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NEW RFB vs De Luxe? SC or LC?

S

StuartV

I have searched. I have looked at Mr Razor's site. I have read the Wiki. I cannot find any clear explanation.

I have read a number of posts from folks who say their favorite razor is a NEW RFB. What is unclear to me is:

Is a De Luxe always a RFB?

Is an RFB always a De Luxe?

Is an RFB always a NEW, or were there Old, New Improved, Tech or Hybrids that were also RFB?

Are RFBs always Long Comb?

Did RFBs come in bar handle and ball end?


After all my reading, I really want to find and try a NEW RFB Long Comb. I already have an Old and a NEW Short Comb (non-RFB).

But, not knowing the answers to all these questions makes it harder to shop around and know what to search for, etc..

Thanks for any help.
 
nuclearblast

nuclearblast

Gillette wasn't the only brand making RFB razors, but let's ignore the others and focus on Gillettes, they're the best anyway.

The Raised Flat Bottom NEW was made in England only, and they came with ball end handles like this one:

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1930s NEW England.jpg

2-piece designs like these:

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1930s Richwood No81 gold.JPG

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1933 green cased No77 England.JPG

Thin Tech handles like this one:

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1941 (L2 on blade) NEW with Tech handle England.JPG

also this one with a fat handle:

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1939 NEW with Tech handle England.JPG

And this rare bird, the Big Fellow Chromium #20:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...know-your-name!?highlight=big+fellow+chromium

The heads are all the same, kind of ... IMHO there's some very subtle differences between the razors from the early '30s and the ones made later in that decade, and in the '40s. But basically they're the same, fantastic shavers.

The NEW Deluxe is an entirely different razor, here's an example:

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1934 Red and Black DeLuxe.JPG
 
S

StuartV

Thanks, Edgar!

So, the NEW Deluxe is short comb and the RFB models are all long comb?

And the thing that distinguishes a "normal" NEW short comb from a NEW Deluxe is that the Deluxe has a flat bottom, like in the picture you linked? And the "normal" NEW SC has the ridge running along the underside of the head?

It sounds like maybe I need to try a NEW Deluxe AND a NEW RFB (to compare to my Old and my NEW non-Deluxe)....
 
xillion

xillion

The Raised Flat Bottom was made in England and is a different from the New DeLuxe which was made in the USA and England.

For me the RFB is a smoother shaver. There are also a few variations of the RFB with slightly different caps, but they seem to shave the same for me.

The RFB came with Ball End, Open Ball End, Thin Tech Style, Short Milady style, and fixed Two piece handles (#77/88, No.20, No.81).

Here is my comparison shot of English News.
proxy.php


From the left:

1. Raised Flat Bottom short twin i pin with ball end handle.

2. Raised Flat Bottom long twin i pin with open ball end handle.

3. New Type Goodwill for French Market with ball end handle.

4. US Stlye with ball end handle.

5. Zinc Flat Bottom Round pin with splined handle.

6. Flat Bottom Round pin with full knurled handle.

7. Flat Bottom T pin with two gap knurled handle.

8. Flat Bottom Capital I pin with two gap knurled handle.

9. Flat bottom medium twin i pin tabless cap with full knurled handle.

10. Flat Bottom biased twin i pin tabless cap with two gap knurled handle.

11. Flat Bottom medium twin i pin with single gap knurled handle.

12. Raised Flat Bottom "fang" tab with short single gap knurled handle.


The New DeLuxe has 15mm and 17mm comb variations.

View attachment 583828

It also came with a few different handles Common Bar, Husky Bar, Tuckaway style, and Fixed Two piece (Belmont and Big Boy).

Here are some of the various handles that came with New and New DeLuxe heads.
proxy.php

From the left:
Ball End, Husky Bar flat shoulder, Husky Bar rounded shoulder, Common bar, Norfolk bar, Thin Long bar, Thin bar, Fat Tech, Thin Tech, Tuckaway.
 
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nuclearblast

nuclearblast

StuartV said:
Thanks, Edgar!

So, the NEW Deluxe is short comb and the RFB models are all long comb?

And the thing that distinguishes a "normal" NEW short comb from a NEW Deluxe is that the Deluxe has a flat bottom, like in the picture you linked? And the "normal" NEW SC has the ridge running along the underside of the head?

It sounds like maybe I need to try a NEW Deluxe AND a NEW RFB (to compare to my Old and my NEW non-Deluxe)....
Click to expand...

Yup, Deluxe is totally flat, the LC and SC have the ridge.

There's only one Gillette RFB head, and yes it is similar to a regular LC NEW, but usually we don't say it's a LC RFB because there's only one version.

Same for the Deluxe, there's 2 versions as Chris posted above, but we don't say they're SC because a LC Deluxe doesn't exist. The only difference is the width between the combs as seen above, which doesn't even affect the way the razor shaves.

Yup, you really need to try both, they're my personal favorites, the Deluxe and the RFB.
 
S

StuartV

So, there is no such thing as a 2 piece RFB? I thought I saw that there was, but there are none in the picture Chris posted.
 
nuclearblast

nuclearblast

StuartV said:
So, there is no such thing as a 2 piece RFB? I thought I saw that there was, but there are none in the picture Chris posted.
Click to expand...
My third link shows a 2-piece RFB. The second is not a 2-piece because I posted the wrong link. The one I posted is 3-piece like a Single Ring, but they also made 2-piece razors with the same handle.
 
S

StuartV

nuclearblast said:
My third link shows a 2-piece RFB. The second is not a 2-piece because I posted the wrong link. The one I posted is 3-piece like a Single Ring, but they also made 2-piece razors with the same handle.
Click to expand...

Right. Duh! Sorry! See? I KNEW I had seen a 2pc RFB! :)

The pic Chris posted threw me off because I took it to be the complete and exhaustive catalog of English made long comb NEWs. Clearly, it is not.
 
xillion

xillion

StuartV said:
Right. Duh! Sorry! See? I KNEW I had seen a 2pc RFB! :)

The pic Chris posted threw me off because I took it to be the complete and exhaustive catalog of English made long comb NEWs. Clearly, it is not.
Click to expand...

Not yet. You are correct, that photo doesn't show the two piece models. It is also missing a couple variations that I've not yet acquired (the wing pin and long slot flat bottoms) and perhaps a few variations that I've never seen.

Gillette England made so many different variations it's hard to keep track of them all.
 
kingfisher

kingfisher

Three-piece RFB rules, because you can use the head with any handle you want!

I'm with Edgar. The best razors I own are the RFB NEW and the 15 mm NEW Deluxe.
 
S

StuartV

tonich said:
You could probably find one or two...
Click to expand...

I've been combing (ha ha!) eBay for about a week and also looking in the Gentleman's market here and not seen a single RFB. I have spotted one Deluxe, but the handle has a bad split. Plus, I already have a NEW SC, so I really want to find a RFB.
 
tonich

tonich

The most common RFB to be found out there should be the #77 set, IMO.
Pretty often it shows up with no case so you should learn to recognize it.
 
Last edited:
S

StuartV

tonich said:
The most common RFB to be found out there should be the #77 set, IMO.
Pretty often it shows up with no case so you should learn to recognize it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I can recognize them when I see pictures. The hard part is doing a search that gives me a small enough list to look through. Anyway, I think if I'm going to hold out for an RFB, I will go ahead and hold out for a 3 piece version, so I have the option of other handles in the future, if I so choose.
 
tukyou

tukyou

I wish you luck. I'm also a big fan of the RFB razors and have built a nice collection of them but it's not something thats going to come your way in a week or two. Stay on the hunt and you'll get one someday, it may not be the first one or the secound one you find but don't give up they are worth the wait. If you like your NEW then I'll bet you'll love the RFB.


P.S. Here is a good link about them http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/408488-Raised-Flat-Bottom-family-reunion
 
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