Gillette Tech...what should I look for?

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I'm looking for advice on buying a Gillette Tech razor. What should I be looking for? Pre- or post-war? Ball handle? UK or USA? What kind of prices should I expect? Ones to avoid?
Also, what's your own experience in terms of aggressiveness etc. I assume standard blades fit them?
Any help would be appreciated (including pointing me to other threads that already cover this) (y) :)
 
1st, brass or zamac ? 2nd, blade feel ,early techs some people belive are more aggresive( personally its negligible). 3rd, compleate boxed set or user grade ? all standard blade,s fit in my experience. check out the MR RAZOR web site to see what you like the look off, also bookmark it so you can check if what your considering is correct . money on ebay £ 5 upwards dependant on age, condition, boxed sets , plenty of unused sets in case,s come up regularly. good hunting :)
 
1st, brass or zamac ? 2nd, blade feel ,early techs some people belive are more aggresive( personally its negligible). 3rd, compleate boxed set or user grade ? all standard blade,s fit in my experience. check out the MR RAZOR web site to see what you like the look off, also bookmark it so you can check if what your considering is correct . money on ebay £ 5 upwards dependant on age, condition, boxed sets , plenty of unused sets in case,s come up regularly. good hunting :)
Good advice...I'll check out mr razor (y)
 
I assume that Techs are compatible with most common modern razor handles too? I only assume this because Gillette appears to have invented the standard and I'd really like to test a Tech head on some of my other handles.:cool:
 
ACtC-3dgPmzo4wyoT0uSsByBbRKUbVw93BVWwXygKOokl-ZBhutYvIn2-I5epWWkbUjn4StBEmggUJByzrp1ec1uIK0KzTSZy4IBD7jrggkkXDFAo8Q1MPPu43r0FJDYv8Lin57PffedqUAtAxl21x5Ap58XTQ=w1754-h1600


Left to right:
American pre-War - notice the triangualr shaped drain holes. This example is mixed brass/copper.
American post-War (1951 shown) - notice the lozenge shaped drain holes.
British flat bottom - end of the 1930s into the 1940s. Raw brass throughout.
British raised flat bottom/hybrid - notice the raised bar where the flat bottom would be.
Ball-end - 1950s on ... various cap etching, also some models with lightweight aluminium handles and/or baseplates. Ridge on the comb.
Sprial - 1960s on ... various cap embossing and non-embossed.
Open Comb - 1970s?

Points to consider:
Weight - the older, the heavier both physically and in heft. You can see the thickness of the plate/cap gets thinner over time.
Handle - metal balances well, bakelite/lightweight towards the head
Material - Raw brass vs Brass w/Nickel plate vs Zamac (Plated)

Final point to consider:
You like new razors, right? Buy vintage and get it replated. Voila! New razor. No material value in doing so with anything post-war where you should be able to pick up sparkling, certainly for less than £30. My hybrid is replated.

My favourite in that lot is the flat bottom Tech - I like the weight, the design and I like the feel of raw brass.

ACtC-3fwg3N9iRaCAB_P7MxKs0Z22VlZCClPnEBVOBQWQg_2bgL3kSSK-Qiyhw7B5zeyxdRy70whHU1Va92vg6eVnTVBEqMKNSrwf4dmW3dMfD2ABBIC9ilEyN5_DEWncAEGOdGwb10Q9JjgjNtSCuVc49_AWg=w1754-h1200
 
ACtC-3dgPmzo4wyoT0uSsByBbRKUbVw93BVWwXygKOokl-ZBhutYvIn2-I5epWWkbUjn4StBEmggUJByzrp1ec1uIK0KzTSZy4IBD7jrggkkXDFAo8Q1MPPu43r0FJDYv8Lin57PffedqUAtAxl21x5Ap58XTQ=w1754-h1600


Left to right:
American pre-War - notice the triangualr shaped drain holes. This example is mixed brass/copper.
American post-War (1951 shown) - notice the lozenge shaped drain holes.
British flat bottom - end of the 1930s into the 1940s. Raw brass throughout.
British raised flat bottom/hybrid - notice the raised bar where the flat bottom would be.
Ball-end - 1950s on ... various cap etching, also some models with lightweight aluminium handles and/or baseplates. Ridge on the comb.
Sprial - 1960s on ... various cap embossing and non-embossed.
Open Comb - 1970s?

Points to consider:
Weight - the older, the heavier both physically and in heft. You can see the thickness of the plate/cap gets thinner over time.
Handle - metal balances well, bakelite/lightweight towards the head
Material - Raw brass vs Brass w/Nickel plate vs Zamac (Plated)

Final point to consider:
You like new razors, right? Buy vintage and get it replated. Voila! New razor. No material value in doing so with anything post-war where you should be able to pick up sparkling, certainly for less than £30. My hybrid is replated.

My favourite in that lot is the flat bottom Tech - I like the weight, the design and I like the feel of raw brass.

ACtC-3fwg3N9iRaCAB_P7MxKs0Z22VlZCClPnEBVOBQWQg_2bgL3kSSK-Qiyhw7B5zeyxdRy70whHU1Va92vg6eVnTVBEqMKNSrwf4dmW3dMfD2ABBIC9ilEyN5_DEWncAEGOdGwb10Q9JjgjNtSCuVc49_AWg=w1754-h1200
Very helpful, pjgh...looks like the one I'm awaiting in the post is the fifth in your photo and under £30 with quite a few additional grooming items and leather case, including an original blade box, so you've put my mind at rest. I just hope it looks as good 'in the flesh' as the photos I've seen!

Can you confirm if the tech heads are compatible with modern handles?
 
I have a bunch of techs, Canadian, US and UK manufacture; wartime and postwar production. All the handles are tapped 10/32. I find most metric threaded heads will screw into the Gillette handles, as the threads in the Gillette handles are pretty sloppy. The custom handles I make I tap 10/32. They fit all Gillette heads I have tried. I have a few metric threaded handles that came with heads I ordered from Aliexpress. The Gillette heads screw into these Chinese manufactured handles easily. I don't have any quality aftermarket handles to try, but I'm guessing you won't have compatibility issues.
 
I have a bunch of techs, Canadian, US and UK manufacture; wartime and postwar production. All the handles are tapped 10/32. I find most metric threaded heads will screw into the Gillette handles, as the threads in the Gillette handles are pretty sloppy. The custom handles I make I tap 10/32. They fit all Gillette heads I have tried. I have a few metric threaded handles that came with heads I ordered from Aliexpress. The Gillette heads screw into these Chinese manufactured handles easily. I don't have any quality aftermarket handles to try, but I'm guessing you won't have compatibility issues.
Cool. Thanks
 
Depending upon the height of the unthreaded part of the central post, some modern handles will dead stop before fully nipped up. With the ball-end type, given the height of the bump in the baseplate, this is not generally an issue. Yes, most handles tapped M5 will fit onto 10/32 threads. I certainly use my modern handles on all manner of vintage heads.
 
ACtC-3dgPmzo4wyoT0uSsByBbRKUbVw93BVWwXygKOokl-ZBhutYvIn2-I5epWWkbUjn4StBEmggUJByzrp1ec1uIK0KzTSZy4IBD7jrggkkXDFAo8Q1MPPu43r0FJDYv8Lin57PffedqUAtAxl21x5Ap58XTQ=w1754-h1600


Left to right:
American pre-War - notice the triangualr shaped drain holes. This example is mixed brass/copper.
American post-War (1951 shown) - notice the lozenge shaped drain holes.
British flat bottom - end of the 1930s into the 1940s. Raw brass throughout.
British raised flat bottom/hybrid - notice the raised bar where the flat bottom would be.
Ball-end - 1950s on ... various cap etching, also some models with lightweight aluminium handles and/or baseplates. Ridge on the comb.
Sprial - 1960s on ... various cap embossing and non-embossed.
Open Comb - 1970s?

Points to consider:
Weight - the older, the heavier both physically and in heft. You can see the thickness of the plate/cap gets thinner over time.
Handle - metal balances well, bakelite/lightweight towards the head
Material - Raw brass vs Brass w/Nickel plate vs Zamac (Plated)

Final point to consider:
You like new razors, right? Buy vintage and get it replated. Voila! New razor. No material value in doing so with anything post-war where you should be able to pick up sparkling, certainly for less than £30. My hybrid is replated.

My favourite in that lot is the flat bottom Tech - I like the weight, the design and I like the feel of raw brass.

ACtC-3fwg3N9iRaCAB_P7MxKs0Z22VlZCClPnEBVOBQWQg_2bgL3kSSK-Qiyhw7B5zeyxdRy70whHU1Va92vg6eVnTVBEqMKNSrwf4dmW3dMfD2ABBIC9ilEyN5_DEWncAEGOdGwb10Q9JjgjNtSCuVc49_AWg=w1754-h1200
the open comb on the left is i belive to be a " nacet" sold in only the african market... i,ve only ever seen 1 pic of that :eek: 3years i been searching for one of those
 

I have the UK counterpart for the 2nd on the right.

I bought two razors at the start of 2019, the second on the right and a 1950's Ball End Tech which were the last razors I bought, and I've used those 2 razors maybe 90% for all my shaves and I've had no reason to buy any more razors. I've found those 2 razors with my favourite blades (current production subcontinent made blades mostly Gillette) suit my face more than any other combination.

Looking at the pictures above though I'd love a raw brass Tech. I might post up a WTB thread for one at somepoint!
 
Looking at the pictures above though I'd love a raw brass Tech. I might post up a WTB thread for one at somepoint!

Having had the pre-war American Tech in brass/copper, I turned my sights on a British flat-bottom equivalent and found that no such thing actually exists! Always one for wanting a unicorn, I made my own :D

What you do is take a British flat-bottom Tech and some sandpaper ...

In fact, I have spare Tech and New heads with worn plating sitting right here. I'm lacking the sandpaper at the moment, but if I pull my finger out I could sand those down for you. No handle, mind.
 
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