First TTO arrived today

My Gillette Red Tip just arrived in the mail. I had shaved with my Merkur Progress so I'd have to wait until tomorrow to shave with the red tip. This is my first vintage and my first TTO. I am excited.
Cleaned the razor with hot water and soap, I think that is adequate, right?

Probably adequate.

If you have some rubbing alcohol, you could clean it with rubbing alcohol before your first use. That would definitely be enough.

Some would recommend having a bottle of Barbicide or Marvicide in your cabinet if you are beginning to collect vintage razors. I would agree, soap, hot water and an alcohol bath would probably kill anything worthwhile. Others would firmly disagree. To be safe, I always soak my used razors in a Barbicide bath for about 20 minutes and I certainly do this before passing any on in a trade or sale.

I see you have selected a Red Tip to begin your collection. Coincidentally I shaved with mine this morning. Gillette hit its peak in its Super Speed line when it developed the Red Tip. It is a close shaver, but certainly not overly aggressive. Its weight, balance, and knurling are superb. You may find other razors which are comparable, but none will surpass the Red Tip. Congratulations! (and don't obsess about the germs.) Enjoy it!

Soap and hot water is 99.99999% good enough. I'd dip in in barbacide or scrubbing bubbles just for the heck of it, but you should be OK.

I love my 1955 red tip! It was the first of my small collection I acquired when I decided to return to the land of DE shaving after a 30 year break. It's a bit larger and stouter than my 1955 superspeed.

I second the scrubbing bubbles approach to cleaning, along with alchohol. If you are really worried you might even consider a 10 minute session in boiling water after the scrubbing bubbles (or before).


Geeno

noahpictures said:

My Gillette Red Tip just arrived in the mail. I had shaved with my Merkur Progress so I'd have to wait until tomorrow to shave with the red tip. This is my first vintage and my first TTO. I am excited.
Cleaned the razor with hot water and soap, I think that is adequate, right?

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My usual treatment is a steam bath followed by an alcohol bath. I guarantee you it will kill anything alive. Just don't steam a gillette tech... I learned that the hard way. They have an enamel coating that melts quite easily.

What are the differences between the Super Speeds? I picked up a couple razors this weekend and got the SS with a black handle, because I liked how it looked. Is there much difference between the blue tip, red tip, and black handles?

Hot water and soap are really all you'll need, but give your razors an every so often going over with a dab of toothpaste and an old toothbrush. That'll really clean your razors up nicely. A squirt of scrubbing bubbles works great too.

Loric said:

What are the differences between the Super Speeds? I picked up a couple razors this weekend and got the SS with a black handle, because I liked how it looked. Is there much difference between the blue tip, red tip, and black handles?

Click to expand...

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Gillette_Super_Speed

Proinsias said:

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Gillette_Super_Speed

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. Is the Black handle more or less aggressive than the red? It did not say what previous model it was descended from.

Sorry for train wrecking the thread

I hope to pick up a red tip someday. Let us know what you think of it.

Red tips are my favorite vintage razors that i have tried so far. Flare tips are a close second.

Thanks guys for the advice. Today I shaved with the Gillette Red Tip for the first time; I loaded the razor with a Derby and I shaved in three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG). The results: first DE shave without a single nick!
I have been DE shaving for a few months with two Merkurs (23C & Progress) using different blades (Merkur, Derby, Feather) and I'd always nick myself, especially on the neck and above the lip (I'd feel the hairs being pulled: nicks). I thought it was my technique and maybe it was but the Red Tip provided a much superior shave. I don't know if it is the weight of the razor (much lighter than the Progress and maybe even the 23C) or just a better designed razor, whatever it is I am happy.
I know a more reasonable man would stop and stick with the Red Tip but I am experiencing initial symptoms of a disorder called, RAD, so yeah, I'll be receiving a something called the Gillette Slim Adjustable in the next couple of days and will post about the experience and the results. BTW I'll be shaving with the Slim set at 5. Thanks again Gents for all the great posts.