From Illinois

Wet shaved for a while in the 80's with a DE Gillette then jumped onto the multi-blade bandwagon and had been there until last month when I tossed my mega-blade Gillette Fusion in the trash and started using a Merkur 33C with the Merkur blades it came with along the cheap Rise Shave Gel I'd long ago stocked up with from the local Dollar Store.After some reading here and around the net sounded like Feather blades would be my thing and on faith ordered 60 of 'em and very pleased with 'em.


I shave the top and back of my head head in the shower with a Headblade equipped with their branded triple edge blades and after getting out of the shower use my DE Safety razor on the more sensitive skin on the sides above my ears and to touch up anything on my head I missed in the shower then lastly I use the DE to shave my face (including around my goatee)


Although I'm generally happy with my current set-up especially the Feathers….I ordered a Merkur HD 34C last night.The extra weight and thicker handle sound appealing and I want to get dialed in with a main "go to razor" now rather than later.


I guess the HD 34C's a stereotypical popular choice,but I want something I'm crazy about and is rock solid for my daily shaver.


Other than that....my Inlaws heard about my new interest in DE shaving and recently gave me a family heirloom that's in very good condition.It's what seems to be a gold plated 1930's ? A three piece open tooth Gilette razor in a gold plated case with blue velvet lining and the Gillette logo stamped in gold and a small rectangular gold plated case stocked with old unopened blades.I'lll try to post some pictures sometime and see if anyone knows more about it.


When I'm not tied up working,my main thing's riding my Harley Davidson here in the Midwest and occasionally to different parts of the US.This place looks great,looking forward to hanging out here.Looks like I can benefit from everyone's experience and hopefully someday try to contribute.

Greetings and welcome aboard from a fellow Illinois DE shaver.
Without pictures I'd hazard a guess that your family heirloom is a most likely a Gillette NEW and is a very rough razor for a noob shaver.
Sharks are also a very good blade and if you get a chance be sure to hit Merz Apothecary in Chicago for all your Acquisition Disorder needs.

Welcome to B&B !!

Welcome to B&B.

Welcome to B&B !!

What a family. That will be a great razor, and you are lucky to have it.
If, as CGW409 believes, that old razor is a bit much at first, it will be there later when you feel like a nostalgic shave.

After trying many razors over the years, I use Gillettes now. I love the things. Each one is a bit different than the others, even though they share the same design and look the same at the business end, so I have my favorites. I have several TTO, and adjustable TTO, and a Tech. That is it. Nothing costly. These work great.

Welcome to B&B!
Lots of us here from (or in) Illinois. There have been some pretty good get togethers.
Dontcha love living in a state where you get to ride about 5 months out of the year?

Feel free to ask any questions you might have, we love questions.

Welcome, Slash!

Welcome to the B&B fold, dude!

Slash said:

Thanks Luvmysupper,hey that's cool.I'm way up North about 10 or 15 minutes from the border,do most of my riding around S.E.Wisconsin.It's not too bad,my HD's an Ultra Classic with the fairing & windshield etc..With that and a heavy leather jacket I usually ride from whenever the salt's washed off the roads until around the 1st week of December.Yep,sounds good,I'm sure to have some questions.

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I'm in Lake Villa, and usually ride with friends of mine who live in Antioch, IL and Bristol, WI
Maybe a ride this summer is in order!

luvmysuper said:

I'm in Lake Villa, and usually ride with friends of mine who live in Antioch, IL and Bristol, WI
Maybe a ride this summer is in order!

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Just down the road from ya in Grayslake,sounds good !

Very nice,looks like a fat handle NEW with the blade bank.
You'll most likely be checking out the resale/antique shops pretty soon,RAD hit me hard and quick and went from one DE razor to seven in the space of about two months(though three of them were family heirlooms).
I currently have a( in order of acquisition) 1980 unmarked British Gillette aluminum Tech, 1930's NEW, 1962 Gillette Slim Adjustable, 1955 Gillette Super Speed,1960 Gillette Fat Boy,1921/22 Gillette Big Fellow and 1970 Gillette Super Speed.
The New is my wife's Grandfather's razor(acquired one week after starting with the Tech so we are talking noob blood bath) the 70 SS is my Grandfather's and was able to confirm today that the Big Fellow was my Great Grandfather's razor.

Welcome Aboard!

Welcome from another Illinoisain!

Only Harley guys invited, or would a Triumph rider be welcome (the few of us that there are)?

Welcome! Enjoy your shaves!

CGW409 said:

Very nice,looks like a fat handle NEW with the blade bank.
You'll most likely be checking out the resale/antique shops pretty soon,RAD hit me hard and quick and went from one DE razor to seven in the space of about two months(though three of them were family heirlooms).
I currently have a( in order of acquisition) 1980 unmarked British Gillette aluminum Tech, 1930's NEW, 1962 Gillette Slim Adjustable, 1955 Gillette Super Speed,1960 Gillette Fat Boy,1921/22 Gillette Big Fellow and 1970 Gillette Super Speed.
The New is my wife's Grandfather's razor(acquired one week after starting with the Tech so we are talking noob blood bath) the 70 SS is my Grandfather's and was able to confirm today that the Big Fellow was my Great Grandfather's razor.

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Sounds like you got off to a roaring start,wish I'd hung on to my Father's or Grandfather's razors.Thanks for the ID on the picture,I'll post some better shots later on.

Sledgehammer39 said:

Welcome Aboard!

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Alright ! Thanks for the welcome Sledgehammer39

Kostas1 said:

Welcome from another Illinoisain!

Only Harley guys invited, or would a Triumph rider be welcome (the few of us that there are)?

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I rode Triumphs before getting into Harley's.A I'm the new guy here but a ride get together sounds good Triumphs included.Thanks for the welcome.

Useless shaver said:

Welcome! Enjoy your shaves!

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Thanks Useless Shaver,great to be here !

Welcome to the forum.

Forgot to mention one thing on the NEW.
Considering it's exceptional condition I'd use it sparingly and clean it very gently as the gold plating is not actually plating but was what was called a gold wash and they tend to go multi tone over the years (my NEW is mostly nickle plate,copper and brass with little spots of gold here and there) hopefully one of the gang here with a bit more experience with really vintage Gillettes can give you a bit more detailed info on the care and feeding of your NEW.