BALL END TECH

[GOLDCREST]

I picked up a vintage Ball End Tech from The Bay yesterday......I haven't used or seen one of these for years....In fact I'd quite forgotten just how tiny they are.....when compared to the 38c and Futur..

Anyway this morning was its first run,after a thorough do with Barbicide and a scrub with a soft brush and warm soapy water yesterday.......The razor looked new anyway,but best not to take any chances...."There's no muck like your own muck".... as they say.

So using a once used Feather Blade and TBS Lavender....we set to work...To give it a good chance of competing with the modern razors.....we did a with the grain pass...an across the grain pass...and an against the grain pass.....Result..a nice clean smooth BBS shave........Surprise....I'd equated mild with maybe not too good a finish.....I was wrong.

My conclusion....What a smashing little razor...very light weight...manoeuvrable, so you can easily get into the awkward bits by your nose and mouth corners and with a smooth mild feel to it...even with the Feather blade.....and yet it shaves just as close as some of my more aggressive razors.....well maybe not quite as close as the r41 but its certainly a whole lot more user friendly......and the difference in shave closeness is very small.....
I was a little concerned that the "lugs" on the ends of the blade stuck out at the sides of the razor head...(I wondered if they might catch my ears) ...but there wasn't a problem.......This is a cheap, perfectly usable, traditionally attractive little razor and probably an ideal razor for someone new to DE shaving....or for if your skin needs a rest from a more aggressive combination..........

It's certainly earned a place in my rotation.....Whats not to like?

 

[IanM]

Techs are really nice razors, and given the number of them around in various configurations, Gillette must have sold THOUSANDS.

If someone comes to me and asks about a starter razor, I always receommend a Tech.

I am also convinced that the head design of the Feather AS-D1 razor was based on the Tech.

Ian

 

[Johnus]

You're right gentlemen . All screwing around aside , when ever I read about problems that 1st time users are having , it seems that most are caused by the new shaving kits that they have bought.
There's reasons why the Gillette '04 was chosen in 1918 to supply 3.5 million razor when the total pop of all aged males in the U S was only 51 million. The razor was solid and fool proof and gave a good shave in almost one pass.
Our times are confusing aggressive with a fast close shave.
'38 to '79 that a lot of years and a lot of almost the same razor!! And basically the same razor made all over the world.

 

[NotTheStig]

Yes, it's rightly deserving of legendary status. There are only two or three parts, they were built well, finished well, work well with modern and vintage blades (blade characteristics have changed a lot over the years) and to my mind their aesthetic appeal is quite something. They're also very inexpensive, by and large, and easy to find.
I only have one now - an aluminium Tech. For the size of the razor I think the weight is just right, and the knurling on the handle really appeals to me. It's in very good condition and gets used regularly. It is also th eonly razor I have that fits in my spare toothbrush holder slot!
The other Tech I had was a ball end. I gave it to my friend whom I converted to DE a few years back, but he had been using a Merkur 1904 (which is a modern homage to the original 1904 Tech!). He found it too aggressive and so I stepped in with a real Gillette Tech. He doesn't suffer irritation anymore and he hasn't even considered another razor since!