGUS 1957 ball-end Tech. It's a great razor and will continue to be one for several lifetimes.
That looks entirely like a Baili Victory head. Asking 7 Euros for it is kind of cheeky.
The whole razor, with the travel case, and a Baili blade, can be found for 10 bucks/Eurobucks or whereabouts, from both US/EU sellers.
