Do you use a Gillette vintage as your daily driver? Also thoughts on doing a PIF

cwnidog said:

Can't go wrong with a '46-'47 Aristocrat.

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Yep, that and a few regular Super Speeds, a President, Rocket HD, and a NEW to start you off.

It has become a fun nightly task to select which one of my razors will be used the next morning. They all wait for their turn, sort of like a harem.

I began vintage shaving with a 1949 Gillette Super Speed. I rotate between all of the mainstream Super Speeds from 1947 though 1955, shaving with a different one nightly. However- I recently acquired a transitional early 1947 Super Speed, and it has become a standout. I have a 1948-1949 no date code Super Speed as a travel razor, but I certainly admire the attributes of all of these. Monday nights are Blue Tip nights, but every day is a Super Speed day. I appreciate particularly the razors that were touched by the Korean War and the demands placed on Gillette in manufacturing them, as they are historically a very significant razor. The 1955 Flare Tip remains the workhorse of the lot. As those who enjoy Super Speeds already know- each variant has different shaving characteristics. At last count- there are thirteen different Super Speeds in the rotation. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Unless I misread or missed something....... Am I the only one that read the actual question, in that he wants to PIF a Trac II.....

I know we all have our favorite rides..... But I don't think that was his question but I may be of here...

Other than the thread title..... Thats what it sounded like to me......

I have a vintage adjustable that I never got around to using. All other day to day razors are newer ones. The only vintage one that I somehow ended up using regularly, at least so far, is a Lady Gillette Starburst for the body shaves in the shower.

After a lot of searching, my daily driver is a Gillette Slim. Since it's adjustable, it's like getting a bunch a different razors in one package.

darfoo said:

Also I just won a couple of auctions for Schick Super II International Silver editions thinking they were injectors. They are not injectors, they are trak ii cartridge razors. That said, I am thinking of using them for my first PIF How do you do that?

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I haven't done one yet but I think all you have to do is decide what type of contest or requirement you want, such as the current haiku PIF. Then just post it. I didn't notice that was your main question either and the thread went astray methinks. Everyone likes to share here, and we aren't shy about it.

I use a large number of vintage Gillette razors in rotation, and I'm using my 1959 Gillette Fatboy right now. Before that though, I was using my Maggard Razors MR5 handle with the Maggard Razors v3 head since late November up until the beginning of February.

I started shaving my head this past September using my Gillette Fusion. Prior to the head shaving, I could shave around my goatee and keep a cartridge for 2 weeks at a time. Adding my head to the equation I was getting a maximum of 3 daily shaves per cart. I decided to look into alternatives, found this website, adopted DE as a daily discipline. My first purchase was a 37c slant and my head looked like hamburger for a couple of weeks. So I purchased, in order, a pre war Tech, the last 1940's Super Speed (1954) and a New SC.

I now shave daily with the SC using an Astra SP, then polish off with the Tech with a Feather onboard. BBS with very few nicks ever, quick clean and comfortable. I need never purchase another razor again. However need and want are 2 separate issues. So I recently ordered another SC and an LC - the plan is to make sure I have a daily SC while I send my first one out to be repeated. As for the NEW LC on it's way...lets just say that you fella's convinced me that I needed to try one!

In my rotation, the Gillette NEW SC and lately a Flaretip Superspeed are used 50% of the time. The rest is the Futur, Fatip or an SE.

I haven't used a modern razor for over a year... now it's Gillette vintage everyday...

I am actively seeking a FatBoy, Red Tip, Blue Tip as well as a 1974 Super 109. The last one is manufactured in the year I was born. I just thought it would be cool to have a razor the same age as me. Sad, I know... Lol

I don't shave daily, but yes I use a vintage Gillette every time. I only own 4 razors, and they are all vintage Gillette Adjustables. And out of the 4, I have not even tried one of them (short handled Super Adjustable).

For me, the fatboy is perfect on setting 5. I have not gone past 5 on the Super or Slim, because I stopped using them lol.

Graydog said:

Gillette NEWs are simply The best Razors I have ever used


View attachment 634925

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I haven't used an open comb yet. What's the difference in the shave quality?

OR this one;


The Sheraton top picture or the SC NEW bottom picture are hard to beat in the Open Comb variety of razors.

These two are in my daily rotation.

nemo said:

Yep, that and a few regular Super Speeds, a President, Rocket HD, and a NEW to start you off.

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Don't have a President yet, I've got the others covered. Thinking of looking for a Parat to go with the Rocket HD.

I would say I use MOSTLY vintage Gillette. In regular rotation i use a New Long Comb, a Super adjustable, a Slim adjustable, a Fatboy adjustable, a Sheraton and a Red Tip. I've got others, but those are the ones I use at least once a month.

I know I'm in the minority, especially in this thread, but I just can't get into the vintage razors.

The first vintage I tried was a black handle Gillette Super Speed from the late 60's. It was just to mild for me. My Merkur 34C provided me with a much better shave in fewer passes. I gave the SS to a friend who wanted to use a butterfly style razor.

Then I bought a Gillette NEW LC with a bar handle. I liked it a lot more than the Super Speed. I liked it enough to get it plated by Chris at Razorplate. But again it wasn't as good for me as my 34C so I didn't use it much. Then I bought a Merkur 37C and the NEW never got used. I traded the NEW for my third Merkur razor, a Merkur Progress.

In passaround boxes I've tried a couple of vintage Tech razors. They all shaved well enough, but were really mild. Compared to my modern razors they just seemed like so much work (more passes) to get similar results.

Today I have 4 razors in rotation, all modern. I have three Merkur razors (34C, 37C, Progress) and the RazoRock RAKE. The Merkur razors all get about equal playing time. The 34C gets the nod if I'm trying something new so it probably gets a shade more attention. I don't use the RAKE enough. I love the RAKE's handle (I have the original), but the merkurs definitely dominate my rotation.

I know things will change as my technique changes and gets better and better. Plus I still troll the local antique shops looking for a vintage adjustable to try. One day I'll find one and maybe it will be my perfect razor. Who knows... but isn't that part of the fun?

imcndn

After using my EJ89 and Weber polished head to learn DE shaving, I ventured into Vintage Land. My first was a '72 Super Speed (black handle) and I was instantly hooked by the ease and smoothness of the shave. Then I found a NOS '57 Super Speed and was blown away with how good it shaves. Loaded with a vintage Gillette Platinum Plus, the '57 SS is shaving nirvana. However, I still worked the EJ and the Weber into rotation. I use a razor for a week, then swap out the blade and clean the razor with an old toothbrush. Every Monday is a clean razor with a fresh blade. Helps to ease my hatred for Monday's.

Recently I grabbed a '52 Tech. I've been shaving with it for the past two weeks and have come to realize that it may become my daily razor. This thing is fantastic!!! The closeness and yet comfort of the shaves have been unprecedented. The others may get the occasional "cameo" performance from now on, but the Tech is the new workhorse.

As an aside, every time I finish my shave with a vintage Gillette I'm completely puzzled at how men in the early 70's abandoned such great razors in favor of the cartridges. The power of certain marketing is very powerful indeed.

Yes.

95% of the time, I use a 55 Blue Tip Superspeed.