Gillette Tech heads and thoughts.

While on Techs, I wonder if anyone has seen one of these. I cannot find another example anywhere ...

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I have one of these, but they don't turn up often.
 
Techs are da bomb!


I just bought a tech from @NatJag , and must credit him for presenting a razor in absolutely tip-top nick. I don't know what version it is, but it looked like new.

I've owned about 15 different razors, and have sold most of them. These days I mostly use my 37c for when there's a few days growth to knock off, and a SS for when things are more under control, as the 37c is almost too efficient for a daily shave.

Having not used a Tech for about 4 years (mine got stolen in a burglary), I am very please to have one again. The Tech may not deliver the most amazing, BBS shave, but I'm not fussed about that any more. What the Tech does do is make life incredibly easy. Load it up, shave with ease, no need to be unduly careful, whiz it around the face 2-3 passes, and there you go - a really fine shave with no effort.
 
Totally agree,did the same with my Star model 100 Frankenrazor and changing to a heavier handle made it both smoother (don't know how) and more efficient.

I think it's about weight and pressure. We all wax lyrical about shaving with no pressure but there's a weight behind the razor. Some even say no pressure just let the weight of the razor do the work, but razors are all different weights. To me that suggests we are all actually using pressure to some degree.

Now trying to determine how much pressure to apply or not to apply is hardly scientific, and difficult to control or repeat without some help. Changing the weight of the handle provides the help. I think anyway. One thing is for sure. A heavier handle on a mild razor does not and cannot make the razor more aggressive. It absolutely makes it more efficient though. Whether that is desirable or not is of course personal preference.

I like the Razorock UFO handle on my Tech (and my Game Changer). It weighs about 60g and costs around £20 posted to the UK so it's a great price and great quality. The HD handle is also not bad going around 70g. For me that's as heavy as I want to go. But that's just me.
 
I still have and use an aluminium Tech Paul, which I still use with the aluminium handle.
It has a certain something which is lost with a heavier handle.

Yeah, the later Tech heads do have a certain something ...

After a good few years away from DEs, I'm enjoying shaving with them again and after a run-through of my favourite Techs I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked what I think is one right into the '80s (no date code, but 24 stamped on the underside of the cap). I've kinda settled on the Star as my go-to DE, something I think @TobyC will agree with. Paired with Treet carbon blades, just lovely.

The Star took the Tech and, I think, actually improved it. The blade presentation is just perfect giving no blade chatter and the extra locating nubs on the cap ensure the blade sits just perfectly in the middle (something the Tech does struggle with and you can get more presentation one side versus the other) and does not get any chance to move about during use.

That, and being a single edge fellow with a love of the American Safety Razor Corporation, the Star is a fitting tribute.

... but back to weight and balance. Thinking it through, I tend to try to find heavier handles for the earlier ones and lighter handles for the later ones, so very much about balance.
 
Yes, the Star is an "improved" Tech, sort of, but it does have that pesky zamak cap. A Gillette OLD type cap works perfectly in it's place, but you lose those extra alignment wings in the process. Still a nice razor and worthy of inclusion when talking about Tech razors. (y)
 
The Star DE razors are actually copies of the Gillette Tech as I have one that has triangular slots and a later one with oval slots. It gets confusing as they were tied in with Club and Berkely(?) razors. One thing different is that they copied the English "flat bottom" safety bar acute angle bend that some equate with giving a closer shave. I think it's just a better reference point to aid getting the right shaving angle. It is not IMO the "flat bottom" directly affecting the shave quality. That is IMO just so much BS. The "flat bottom" is just easier to use for the neophyte. The later & heavier "ball end" are the ideal Techs IMO. Slightly better blade rigidity than the triangular slot pre-wars. Most people won't notice it and more confuse it with more aggression as any "chatter" can be misinterpreted as blade "feel" which means Jack Schitt in the grande scheme of a shave. :rolleyes:

These are just my opinions as a dedicated Techophile and worth what you were charged. ;)
 
Due to some careless irritation (my fault) on a shave two days prior I decided to break out the ol' pot metal Super Gillette Blue Chinese razor and do a one pass shave with a 7 O'Clock Super Stainless blade that had maybe 2 or 3 shaves on it. What a simply DFS it was! This razor is a nimble little minx that can really get up under the nose. and other tight spots. Truth be told, weight/mass in a safety razor is overrated.
 
I take it you're referring to the much thinner/lighter Tech-like razor that is sold under many guises, notably the Sterling nowadays? Long plastic handle? Yeah, they're actually pretty good. I have a Sterling (no emboss) and a Rapira (embossed cap) as well as one with the Gillette emboss on the cap which I believe was sold through the '90s as a 'Double Edge' razor.

Cheap and chearful, and actually still very much a Tech.

I hear you on the matter of weight. One of my favourite Techs is a very late actual Tech model, from the '80s I think. Certainly the last of the razors actually sold as a Tech. Nice with a lightweight bakelite handle from a Souplex razor.
 
I remember trying that head on a Frankentech. It seemed a good head, only let down by the Sputnik blade I was using:

 
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