few questions about DE razor shaving……

mooman – Member

I dont know too much about the Techs. How much do they normally go for?

The Made in England fat handle flat head Tech (good condition but need a bit of cleaning) with original box fetch around £15 to £40 including postage. Without original box around £10 to £28 if it is in good condition. The box is very nice especially the small one. i.e. the one where you detach the head and the handle to put them in the box.

The new fat head Teach is about the same price but I have never seen a hybrid Tech on ebay so far. I have a hybrid Tech (1939?) (Rhodium plated – like shinny silver) too which I bought several years ago from a local vendor when price was still reasonable.

The US made Tech (“diamond” head base plate) is slightly cheaper as they are plentiful.

However, the Made in England flat head open comb Tech (I think they are also consider as Tech) like 7 O’Clock Tech can go for crazy price from £25 to £50 including postage if they in good to mint condition. I was out bid many times as price just went crazy at the last minute.

This morning I was lucky enough to get a good deal on a Red tip and a fat handle gold Tech.

I have two Red Tip (one restored and like new) while the other one in good condition but not shinny new.

I have seen the fat handle gold Tech but I think they are “diamond” head US made tech so might not be flat head Teach. I want a gold flat head fat handle new Tech but I am not sure there is one Made In England … I think I saw the gold flat head Tech on ebay UK recently … is that the one?

Red Tip go for good price at around £35 to £50 if I can recall. I bought both mine at around £35 to £45 from a local vendor. The vendor’s price has gone up since.

The Red tip was my main target, but the Tech came as part of the deal … so I will probably try to sell on the Tech (and another Red tip I got Saturday).

I am interested in the Tech if you wish to sell it but show me the picture first as I prefer Made in England Tech but may also collect one or two US made Tech.

😀

Edit: I prefer Tech because I do not have trendy hippie bush beard so it shaves better for me. If I shave with Red Tip I have to be extra careful not to shave my lips off … did that … blood bath … 😆

p/s: email you about Tech.

I am not sure what you mean by flat head and diamond head??
As far as I know the only differences that get mentioned between British and American ones are the slightly different pattern on handle. The slightly rounder end to the handle on the British and the base plate grooves being slightly more diamond in shape on the American ones.
The one I got comes with a box. But the box is very rough. I will see what I can do with it, but I not bothered by that so much.
I will post a before and after pic when it arrives.
I am 99% sure it is an American Tech I got.
I read the fat handles are liked because the handles are hollow, so you can fill them with sand/lead to add weight if desired.

The Red tip seems to fetch similar money to adjustables.
The prices are silly in UK … as you wrote. I have seen them go for the prices you mentioned.

mooman – Member

I am not sure what you mean by flat head and diamond head??

Here you go some of the Tech heads.

From Badger and Blade

As far as I know the only differences that get mentioned between British and American ones are the slightly different pattern on handle. The slightly rounder end to the handle on the British and the base plate grooves being slightly more diamond in shape on the American ones.

Yes, some differences there but not very important for me.

Some nice pics here too … From Badger and Blade

The one I got comes with a box. But the box is very rough. I will see what I can do with it, but I not bothered by that so much.

Yes, the bakelite ones are better.

I will post a before and after pic when it arrives.
I am 99% sure it is an American Tech I got.

Yes, I think only the American Tech comes in gold colour.

I read the fat handles are liked because the handles are hollow, so you can fill them with sand/lead to add weight if desired.

No, don’t do it because you will only imbalance the safety razor. The razor is already rather balance at 25.8 grams for the head and handle is around 24.8 grams.

The purpose of having hollow handle means you can actually “listen” to your shave with feedback and if the razor is solid you will not know the feedback hence applying unnecessary pressure.

😀

some excellent in-depth info in those last few posts, its all a bit over my head at the mo as i havent really looked into those razors yet.

you lads seem to have plenty of red tips between you, howsabout selling one on to me, save me bidding on fleabay 😀

got my stick of arko and gave it a try, i like it. an acquired smell but i really think i prefer it to others at the moment.

for those of you that also use it, do you keep it in the stick and keep peeling the paper down? just looks a bit scruffy. had a quick google but couldnt see anything about any sort of holder other than homemade ‘ghetto holders’.

ta

Arko sticks squash into a bowl very easily

I managed to get a Merkur 15c off eVilBay for a good price. Open comb, short handle version of the 23c, long handle closed comb. It arrived this morning so I’ve given it a good clean and sterilised it and put it through its paces. For reasons I’ll come to in a minute, I haven’t shaved since last Friday, 5 days. I looked like the wild man of Borneo / Hipster.

The handle is really short, but I’ll be able swap it for the long handle off the 23c. New feather blade and it’s done an admirable job in 2 passes. Only slight more aggressive than the closed comb, but it meant less passes to get the same results. I’ll leave it until Friday and then try my usual 4 pass shave that I use when I’m feeling “lucky” 😉

The reason I had 5 days growth is:

VERY PROUD DAD MOMENT!!!!

Boy 1 is 16, nearly 17. He’s been shaving irregularly for about 2 years. The odd whisker and more and more bum fluff. Recently the top lip fungus is showing after a few days and is starting to thicken up. He’s shaving about twice a week. Over the last couple of years I’ve bought him a few different multi blade razors get him started without being too aggressive and to minimise the risk of cutting himself. (I started with a Bic disposable, I’m not cruel to inflict that on him) The big problem is the bum fluff just blocks them up and they don’t shave very well. Since Xmas he’s switched to my DE with an Astra blade and King of Shaves oil. He can then see what he’s doing and get his technique sorted.

He’s gone on a A Level geology field trip this week, Saturday to Thursday. He asked if he could take my DE to shave with. He’s reported back that other lads on the trip have shown interest in what he’s using, even labelling him as “bad ass” enough to use such a lethal razor. For his birthday he’s getting the full kit, his own razor, nice brush, soap or cream, the works.

VERY PROUD DAD MOMENT!!!!

even labelling him as “bad ass” enough to use such a lethal razor

Outstanding!! 😆 8)

VERY PROUD DAD MOMENT!!!!

superb story mate, nice one 🙂 he does indeed deserve his own kit now. oh, and a raise in pocket money to fund his new hobby 🙂

even labelling him as “bad ass” enough to use such a lethal razor

He is on the cool list now. 😛

Anyway if you fancy Gillette adjustable Slim or Fatboy on evilbay there are about three to five available at them moment, they look good so long as the bids don’t go crazy.

Couple of beaut’s here http://www.therazorspa.xyz/sales.html

Gillettes don’t do a lot for me personally. 😕

Holyzeus – Member

Couple of beaut’s here http://www.therazorspa.xyz/sales.html

Very nicely restored ones. Price looks reasonable. i.e. save you time doing all the search, restoration and replating.

I got four with two of each. Two properly restored like new and they all shave brilliantly but I prefer fatboy with a bit more weight.

bigblackshed – Member

Gillettes don’t do a lot for me personally.

What do you use or have? Merkur? 🙂

edit: someone just out bid me on Gillette female armpit razor (I wonder where else would they shave …hhhmmm) with original box. Basically it’s an English flat Tech head with short handle in good condition that is made in the early 50s.

I have a birthyear Superspeed (1967) its shaves beautifully

Holyzeus – Member

I have a birthyear Superspeed (1967) its shaves beautifully

I think I got five of them in various form. Red-tip, flare, black handle and rocket (this one is lighter due to aluminum handle). I prefer the flare and black handle. Red-tip cut my lip open once so need to be very careful while using it. 😀 Think Red-tip is best suited to blue beard.

Mines a black handle, i was really surprised at the shave.
Wasn’t expecting to actually have it in rotation

Holyzeus – Member

Mines a black handle, i was really surprised at the shave.
Wasn’t expecting to actually have it in rotation

My black handle was made in 1974.

Mine actually belonged to my father which I nicked few years ago. As far as I know it shaves very well but I need to restore the plating lost in future. I will never sell this one due to sentimental value.

Recent changes to ebay have meant they are now adding import charges to prices … it bumps up final price significantly.
Only today I arranged a price of $50 posted for two Fatboys … by time final costs had been added up, it went over $80 … they would have needed a replate, so sale was cancelled.

Those ones at Razorspar look superb. Better than new i would say.

Thing to watch when you get replated razors off ebay is that they aren`t hiding anything.
Seen a recent replate on ebay. At first glance it looked mint, but closer look showed they had not sorted finish before replate … so whilst it was shiny, it was rough.
And not to mention the blade alignment was noticeably off!

Bigblackshed – if you have never tried a gillette superspeed. Just give one a go. I am confident you will find them smoother than what your using now.

I am using a 71 Black handle superspeed this month. They are very good … not as smooth as my 54 flairtip … but not too far off.

I should be getting the Red tips soon Chewkw. And your beginning to scare me with the stories so far!
Only time I have ever cut myself with a razor, was when the TTO came loose and I did not notice in time.

From what I read. Superspeeds were at their best around 1955.
So if your going to get one. Aim for around that year.

mooman – Member

Recent changes to ebay have meant they are now adding import charges to prices … it bumps up final price significantly.
Only today I arranged a price of $50 posted for two Fatboys … by time final costs had been added up, it went over $80 … they would have needed a replate, so sale was cancelled.

I would negotiate with the seller(s) to see if they would sell away from evilbay if that is the case. Obviously, there must be trust between both parties …

I should be getting the Red tips soon Chewkw. And your beginning to scare me with the stories so far!
Only time I have ever cut myself with a razor, was when the TTO came loose and I did not notice in time.

😆 Just start slowly and you should be fine. I was just being a tool trying to shave quickly on that day without giving any respect to the razor.

interesting site that holyzeus, thanks. sort of the uk version of ‘the captain’ over in the US. once ive decided which of my razors is my favourite i may fork out and get it all done up. im hoping itll be my slim 🙂

ant, you giving up looking on the US ebay then, or just gonna find stuff and ask for private sales?

i had another bash at shavette the other day, still a few nicks and just cant get my hand position right for going ATG adams apple outwards. finished it with the DE and just wondered why i bother 🙂
i decided to forget it again, but may just practice a bit of final buffing with it from time to time.

I am bit nervous of doing a sale away from EBay, more so if seller is in America.
Good deals are few and far between. So you really got to nab them soon after they have been posted.
The seller had 3 Slims and 2 Fatboys. Somebody had the Slims for $55 posted.
One of the Fatboys I was after was an Executive (gold plated Fatboy) so like most gold plated razors, it had heavy plate loss. The other Fatboy was silver, but not too good condition. So replate definitely required.

The Razorspar look to do a really nice job. But £47.50 for a replate … in nickel, phewwww!
It is easy to get a Fatboy that doesn’t need a replate for that money. Silly money.

If I was to spend any sort of money like that, it would get sent to Captain & Chris.
Maybe cost a little more, but Chris does different types of plating. Chrome, silver, black rhodium, white rhodium, gold, rose gold … and nickel.

Skin-stretching tip.

Stretch the cheek skin and under the nose by puffing it out. Stretch the skin at the corner of the mouth by pushing it out with the tongue.

If I was to spend any sort of money like that, it would get sent to Captain & Chris.
Maybe cost a little more, but Chris does different types of plating. Chrome, silver, black rhodium, white rhodium, gold, rose gold … and nickel.

so youd prefer to send a razor over to the states to be done up than pay less over here? tis true its quite expensive tho.
i was hoping my slim would give me the best shave and i could settle with that as ‘my best razor’ but i had a go with it tonight on different settings from 3 to 7 and i still couldnt get as smooth a shave as my other two :-/ that was with an astra too.
think my next experiment will be putting same blade in all 3 razors and alternating. flare tips winning so far tho.

To answer Chewkw’s question, yes Merkurs for me. I did have a shave with an Ikon, not sure which model, but that was nice and heavy, stainless steel.

bigblackshed – Member

To answer Chewkw’s question, yes Merkurs for me. I did have a shave with an Ikon, not sure which model, but that was nice and heavy, stainless steel.

I see you are a Merkur person … I might get one as present for a friend so to convert him back to traditional shaving. 😆

Yes, Ikon is nice. I was thinking of getting one as it is cheaper than Feather AS-D1 and AS-D2 but somehow I have given up the idea of getting both because I find Gillette is giving me good shave. A renewed interesting in Gillette … started searching again …

I think the list of stainless steel safety razor has expanded since then to these: Feather, Pils, Weber, LA BBS-1, Rockwell, Above The Tie Atlas and Tradere OC.

I will get one but I am still indecisive at the moment.

😛

I read that to get the Capt treatment and then for Chris to plate in rhodium, is just a little more than what Razorspar cost for nickel finish. Pretty sure nickel finish from Capt/Chris would work out cheaper … nickel finish usually a quarter of the price of rhodium.
As said though – not likely I would use either.

My 54 flair tip gives me the best shave. Smooth & close. Not the fanciest razor, but you can see why they sold millions of them!

Picked up two Gillette NEW’s yesterday. One red & black boxed and minty looking, the other heavy gold plating loss and unboxed.
One will be getting replate asap. So finally have enough razors to take to replate place I found.

mooman – Member

Picked up two Gillette NEW’s yesterday. One red & black boxed and minty looking, the other heavy gold plating loss and unboxed.
One will be getting replate asap. So finally have enough razors to take to replate place I found.

One of my Tech is rhodium which after I polishing gives me nice shinny mint look. I would replate in rhodium or perhaps gold. The latter is nice but might get nicked if you travel with it.

I have a gold 1948-1951 aristocrat like the one on the left which I bought for £40 or something like that several years ago. Shave very well but I dare not use it too often in fear of wearing out the gold plating … arrghhh … so I just look at it. 😐

“Diplomat and President have the knurling near the knob” Picture from Badger & Blade member.

The gold plating does look nice. But it does flake off pretty badly (not surprisingly).
Rhodium at the moment is very expensive. Quite a bit more than gold I read. It is by far the superior finish though.

I have very nearly got my collection complete(for what I want).
Only razor I am keeping an eye out for now is a 1934 Aristocrat. Such a specific won`t make finding a good priced one easy though … I can wait.

I will have to console myself that the NEW looks similar.

mooman – Member
The gold plating does look nice. But it does flake off pretty badly (not surprisingly).

Mine is alright so far with a little bit of colour wearing off on the top plate but that’s exactly how I got it so I have not made it any worst.

Rhodium at the moment is very expensive. Quite a bit more than gold I read. It is by far the superior finish though.

Crikey … did not realise it is more expensive than gold. Earlier today I was looking for someone who could do replating in GeordieLand and found a few but no Rhodium mentioned except at the jewelry centre.

I have very nearly got my collection complete(for what I want).
Only razor I am keeping an eye out for now is a 1934 Aristocrat. Such a specific won`t make finding a good priced one easy though … I can wait.

I counted that I have 17 Gillette safety razors in my collection with two perhaps non-Gillette. I am also waiting for a Tech to come in next week. How many do you have in your collection at the moment?

I am trying to see if I can be lucky to get an Eclipse safety razor as I like the look of it very much.

The two gold Gillette you have posted there I think there is on on evilbay at the moment. I was thinking of bidding but decided not to instead I went for Tech. I need more Tech …

Rhodium is a bye product of platinum, and platinum production is low at moment, so rhodium prices are sky high (or so I read).
I will have 11. But intend selling on 3 of those (tech fat handle, red tip and a NEW).
There are 3 1934 Aristocrats on eBay at moment. One is something like $300 for a rough one from the US. Another from the US that looks not too bad, but has got import charges added. Which will bump final price over what I think it’s worth.
And one on UK EBay … With a couple of bent teeth on comb, fair amount of plate loss, and blade gap damage which indicates it was dropped. They said to be more aggressive than the Red tip, if the blade gap is anything other than perfect … there will be blood. And buckets of it lol

I switched to a Merker 25C open comb for a more efficient shave and found the Bluebeards Revenge blades just too aggressive, like going back to the Merkur 23C closed comb/Feather blade combination. Looking closely, I notice that the angle of attack of the BRevenge compared to the WSword that I’ve just put in, is much more pronounced whilst the WSword blade seems to compliment the curve/angle of the razor more.

There’s also a noticeable weight difference between the two razors, the 25C being much lighter.

Trying a Wilkinson Sword blade in the 25C tomorrow morning, just as soon as I’ve worn down the styptich to a nub to stop my face bleeding… 😯

Received the Red tip yesterday – first run out with it tomorrow.
Let’s see if the rep is legit …

Mr Woppit – Member
Trying a Wilkinson Sword blade in the 25C tomorrow morning, just as soon as I’ve worn down the styptich to a nub to stop my face bleeding…

I tried Wilkinson sword blade but it was poor with my Gillette. My general rule is to avoid German blades but it might work for Merkur coz they are German made so perhaps their machining might the same? Just speculation like.

mooman – Member

Received the Red tip yesterday – first run out with it tomorrow.
Let’s see if the rep is legit …

Take your time and do it slowly … 😛

Got my Gillette Tech with bakelite box on Tuesday and after cleaning up it looks good. The base plate looks like it was produced yesterday. Shinnnyyyy! I think I shall increase my collection of 3 piece from now on.

I received one of the NEW’s yesterday. They probably one of the best looking razors imo.
The gold plating is not in too bad a condition, but will look superb in shiney nickel.

mooman – Member

I received one of the NEW’s yesterday. They probably one of the best looking razors imo.
The gold plating is not in too bad a condition, but will look superb in shiney nickel.

Let me know when you are selling Tech. 😀

Yes. No prob. Just waiting for it to be delivered.
Here are some pix of before/after of the red tip and NEW.
The pix do not really show how dirty the Red tip was.
But half hour sterilising and polishing, it came up superb.
Tried it out this morn – and it shaves unbelievably smooth. maybe a little closer than the regular flair tip … but not slightest bit of razor burn, or blood!
Its my fave so far.

And the NEW.

And with gold plating all removed and scratches polished out.

great work mate! i need a red tip! have to start looking out for one again. unless any of you boys want to sell me one 😀

that NEW looks great too, want one of those as well! cracking work ant.

The red tip looks good after cleaning up with no brass showing on the handle. The red colour can be a bit flaky so perhaps you can repaint it but I just let mine flake. Not sure how I can keep the red colour permanent. The handle on my red tip is dull now but no brass showing so far. I think the guy I bought it from replated it then simply painted the red colour on. He is now selling all vintage Gillette safety razor at crazy price so I stopped buying from him. I think I might have bought about five safety razors from him and each time the price would increase slightly …

The New looks good too even without the gold plating. I just wish the gold colour would last forever.

I tend to clean or polish all mine with Silvo after boiling and brushing the dirt off them.

Yes, red tip shave closer than others because of the larger expose gap and the angle of the blade. I like it but I need to be very careful with it especially shaving above the lips in the philtrum. I think I cut myself when I did the second pass across the grain and it cut my upper lip … arrghhh … 😀 that was after a week using it and got carried away for not respecting it.

The Red tip plating is 100% … no brassing at all. The paint on TTO is bit flaked off, but that is not a worry at all for me. Easy touch up with paint if need be.
I used the Red tip as I use my other razors, certainly did not go any gentler. It was really smooth. And that was with a blade thats done about 6-7 shaves. Super impressed with the Red tip.
The gold plating never seems to last long and once it starts flaking off, they look shabby. Some people keep the NEW`s unplated. Just give them a polish once a month or so to keep shine and thats about it. I will probably replate mine though.
Dave – I will be selling a NEW and one of the Red tips, will let you know.

Here is a picture I found of a nickel plated NEW.
What you think??