Gillette 1932 tech Razor, does it shave?

As a relatively new DE shaver who only owns a Tech (Bakelite handle BTW), I have some things to say in defense of the Tech.

The Tech is considered a "mild" razor . I have, through my personal experiences with crappy shaves and good ones, come to take this "mild" statement to mean the following: if you don't shave at the correct angle, you will not cut any hairs. I think the reason many dislike the Tech is that if your blade angle isn't dead on, you won't cut anything. Instead of either nicking oneself or cutting at a less than optimal angle, the blade doesn't even make contact and nothing gets cut.

This is one reason I am immensely thankful for starting out with a Tech: instead of hacking my face to bits as I learn to shave with proper angle and pressure, missing the right angle just warrants another try. Pressure is still a big factor, but screwing up the angle doesn't produce pain, it just doesn't give a good shave.

If you sit down with your razor, pay attention to what angle it will nicely, and focus on maintaining that angle throughout, I promise the Tech will give you a nice shave.

polod said:

BTW, when I shaved with it, I had about 4 days beard growth, so it had lots of whiskers to grab onto. But it just didn't cut it, and I'm not too patient to have my beard prep just perfect, like somebody mentioned, right lather, right blade, perfect blade angle/technique etc... I don't have to prep as much with other razors and they seem to work well, but if the beard prep and others factors are so important to get a good shave from this razor, it's not worth it. I can shave with my 1940's SS and get great shaves with basic or little beard prep. I basically but shaving oil on, let it sit a minute or two, apply shaving soap with a hot/wet brush, shave, end of story. But just seems that 1932 tech is way more fussy to bother with.

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Polod: So much to look at here: "I'm not too patient to have my beard prep just right..." "If the beard prep and other factors are so important to get a good shave from this razor, it's not worth it."

Both of these are fair comments, but to say they equate to "This razor is Crap" is really EXTREMELY unfair. It's like spending some good money at Williams Sonoma for some great knives and cookware, investing in a good cookbook, and skimping on the ingredients: "I can't understand it-- I used Food Club macaroni and cheese mix, put in some Popeye's fried chicken and a little Country Crock-- I didn't get Chicken Kiev...this pan is a piece of crap. It works just fine on my George Foreman grill!"

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars, but in ourselves.

I'll happily take that crappy '32 Tech off your hands!

minstrel said:

If you're not happy with your crappy razor, you should immediately send it to me for safe disposal. We can't have razors like that running around, causing bad shaves for people. Really. I'd be happy to take care of it for you.

Of course, the same offer goes to jss!

/Nicholas

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If you don't want to send it to him...you can send it to me for safe disposal.

I have just recently received one and although it's not the closest shaver, it's a very smooth shaver with the proper blade in it. As you did when you first started, try some other blades in it. Some suggestions such as the feather or Gillette may work. I've had good times with a Derby in it. You may have to do an extra pass, but I find it a very good razor.