Quite surprised by a cheap razor!

As I mentioned in a previous post, returning to DE shaving after 25+ years, I bought a DE razor a few weeks ago for £4.75 (from Boots the Chemist). Even though the shave was adequate (especially considering the 'vintage' blade I put in it), A few days later I was lucky enough to get hold of a Gillette Slim Twist. Been happily using the GST ever since.

Last Saturday, before I set off to play a gig, I thought I'd pop one of the included blades into the Boots 'cheapo' and give it a try....just for a change. Blimey!! I wsn't expecting a shave THAT good! The 'Boots' is quite light but the balance is fine. Because the head has a low profile it's VERY easy to get around the awkward spots under the nose and gives good feeback. All in all a very easy razor to use and produces excellent results. Thinking Saturday may have been a fluke, I tried it again today....a near-BBS with no casualties!!

I really like the Slim Twist TTO, but now I'm convinced that a 3-piece razor with a thinner head would be right for me. On the hunt now for a Gillette Tech....or something similar...

chilli

Congrats on the good results with your Boots razor, chilli.

That's why it pays to wait a while and revisit some razors and/or blades that don't yield optimal results on the first go.

Cheap does not mean poor.

awsome iv seen that razor in boots in an orange packet isnt it? have you tryed there freshwood aftershave splash and balm i would recommend them they smell great.

jonty said:

awsome iv seen that razor in boots in an orange packet isnt it? have you tryed there freshwood aftershave splash and balm i would recommend them they smell great.

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I've seen them, but haven't tried them...yet. They also have a Bay Rum there - I'm not sure if it IS an aftershave, but it smells pretty good. I bought some Ogallala bay Rum Cologne last week. Apparently it was popular in the Old West. I think cowboys must have been rubbing it on their gums to alleviate toothache....ALL I can smell is cloves (strong!).

The boots is very similar to a tech but if you want a replica get a Lord L5 - though a tech isnt much more expensive ! Boot does tarnish after a while and loses chrome.

lancj1 said:

The boots is very similar to a tech but if you want a replica get a Lord L5 - though a tech isnt much more expensive ! Boot does tarnish after a while and loses chrome.

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That's good to know...cheers! So it looks like the Tech IS the one I'm looking for. I'll be keeping an eye on the Shaving Mall here methinks!

jonty said:

awsome iv seen that razor in boots in an orange packet isnt it? have you tryed there freshwood aftershave splash and balm i would recommend them they smell great.

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+1 on the balm. Cheap, works well, and a bottle will last a good long while! I bought two when I was in the UK over Christmas and New Year.

mrchilli said:

I really like the Slim Twist TTO, but now I'm convinced that a 3-piece razor with a thinner head would be right for me. On the hunt now for a Gillette Tech....or something similar...

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I was surprised by the consistently excellent shaves I get from the inexpensive ($18) 3-piece Merkur 45 Bakelite. It looks and feels like a toy, and is a bit fragile (especially the brass-to-Bakelite threads between the handle and head), but it's a true contender that I'd put up against the best of razors when it comes to shave quality.

mrchilli said:

That's good to know...cheers! So it looks like the Tech IS the one I'm looking for. I'll be keeping an eye on the Shaving Mall here methinks!

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Yes! one of my friends bought one of those from Boots, I recognised the Gillette Tech head on it straight away.



All three of the Techs I have are excellent. If I had to choose one, the fat handled Tech would win as it shaves very similarly to the EJ DE89L.

Nice! Some of the best stuff out there can be had at a good price.

Congrats on the find! Enjoy!

Congrats on the good results with your Boots razor

The Feather Popular at around $18 is another great razor at a cheap price. It even comes with a 5 pack of Feather blades. Great construction even though the majority of it is plastic.

mrchilli said:

I've seen them, but haven't tried them...yet. They also have a Bay Rum there - I'm not sure if it IS an aftershave, but it smells pretty good. I bought some Ogallala bay Rum Cologne last week. Apparently it was popular in the Old West. I think cowboys must have been rubbing it on their gums to alleviate toothache....ALL I can smell is cloves (strong!).

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the bay rums nice altho i just mainly used it on my hair, iv got clubmans virgin island bay rum its awsome, but yea i have to try ogallala.

Tried the Boots Bay Rum today.. Seems to work well as an aftershave, but it does seem to have quite a high alcohol content so it stings quite a bit. I might try mixing a small amount of the (very strong) Ogallala with some of the Boots BR. My theory being it'll tame down the clove-heavy whiff of the OG slightly and be a bit friendlier on the skin than the Boots....that's the theory anyway!!! I'll report back with the results!

This old post might interest you:

ClubmanRob said:

You could try the old barbershop aftershave formula, which is 2 parts Bay Rum (or any high alcohol splash would suffice, I suppose), 1 part water, and one part Witch Hazel.

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mrchilli said:

Tried the Boots Bay Rum today.. Seems to work well as an aftershave, but it does seem to have quite a high alcohol content so it stings quite a bit. I might try mixing a small amount of the (very strong) Ogallala with some of the Boots BR. My theory being it'll tame down the clove-heavy whiff of the OG slightly and be a bit friendlier on the skin than the Boots....that's the theory anyway!!! I'll report back with the results!

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awsome sounds like a plan cant wait to hear the results.