Was Gillette's zenith the Superspeed?

[Missoni]

The OLD is the razor to measure others by, but the New Improved, the New, and the Tech, are also standing infinitely close to the pinnacle. The Super Speeds are certainly great razors, and deserve their place amongst the best ever, but not at the top, at least not IMO.

Does the Old or Tech represnt Gillette's zenith for you?' I would have loved to have been in on the design meetings for these razors and the discussions about where the best all round performance charachteristics lay. Gillette clearly kept moving the shaving charachteristics of their razors, and I wonder what was behind the changes, each time, once the marketing is discounted.

 

[TobyC]

Which version of the Goodwill do you have?

Here is a picture of my one's top cap. The posts in the corners seem to prevent all blades from sitting in the razor symmetrically.

View attachment 109775

Here is a blade that fits

View attachment 109776

Here is one that doesn't

View attachment 109778

I've used it for one shave, and it's the most aggressive Gillette razor I have ever used.

I think it's a 162.

 

[donnie_arko]

IMHE, best vintage Gillette models was the metal Slim Twist.
If efficiency is the game, classic Slim Twist and Super Slim Twist is a step over.
The metal latest models of Slim Twist are even better.
Totally efficient, super smooth, easy to use.

And very nice ... as this Gillette Slim Twist S1 Gold 1997.

I've only got 3 Gillette TTO's. A Superspeed, Rocket HD, and Slim Twist. The latter, with it's plastic handle, is my favourite.

I'd never seen a metal one like the one you linked.

I think it's a 162.

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Wow, that's an absolute beauty. Thanks for the pictures!

 

[TobyC]

Which version of the Goodwill do you have?

Here is a picture of my one's top cap. The posts in the corners seem to prevent all blades from sitting in the razor symmetrically.

View attachment 109775

Here is a blade that fits

View attachment 109776

Here is one that doesn't

View attachment 109778

I've used it for one shave, and it's the most aggressive Gillette razor I have ever used.

Someone may have tapped the corners of the razor on the sink and pushed the tabs in a bit, two of yours seem to be at a slight angle.

 

[donnie_arko]

Someone may have tapped the corners of the razor on the sink and pushed the tabs in a bit, two of yours seem to be at a slight angle.

It could be that as well. It has a few bent teeth as well, so I imagine it had been dropped or something at some point.

 

[TobyC]

For whatever reason I associate you to be an open comb kind of guy. If I had an Old Type for daily shaves and a NEW LC for a few days more, I'd be fine.

I do have an affinity for oc razors, but I think it's more of a visual attraction than a product of function.

 

[donnie_arko]

I do have an affinity for oc razors, but I think it's more of a visual attraction than a product of function.

Yeah I know what you mean. I find the OC razors, the OLD's and NEW's to be really beautiful. No pesky clogging to worry about either!

 

[TobyC]

IMHE, best vintage Gillette models was the metal Slim Twist.
If efficiency is the game, classic Slim Twist and Super Slim Twist is a step over.
The metal latest models of Slim Twist are even better.
Totally efficient, super smooth, easy to use.

And very nice ... as this Gillette Slim Twist S1 Gold 1997.

Handle not made by Gillette.

 

[TobyC]

Does the Old or Tech represnt Gillette's zenith for you?' I would have loved to have been in on the design meetings for these razors and the discussions about where the best all round performance charachteristics lay. Gillette clearly kept moving the shaving charachteristics of their razors, and I wonder what was behind the changes, each time, once the marketing is discounted.

I think after WW2 their emphasis was on creating something to catch the attention of younger buyers, and stay ahead of the competition. They had already perfected razors designed around their standard blade, now they had to offer mechanical wonders to make them interesting.

 

[TobyC]

It could be that as well. It has a few bent teeth as well, so I imagine it had been dropped or something at some point.

When you see bent corner teeth it's almost always where someone tapped it on the sink to knock the soap and whiskers off, damn heathens!

 

[Missoni]

I think after WW2 their emphasis was on creating something to catch the attention of younger buyers, and stay ahead of the competition. They had already perfected razors designed around their standard blade, now they had to offer mechanical wonders to make them interesting.

...that makes sense and I suppose the same business model necessitated the move to carts. I suspect the weight, handle girth and handle length of Gillette razors benefited from extensive R&D to determine the sweet spot for the average guy. And whilst handle length and weight did vary, in the main, they seemed to shy away from longer, fatter handles and heavy weight razors. I remember reading, canot recall where at the moment, the inordinate testing Gillette put into the Fatboy, they really seemed to sweat over the minutaie. It seems like as soon as the engineering allowed, they wanted a slimmer handle on their adjustable. Interesting how the current vogue amongst razor manufacturers appears to be for heavier, beefier, longer razor handles. I am also suprised that plated, brass has not been embraced more by current razor manufacturers, as the glide is far superior to polished SS; I thought the process must be expensive, but then Fatip can produce their razors for pennies.

 

[ischiapp]

Handle not made by Gillette.

View attachment 109788

But It shaves better than the plastic models ... and IMHE better than Superspeed.
The handle is very well made and works perfectly with the Gillette head. This is enough for me.

 

[ischiapp]

I'd never seen a metal one like the one you linked.

Studying the Mr Razor website (as posted before), I've seen these metal Slim Twist.
Quite rare, but in a couple of years I've got some luck to grab one on the bay.

 

[J23]

Gillette certainly made some very good razors ‘back in the day’. I do believe it’s also partly a myth that is created around them. I don’t want to spoil the party but sometimes I’m amazed at what people are willing to spend on a +40, 50, 60 year old dirty old razor from some unknown and long deceased grandpa. But that’s my opinion, no offence and YMMV and all.

 

[gile]

In my opinion Rocket HD is one of the best things that left Gillette's factory.

 

[TobyC]

In my opinion Rocket HD is one of the best things that left Gillette's factory.

And something they couldn't make now if they tried.