What Makes a Razor a "Tech" Razor?

[squank]

I'm fortunate to have my Grandfather's Gillette Tech (late '40s or '50s, from what this kind group has explained). And, I read so many shavers speak very highly of the shave received from a "Tech" razor.

However, I don't know what makes a razor a "Tech" razor. Is it the design? (If so, what about the design?) If another factor, what is that?

I'm grateful for the continued education folks here can so generously provide!
Frank

 

[jesseix]

The wiki page has some info, Tech - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/wiki/Gillette_Tech

Mr Razor is also a fun site to look at the see all sorts of different examples and variants of razors. mr-razor Tech razors - http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/Tech/Tech.htm

 

[Legion]

It's the style. A type of razor where the handle unscrews and the head has a top and bottom half, with a threaded part on the top that goes through the bottom into the handle. Three seperate pieces. (OK, there was a four piece one, and....)

 

[nemo]

what makes a razor a "Tech" razor. Is it the design? (If so, what about the design?)

Yes, it's the new design of the safety bar. Most guys here think of the Tech as the classic three piece but Gillette called many of their razors "tech" when they brought out the "5 vital shaving improvements" including the new non-clogging slotted guard circa 1940.

Check the TTO one-piece Tech razors in this ad from the wartime era:

from @mr-razor , thanks Achim!

 

[DrStrange]

Yes, it's the new design of the safety bar. Most guys here think of the Tech as the classic three piece but Gillette called many of their razors "tech" when they brought out the "5 vital shaving improvements" including the new non-clogging slotted guard circa 1940.

Check the TTO one-piece Tech razors in this ad from the wartime era:

View attachment 1731869

View attachment 1731871
from @mr-razor , thanks Achim!

Most techs are three piece with safety bar.

But here's a thread on open comb tech.

Is this Open Comb Tech a good deal?

Hello friends I found this Gillette Tech Open Comb razor on a Brazilian website that according to the seller was manufactured in England in the early 60s, specifically for the French market. It aroused my curiosity because I didn't know that OC Techs had been manufactured. It seems to me to be...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[BigJ]

Yes, it's the new design of the safety bar. Most guys here think of the Tech as the classic three piece but Gillette called many of their razors "tech" when they brought out the "5 vital shaving improvements" including the new non-clogging slotted guard circa 1940.

Check the TTO one-piece Tech razors in this ad from the wartime era:

View attachment 1731869

View attachment 1731871
from @mr-razor , thanks Achim!

Great post!! Wish I could find Techs at those prices!!

 

[squank]

Thanks for the education, all!

It seems most Techs are Gillette. (But they don't have to be, I presume.)

Cheers!

 

[DrStrange]

Thanks for the education, all!

It seems most Techs are Gillette. (But they don't have to be, I presume.)

Cheers!

Tech is a Gillette brand.
Why would you presume otherwise?

 

[squank]

I did not know that. I thought it was a type rather than a brand. Thank you!

 

[DrStrange]

I did not know that. I thought it was a type rather than a brand. Thank you!

Antique Gillete brand model names are sometimes a little funny, for lack of a better word.

Sometimes the difference is only in the plating.
Examples would be
Super Speed vs. Milord
Sheraton vs. Senetor

As far as I can tell, the Aristocrat is just a fancier version
of whatever happens to be in production at the time.
Gillette slim adjustable (Aristocrat) adjustable plate won't move - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/gillette-slim-adjustable-aristocrat-adjustable-plate-wont-move.642401/post-12337839

I wish I could remember the specific models,
but I knew of one case where the only difference
between the two, was that they came in differently labeled boxes.

And some of the commonly used terms, such as Pre War Tech,
were invented by people like us.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Yep. Tech is a Gillette brand name. They kept changing the design as the decades passed. Kept on calling it a Tech, though. Hence we refer to Pre War, Post War, Aluminum, Open Comb, etc. But all made and sold by Gillette.

My particular favorite is the version which sported a blade clip that allowed the razor to unload the old blade and load in a new one. Don't go looking for one, though. They never produced it beyond a few prototypes. It was called the Techmatic. Yep the same name as they used later on for a single edge band razor.

Now, just why Gillette chose the name Tech for it, I don't know. They had other razors with more technology than the Tech sported. That Techmatic was truly technological, but they must have decided it was too much so to sell.

There were so many trade names Gillette used. There is one where we refer to a type rather than Gillette's trade name: The Old Type. Those were the first models, and they didn't sport a particular trade name until the New Improved came out.

There are clones of Techs out there, so that can cause confusion.

Stan