Gillette OLD type vs NEW

glm38 · Oct 1, 2015

I've been DE shaving about a year. I love old vintage Gillettes. I've accummulated a few. A couuple of super speeds a couple of techs and a couple of red tips. I like them all with the red tip being my favorite.

I've never tried a Gillette OLD type or NEW. Can someone outline for me the difference in the two?

Also I see a number of these on ebay but the majority have a crack somewhere. Is that a serious issue? Does it tend to get worse?

Thanks in advance for any info.

rokar · Oct 1, 2015

someone can probally shine in with more knowldge then me. but i notice the old type seem to be made for a older type of a blade. but the curent blades work in them also the open combs seem a bit diffrent. from the one i got seems the cracks on the handle happens from preusure of the end ball peice which mayby the new does not have? anyrate its just what i notice duno how right i am.

bberg100 · Oct 1, 2015

They almost all have cracks, most are still usable. I prefer NEW to old types, but both are excellent shavers, with the NEW being a tad smoother.

imatabor · Oct 1, 2015

My thoughts go along with the historical timeline.

Men went from Straight razors to the OT. Men were use to blade feel and having to be careful with an unforgiving edge. The OT is gentler than a Straight but still has a lot of blade feel and one has to be more careful to get the angle right. It was a safer Straight.

I think Men were going from the OT to the NEW. The NEW has less blade feel than the OT and is more forgiving than the OT. This brings you 3 steps away from the straight (the new improved being a middle step). The NEW was safer than an OT.

I believe that each generation of razors get more forgiving and milder than the generation before.

So to answer your question:
The OT is a great razor but it is more efficient and you have to be more careful about the angle. The NEW is slightly mellower and is more forgiving with the angle.

As far as the handles go. The ball ends are usually cracked. Most of mine are stable and haven't gotten worse.

DrAwkward · Oct 1, 2015

Both of them are great. Buy one (or more) of each!
The NEW is very smooth and effective. The Old Type is a bit more aggressive and it takes more time to get used to. The OT seems to work better with a shim or two.
As for the cracked handles, just use a modern stainless handle.

Useless shaver · Oct 2, 2015

imatabor said:
My thoughts go along with the historical timeline.

Men went from Straight razors to the OT. Men were use to blade feel and having to be careful with an unforgiving edge. The OT is gentler than a Straight but still has a lot of blade feel and one has to be more careful to get the angle right. It was a safer Straight.

I think Men were going from the OT to the NEW. The NEW has less blade feel than the OT and is more forgiving than the OT. This brings you 3 steps away from the straight (the new improved being a middle step). The NEW was safer than an OT.

I believe that each generation of razors get more forgiving and milder than the generation before.

So to answer your question:
The OT is a great razor but it is more efficient and you have to be more careful about the angle. The NEW is slightly mellower and is more forgiving with the angle.

As far as the handles go. The ball ends are usually cracked. Most of mine are stable and haven't gotten worse.

John...

RickL · Oct 2, 2015

Will be using an OT for the first time for OCtober. What angle do you recommend?

BSAGuy · Oct 2, 2015

Well said. Each generation of Gillettes was further and further away from straights. As the years rolled by, the razors got milder and milder. That is the essence of the difference between Olds and News.

imatabor said:
My thoughts go along with the historical timeline.

Men went from Straight razors to the OT. Men were use to blade feel and having to be careful with an unforgiving edge. The OT is gentler than a Straight but still has a lot of blade feel and one has to be more careful to get the angle right. It was a safer Straight.

I think Men were going from the OT to the NEW. The NEW has less blade feel than the OT and is more forgiving than the OT. This brings you 3 steps away from the straight (the new improved being a middle step). The NEW was safer than an OT.

I believe that each generation of razors get more forgiving and milder than the generation before.

So to answer your question:
The OT is a great razor but it is more efficient and you have to be more careful about the angle. The NEW is slightly mellower and is more forgiving with the angle.

As far as the handles go. The ball ends are usually cracked. Most of mine are stable and haven't gotten worse.

vanhooglesnort · Oct 2, 2015

The only thing I can add to the above is that I easily get BBS from a New and I haven't been able to with an Old yet. The New (for me) is much more intuitive.

glm38 · Oct 2, 2015

Thanks for all the information.

engblom · Oct 2, 2015

While this is YMMV and the Old Types have their fan-club too, my opinion is that NEW is much better. From earlier discussions about them, it looks like a majority seem to like NEW over Old.

Pepin · Oct 2, 2015

I have collected several of each type, and use them regularly. They are two of my favourite razors.

I have managed to get ones with only faint cracks in the handle, and some of the single rings do not have any cracks.

Both are excellent shavers (face and head), it would be hard to pick one over the other, however if I need to I would select the Old type.

I find the Old type slightly easier to maneuver as it has a slightly thinner profile.

zygalski · Oct 2, 2015

glm38 said:
I've been DE shaving about a year. I love old vintage Gillettes. I've accummulated a few. A couuple of super speeds a couple of techs and a couple of red tips. I like them all with the red tip being my favorite.

I've never tried a Gillette OLD type or NEW. Can someone outline for me the difference in the two?

Also I see a number of these on ebay but the majority have a crack somewhere. Is that a serious issue? Does it tend to get worse?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Any New is fairly mild. Any Old Type is not.
Simple! :thumbup:

Ad Astra · Oct 2, 2015

If you really want to "know" a particular razor blade, use an OLD.

It seems to have the most precise feel to me. Some razors I think of as cutting tools, and the OLD is one of them.

AA

h2oyeah · Oct 2, 2015

Having only used an Old Type I can only comment on that. I would generally agree with what has been said here and say it is very much like a straight and I was able to get almost a nick free BBS in one shave coming from the straight. The Old Type if you give it respect is a great shaver.

nuclearblast · Oct 2, 2015

zygalski said:
Any New is fairly mild. Any Old Type is not.
Simple! [emoji106]

The NEW Deluxe is a fairly aggressive razor. Not as aggressive as the OT, but it's close, and IMHO the Deluxe is also a better shaver. YMMV.

Jaidmaster · Oct 2, 2015

You should try both!
Old type has more blade feel as mentioned, something I like.
NEW LC is very smooth, but has too little feedback for me. I'd like to try a SC to see if I like it better. One of these days!

I seem to get a closer (longer lasting) shave from the Old, but could be my lack of skill with the New.
For reference my R41-13 is my favorite.
Let the RAD begin!

imatabor · Oct 2, 2015

RickL said:
Will be using an OT for the first time for OCtober. What angle do you recommend?

View attachment 604545
Start with the handle straight out and lower it until it cuts. You should end up like the middle photo. If you are like the last one you have gone too far.

opsimath · Oct 2, 2015

I think the historical advance from the straight razor to modern razors is linear tending towards milder shavers. It seems reasonable to assume that before safety razors, shaving was rarely something done everyday. Once or twice a week for most men would have been the norm. As daily shaving grew in popularity, the need for a razor that would handle multiple days growth of beard diminished -- men preferred a milder razor that would quickly and easily handle 24 hours worth of whiskers.

Follow the progression and you wind up with today's multi-blade -- almost no skill required to polish that chin once a day. Can you imagine using a FUSION to shave a week's worth of beard? Even the final model DE razor made by Gillette would be un-suited to that task -- your TECH would clog up very quickly indeed!

Pepin · Oct 2, 2015

zygalski said:
Any New is fairly mild. Any Old Type is not.
Simple!

Again everything is YMMV.

I did not find the New to be mild, but just perfect for me. The Techs, Adjustables, Blue tip I find mild.

Nor did I find the Old type aggressive. As Ad Astra states it is "precise", try both and enjoy them.

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Gillette OLD type vs NEW

glm38

rokar

bberg100

imatabor

DrAwkward

Useless shaver

RickL

BSAGuy

vanhooglesnort

glm38

engblom

Pepin

zygalski

Ad Astra

The Instigator

h2oyeah

nuclearblast

Jaidmaster

imatabor

opsimath

Pepin

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