Shaving and proper razors

Yes, I have a rather similar looking superspeed which I think is 60’s superspeed and also a rather worn out black handle superspeed given to me by my father. Think I will get that re-plated when I have some £££. The 82 looks very similar to my slim adjustable which I have two … 😛

It’s a **** razor AAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Kevevs – Member

It’s a **** razor AAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

LOL! Yes, it is and it’s double edge so have you tried it yet? Give it a go and you might change your mind.

😆

Kevevs – Member
It’s a **** razor AAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

<non-cyclist>
It’s a **** bike AAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
</non-cyclist>

See what I did there ? 😉

I tried it for the first time yesterday and I’m impressed.

Well I didnt get started for two weeks as I was working away, now three shaves in with no blood baths 🙂 Started on setting 1 on the futur and now on 2. Using normal Wilkinson hlades, definitely want to try something sharper. Irritated spotty neck clearing up already, first time since starting shaving apart from the odd random occasion 🙂

It’s a **** razor AAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
silly rabbit. these are much better razors. 😉

Well, I lived.

Had my first go with the Boots Wilkisword DE today. Nice hot shower, twice as much lather as I needed, and very shaky hands.

It went… ok. No major cuts, my neck was a bit tender afterwards so I did the sensible thing and wrapped it up with a helmet strap. Ow.

Can’t say I’m ‘converted’ yet, but it was a lot easier than I expected. Better blades might help, and I’ll be a bit more confident next time too.

What is the expected lifespan of a double edged blade?

I had my third go last night with the original 7 o’clock blade that came with the razor and found it started pulling halfway through. It’s shot after 2.5 shaves; I know that the blade could be 40 years old though (and yes it was sealed and unused).

I will normally get 3 shaves out of a blade. Yesterday I pushed it out to 4 on a gillette yellow and I ended up with some irritation around my jaw line.

Your blade could be shot after 2.5 shaves if you have really thick stubble.

This isn’t bad when the blades will only cost 10p to 20p and still works out cheaper than a cartridge.

I have a rather similar looking superspeed which I think is 60’s superspeed and also a rather worn out black handle superspeed given to me by my father

Look under the blade carrier for a letter and a number. They probably won’t be together, most likley on opposite sides of the handle – not all superspeeds have them but if they’re there you can date the razor – mines is L1, which is first quarter 1966. Google date codes gilette superspeed and one of the results is the website of a razor supergeek who’s posted the date codes.

3-4 shaves from a blade, but apparently you can extend the life of the blade by stropping it on your arm according to this, but it strikes me as a bit of a pain to preserve the life of a 10-20p blade so I’ve never bothered.

Maybe it’s me, but I find that rinsing the blade in cold water seems to prolong the life of the blade, so I get a week out of each one.

(Obviously I use hot water to prepare my face and lather-up, just rise the blade after each stroke under cold running water)

Ben

I think my black handle superspeed is late 60s or early 70s model (haven’t checked it properly yet).

Anyway, blade for me will last around 5 shaves as I do not have heavy beard and nowadays I hardly get razor burn or nick as I am beginning to get my technique spot on. The most important technique is to not to apply pressure and get the angle right. I get BBS almost all the time now.

🙂

BBSB – Interesting link but adding stropping + 4 passes to everything else seems like total overkill on blades costing pennies per shave.

I get the distinct impression that some of these guys will do anything to prolong their time spent in the bog !

I came on looking for peoples thoughts on electric razors [as Fusion blades are extorionate!] as I thought there were a few and found this. Already shave with a brush etc but never knew how highly rated these were, explains why my Dad has used his for the last 20 years. WIll try a cheap one from Boots first I think

chewy – i think black superspeeds are 70’s – 80’s

woody – yup, tried that stropping thing once and thought what tf am i doing? about £3.30 for 30-50 shaves, life’s too short. 1 pass or 2 if going out and ending the night with some cheek to cheek contact

BBSB,

Unless safety razor blades are going extinct I see no need to extend or to prolong the life of a blade. Better buy in bulk as they are rather cheap.

Woody,

15 mins max to get BBS for me as I do not have wired face hairs. 😆

Taff,

There are some good blades available at reasonable price if you buy bulk but if you are not sure which blades are suitable for you should buy some sample blades to try out before committing to bulk buy. Plenty available on the net.

LycraLout,

Yes, I think my black SuperSpeeds is from 1974. It needs re-plating as I can see brass on the guard. £15 for re-plating from the guy I bought my safety razor from.

Nowadays stropping is for cut throat razor only but in those very early days of safety razor where the blade is rather thick and made of carbon steel, especially single edge razor, then stropping is necessary.

I just bought 200 Gillette blades today … made in Russia.

Will last me years I hope but I have the feeling that I will still keep buying … 😳

I’ve bought a sample pack of blades from here – eBay. So far, the most impressive blades have been the Feathers…. I still think I could get closer though – do I need to replace my Tech already????? Bollocks, I can see this shaving lark turning into the bottomless pit that is bike ownership!

freddyg – Member

I’ve bought a sample pack of blades from here – eBay. So far, the most impressive blades have been the Feathers…. I still think I could get closer though – do I need to replace my Tech already????? Bollocks, I can see this shaving lark turning into the bottomless pit that is bike ownership!

10 x Dorco 301 Platinum
10 x Derby Extra
10 x Feather New Hi-Stainless
10 x Iridium Super Extra Stainless
10 x Treet Durasharp Carbon
10 x Trig Silver Edge
10 x Treet Platinum
10 x Super-Max Stainless
5 x Astra Superior Platinum
5 x Gillette 7 o’clock Sharp Edge

Looking at the ebay link on the items you bought they seem fine except Dorco and Super-Max Stainless which I am not sure of. From the list from your ebay link I feel the best for me are Iridium & Gillette Sharp Edge. Derby is fine too for me but gets mixed review by other users. As for the sharpest of the sharp that Feather (yellow pack) I simply cannot not be asked to try because they are expensive.

Just keep to the razor(s) that gives you the best shave and stick to that unless you want a stainless steel version. It all depends on the combination of razor and the aggressiveness of your razor so your Tech should be fine with the sharpest blade.

apparently you can extend the life of the blade

apparently because i’ve never tried it myself, so can’t comment on the usual accuracy of stuff on the internet. As LLout says, life’s just too short to fanny about adding 20p to the value of a razor blade

Thanks Chewkw for the advise. Will try a sample pack similar to those found by Freddyg. Been looking on ebay at razors and have seen a Parker 90R which appears to have a decent length handle as opposed to some of the others whihc appear quite short

Had my first go with the Boots Wilkisword DE today

I had my second, it appears to be gash, I guess I should look up the youtube guides.

I had a great shave this morning.

The only thing that got in my way was my great, big Adam’s apple, grrr!

It is a pain in the arse and I do wish it was smaller.

The only thing that got in my way was my great, big Adam’s apple, grrr!

It is a pain in the arse and I do wish it was smaller.

That is big 😯

So far, the most impressive blades have been the Feathers…. I still think I could get closer though – do I need to replace my Tech already????? Bollocks, I can see this shaving lark turning into the bottomless pit that is bike ownership!

Feathers and Tech razor are a good but basically safe combination. if you put a Feather blade into a more agressive razor you would have a different shaving experience.
But to answer your question…… yes you probably do (but keep the Tech and a nice simple razor to use when you don’t want to try too hard).

Think I’m going to sell my Gillette Aristocrat Junior if you’re interested.

does anyone use a cut throat razor then?

I tried years agho using my Grandfathers old one but didn’t get on very well but I think that was also down to nerves

Taff – Member

Thanks Chewkw for the advise. Will try a sample pack similar to those found by Freddyg. Been looking on ebay at razors and have seen a Parker 90R which appears to have a decent length handle as opposed to some of the others whihc appear quite short

I am not sure about Parker but the followings do get good reviews.

This one – DE89L.

Or

This one – DE89 Chrome

or

This one – MUHLE R89 Classic

or

Merkur Classic 34HD – but some said that the quality has gone down a bit for this brand.

All from this site but shop around for good price.

This site[/url]

P/s: forget Parker as you are better off with any of the above.

Sharkbait. YGM.

freddyg – Member

Sharkbait. YGM.

Gillette Aristocrat Junior is a good upgrade.

😛

Chewkw, how does the Aristocrat Jr compare to the ones you mentioned above?

So far, I’m very impressed with this method of shaving, but think I could do a bit better; maybe a more aggressive razor than my current Tech would give me what I want? Basically, growth below the jawline is in all different directions and I struggle to get a perfectly smooth finish – still loads better than my old multi-blade though.

freddyg – Member

Chewkw, how does the Aristocrat Jr compare to the ones you mentioned above?

Slightly less perhaps according to the gap (aggressiveness) profile here:

The Safety Razor aggressiveness profile

😛

P/s: forget Parker as you are better off with any of the above.

Why? I now have 4 different ones including a Merkur HD and an old Gillette and the Parker is still my first choice as it is comfortable (7 o’clock blades), good weight and handle length. Review Here

converted. And I don’t even like shaving! I’ve been a clippers over the stubble kind of guy, shaving a few times a year for proper special occasions. Shaving every three days now, its great. Probably just the faff that I enjoy, but still! If nothing else, a badger brush and proper razor looks loads cooler in the bathroom that a crappy old Bic!

Woody – Member

Why? I now have 4 different ones including a Merkur HD and an old Gillette and the Parker is still my first choice as it is comfortable (7 o’clock blades), good weight and handle length. Review Here

I favour simplicity i.e. 3 piece and 2 piece safety razors have no mechanic to go wrong.

Chewkw – I have been pointed in the direction of The Timor because of value for money but I’m put off by the complicated butterfly action. Any thoughts?

Still tempted by the Muhle you mentioned above but realise this is all coming down to personal experiences and I may have to do a bit of trial an error with razors as well as blades. Got a very sensitive face and don’t want to go through the whole shaving rash mallarchy again but don’t want to spend £20 for 8 Gillette Fusion blades ever again!

Taff – i have a gillette superspeed with said butterfly action. mechanically fairly complex, certainly over a 3 piece, but it’s easier to get blades in and out of, and even without a dispenser, you can still get a blade in and out of the razor without actually touching it. over the years, i’ve lost more blood from fingers and thumbs than my face, so it’s something to think about. that said, butterflies were at their best when gillette sold blades unwrapped in a dispenser so you could slide the blade out of the dispenser straight into the razor, which you can’t do any more.
can’t comment on the action of the timor razors.
fwiw the razor is 44 years old and the mech works a treat.

Thanks for that. I’ve looked at the Gillette Superspeeds on eBay although there were a lot of red tips on there which are aggressive apparently (still have to work out what the mild and aggressive terms mean!). I would trust a complex razor of that era more as they were built to last ba k then but nowadays the quality isn’t as high which is why I’m hesitant over a £15 complicated design where a simple £20 razor may provide a much better shave.

The Muhle R89 is a great razor.

I have a Muhle R106, the only difference is in the handle as the head is the same – I fancied a black handle rather than the silver one.

taff -more aggressive= closer shave but more disruptive to sensitive skin
mild = easier on the skin, but not quite as close. in superspeed terms, red=aggressive, blue= mild. superspeeds generally (noncoloured) are fairly mild, imho
if you’re new to safety razors, i’d be inclined to swerving away from the red tips, look for blues or non-coloured

oh and butterfly v 2- or 3- piece won’t affect the quality of the shave