What type of Gillette?

[IoanPop]

Hello,

Can you please tell me what type of Gillette is this? The handle seems to be aluminium, the base and the cap are heavier. I got it from a kindergarten sell-out with 1 Romanian Leu( RON), that would be: 0,20 EUR / 0,23 USD / 0.17 GBP and I managed to get the worst shave of my life with it. Switching direcly from a Rockwell 6s to this i was careless.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I am no expert but maybe a 1968 Tech. I am usually wrong..........

 

[talibeard]

In the third picture you can see N on the left and 1 meaning first quarter of 1968 (see also here).
It looks like it is in good shape and the Techs are mild shavers so what went wrong?

 

[IoanPop]

Thank you for the feedback. It is all perfect until i get to the lower neck, the hair pattern is a mess there: all directions and almost parallel to the skin, so i have to be very careful when i shave there. I have irritations even before I start shaving just from the beard tickling my lower neck.

 

[talibeard]

Ah, I have two of those spots in my neck as well (which is why shaving with a cartridge always gave a bloody mess) and you just need to find the right prep (a preshave (proraso/PAA) works great), razor and blade for that. Takes a little time but you will get there.

My advice for now is to tuck that Gillette Tech away for a while; often a mild razor like that is adviced to new wetshavers but in my opinion a mild razor comes only truly to life in experienced hands. Techs are great shavers once you get them to work properly; they are my prefered tool for (old) carbon steel blades.

 

[bartje-p]

much is said above already. A big fan of my Tech, so don't ditch it. And looks in great condition!

 

[BigJ]

Great razor for me on the mild end of the spectrum!

I suggest that it is likely worth spending a bit of effort to master.

 

[IoanPop]

That is what i want: master it. I find it yet hard to manage a little blade exposure so i ordered the BIC chrome platinum blades. I saw in a table that they are a little more narrow so I will try shaving with them.

 

[Swingboy8]

(...) Techs are great shavers once you get them to work properly; they are my prefered tool for (old) carbon steel blades.

I also really appreciated my experience with a vintage blue blade in my favourite razor, the UK Tech #24. I related it in this thread -->
here

@IoanPop That's it, keep practising with different blades. To me, the weak point of this razor is its non-intuitive blade angle which can be missed very easily during the shave, especially for the XTG pass in my case.

But once you get it, it may become one of favourite as well...

 

[IoanPop]

Hello,

Can you please tell me what type of Gillette is this? The handle seems to be aluminium, the base and the cap are heavier. I got it from a kindergarten sell-out with 1 Romanian Leu( RON), that would be: 0,20 EUR / 0,23 USD / 0.17 GBP and I managed to get the worst shave of my life with it. Switching direcly from a Rockwell 6s to this i was careless.

Is the head made of brass or is it something else? The handle is aluminum for sure.

 

[Frank Discussion]

Is the head made of brass or is it something else? The handle is aluminum for sure.

I believe starting in 1962 the head cap on Tech's were made of Zamak?

 

[IoanPop]

Ohhh, I was planning to get a Razorock stainless steel handle to replace the aluminum one but with the head made of zamak I’ll pass.

 

[CCS]

I believe starting in 1962 the head cap on Tech's were made of Zamak?

I didn't know that. All my Techs (4 variations) are all brass heads. The newest, a Travel tech, is 2nd quarter 1962.

 

[Frank Discussion]

I didn't know that. All my Techs (4 variations) are all brass heads. The newest, a Travel tech, is 2nd quarter 1962.

Here you go. Tech - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/wiki/Tech

 

[CCS]

Here you go. Tech - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/wiki/Tech

Don't take too many things at Wiki or this site's shave wiki at face value unless the sources are documented and footnoted. There are other sources online that state the change was sometime in 1964-66. As I said, my second quarter 1962 Travel Tech is brass.

 

[IoanPop]

Well, mine is 1968 so still zamak .

 

[Alum Ladd]

Well, mine is 1968 so still zamak .

Well that's no disaster. It has lasted perfectly well for 54 years has it not?

From the pics it looks in excellent shape.

Zamak is a perfectly good family of alloys. It has long had its place in industry.

Some people seem to confuse it with some inferior metal, Pot Metal. It is emphatically not that.

 

[Old School TSD]

I didn't know that. All my Techs (4 variations) are all brass heads. The newest, a Travel tech, is 2nd quarter 1962.

When "Gillette" is engraved into the cap, it's always zamak...

 

[Alum Ladd]

When "Gillette" is engraved into the cap, it's always zamak...

I suspect zamak top caps are the 'new' design shouldered ones, as shown in the photos above. All my Techs have the earlier flatter top caps, which I assume are brass.

 

[CCS]

I suspect zamak top caps are the 'new' design shouldered ones, as shown in the photos above. All my Techs have the earlier flatter top caps, which I assume are brass.

I believe that's correct.