Gillette SS question for the Forum

Hi!

I'm just beginning my journey into wetshaving and am looking at Gillette SS's on Ebay.

I've found it quite confusing because there are so many models from various years available. I've had a read through the Forum and, unlike the Schick Injector where there is some good advice regarding which types are more appropriate (J, E) there is nothing I can find on the SS's.

I'd be grateful for people's experiences with models other than those from the 40's or the '58. Are they worth purchasing or should I stick to these two models only?

Thanks for the replies!

In my experience I have found the late 40s and early 50s models to be very gentle, friendly razors. I own a few of the late 50s/60s SuperSpeeds but haven't used them yet. Be aware that although the handles in the late 50s/60s models look very similar, the head geometry varies. There are also the color tipped models, blue tip being gentle, and red tip more aggressive. I find the 70s black handle version to be a bit more aggressive than the late 40s design. Hope this helps!

I have a '51 Super Speed with a black tip and it's not aggressive (I believe that the black is somewhere between the blue and the red)

I have 2 Superspeeds. A 50's model, and a 1966. I use the 66 everyday and love it. It's not too aggressive, but not too tame either. I came from using a Mach 3, and my 66 SS gives me just as good a shave as the Mach 3 did, but is much more fun to use. Hope this helps.

Welcome, Jack74!

The vintage Gillette razors were all quite well-designed. Before the plastic and mulit-blade razor revolution, Gillette pretty much ruled the world with its DE razors.

Now, I would say that Merkur has filled the void which Gillette left behind. While there's nothing wrong with the nostalgia associated with Gillette razors, the prices that some of the models are commanding on eBay are borderline ridiculous. For that reason, I chose a Merkur razor for my return to DE shaving.

You can find some good quality Gillette razors for sale in the B/S/T Forum, if you are interested in avoiding "The Bay".

Regardless of which razor you choose, you're making a great decision!

See you around the board!

Tchau,
chop-chop

180gVinyl said:

I have a '51 Super Speed with a black tip and it's not aggressive (I believe that the black is somewhere between the blue and the red)

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Rob,

Yes and no. I believe black was sometimes used on the middle razor of the color coded ones. At least, so I've heard. Never seen a picture.

And your razor probably is somewhere between the blue and red color coded.

But it is not really the same thing. The color coded razors for amount of exposure were introduced in the mid 1950s. Yours is a variation of the 1940s SuperSpeed, made through the early fifties. In 51, and maybe a couple other years, they made a version with an aluminum handle with a black plastic tip. As far as I know it has the same head as any forties SS.

-Mo

Mo,

Thanks for that

Does it mean that my razor is now more desirable because it has the same head as the '40s ?

I'll have to go a googling

I recently got into wetshaving, and picked up a '52 Super Speed (black tipped) for $5. I wouldn't want anything more gentle, and I certainly wouldn't want anything more aggressive, so it fits me perfectly. It was in perfect shape, no corrosion, rust, dents, dings or anything else!

I just started using a 60's black-handle SS, and I must say, it is a great shaver.

Panamag8or said:

I just started using a 60's black-handle SS, and I must say, it is a great shaver.

Click to expand...

+1

My favorite SS.

-- John Gehman

I haven't tried a black.

the blue is too gentle for me

the red works, but it's a mean shave.

the mid 50's seem to be of higher quality than the later, lighter-weight models.

I haven't tried a 40's model.

moses said:

Rob,

Yes and no. I believe black was sometimes used on the middle razor of the color coded ones. At least, so I've heard. Never seen a picture.

And your razor probably is somewhere between the blue and red color coded.

But it is not really the same thing. The color coded razors for amount of exposure were introduced in the mid 1950s. Yours is a variation of the 1940s Super Speed, made through the early fifties. In 51, and maybe a couple other years, they made a version with an aluminum handle with a black plastic tip. As far as I know it has the same head as any forties SS.

-Mo

Click to expand...

55 to be exact and black is the middle razor, the shave of the aluminum is different from the 40's style due to weight way to light for me.

I have an aluminum black tip- very mild. Almost too mild for me.
I usually use a 57 (I think- all silver) which gives me bbs in 2-3 passes.

jack74 said:

Hi!

I'm just beginning my journey into wetshaving and am looking at Gillette SS's on Ebay.

I've found it quite confusing because there are so many models from various years available. I've had a read through the Forum and, unlike the Schick Injector where there is some good advice regarding which types are more appropriate (J, E) there is nothing I can find on the SS's.

I'd be grateful for people's experiences with models other than those from the 40's or the '58. Are they worth purchasing or should I stick to these two models only?

Thanks for the replies!

Click to expand...

I was recently looking for more info on the super speeds as well, I came upon this thread
it has some info on each and pictures of all of them for comparison. Hope that helps some...

I too thought Blue was not aggressive enough. However, I put in a feather and boy it really shaves like butter. I used to have trouble with a feather but in the blue SS it is great. Also works very well in a black handle 1970 SS as well. My point is don't assume those razors are not aggressive enough..when combined with the right blade they can be wonderful

Drop a Feather in a 40's style it is heaven

The late 40's SS are great razors!

hal said:

The late 40's SS are great razors!

Click to expand...

I snagged one off the bay a few days ago for $4, hopefully it comes soon so I can compare it against the tech I been shaving with. I really can't tell the condition it's going to be in, this is a lightened pic that was listed with the razor.