Giving DE Another Go

It occurred to me that perhaps I had not given classic DE razors much of a fair shake. After all I own only 1 Slim Adjustable that was quickly relegated to the designated dome razor. I've probably only shaved my face with it a half dozen times or so. And although it delivered a fairly decent shave, it's performance was laughable next to my beloved Gems. So today I scored a bakelite handle Tech 3 piece at the antique mall for < $10. Maybe this will be a better shave than the slim adjustable. If not I can honestly say that I gave it the good ole college try and don't just base my somewhat unflattering remarks about DE razors in general on my experience with 1 gillette DE razor. Anyone got any intel on Techs? Are they aggressive?

PS: Also scored a sweet Ever Ready Boar Bristle brush for $8. Brush and razor for about $18 all in, not too shabby.

1OldGI said:

It occurred to me that perhaps I had not given classic DE razors much of a fair shake. After all I own only 1 Slim Adjustable that was quickly relegated to the designated dome razor. I've probably only shaved my face with it a half dozen times or so. And although it delivered a fairly decent shave, it's performance was laughable next to my beloved Gems. So today I scored a bakelite handle Tech 3 piece at the antique mall for < $10. Maybe this will be a better shave than the slim adjustable. If not I can honestly say that I gave it the good ole college try and don't just base my somewhat unflattering remarks about DE razors in general on my experience with 1 gillette DE razor. Anyone got any intel on Techs? Are they aggressive?

Click to expand...

Techs are generally not aggressive. That's what I use to shave my head (a 1965 thin-handle ball-end Tech). They're a little mild for my preferences.

I think that Gemocrats and Injectricans aren't off-base, though I haven't given them the ol' college try myself except once or twice as a novelty, and even then it was when I was still learning DE myself. Once I get settled in the Metroplex I'll follow your lead in crossing the aisle and use my Ted Pella SE and injector blades again.

If nothing else, I've got another dome razor in the rotation. Think I'll clean it up and give it a week long beta test starting tomorrow (if I can stand to see my Gem stable riding the pine for a week)

I found that what the Gems taught me about angle and pressure improved my DE experience quite a bit.

- Chris

I've been doing the same thing, but I always end up with a GEM.
Last week I tried a Tech, not aggressive enough, took 4 passes before seeming to do anything.
This week I tried a rocket HD with a red personna blade, not very good results either, finished my shave with a GEM

A couple of days ago I tried the same red personna in a british new improved head. Better, still not up to scratch.

Yesterday I tried a feather blade in the rocket HD. Decent shave, but doesn't last anywhere near as long as a GEM shave before the stubble grew back.

I might stay with the New improved head and the rocket HD to stick it out for a while longer, or I might throw a 1948 USA aristocrat into the mix(edit: as that's another razor I own but haven't used yet).
It's not like I've forgotten how to DE shave, the results I'm getting with the razors, the feather blade and the red personna are the same as I was getting before switching to SE after using them for 4 months, DEs just aren't as good as SE for me.

I must admit ever since I got my Bull Mastiff and NEW Deluxe my Gems have seen far less use.

My Lather Catcher still gives supreme shaves though.

Where you get the Gem blades dudes?

I bought 200 from Ted Pella and had them shipped to Australia. Prior to that it was either ebay or BST.

Eh, give it a fair shake. You'll either love it or fall back on what you already love.

82R100 said:

I found that what the Gems taught me about angle and pressure improved my DE experience quite a bit.

- Chris

Click to expand...

True for me too. Plus -- what straight shaving taught me improved my technique with both SE and DE.

traitor.

D.Irving79 said:

traitor.

Click to expand...

Not everyone can be so misguided....

its a gift

D.Irving79 said:

its a gift

Click to expand...

From what I have heard of Gems, you'll probably find the Tech quite different. You might really enjoy it, though.

First shave with the new Tech this morning. It was...meh...OK. A decent 3 pass shave but quite different than any of my Gems. I'd rate this as pretty good, maybe DFS but I'd be willing to bet that it doesn't last nearly as long as a 3 pass Gem shave. Anyway, I'm committed to giving this razor a week to impress me so today officially began the week of tech. Today on a scale of 1-10 I'd probably give it about a 7. Not bad just very different (not nearly the feedback either)

1OldGI said:

First shave with the new Tech this morning. It was...meh...OK. A decent 3 pass shave but quite different than any of my Gems. I'd rate this as pretty good, maybe DFS but I'd be willing to bet that it doesn't last nearly as long as a 3 pass Gem shave. Anyway, I'm committed to giving this razor a week to impress me so today officially began the week of tech. Today on a scale of 1-10 I'd probably give it about a 7. Not bad just very different (not nearly the feedback either)

Click to expand...

I think the Tech is way to mild personally and I think your going to find the same thing.
I'd suggest you jump oot and try a Bulldog or a Diplomat.

It's the feedback that sucks. edit: though I doubt the tech will ever do it for you anyway. If you want to try DE, try the open comb OLD, NEW Improved or NEW. Like GEMS, pre 1940s are the best Gillettes for the simple 2 or 3 piece.

Today I tried and injector with a vintage blade, not so good, the blade sucked.
I already had the new improved switched with the feather blade ready to go anyway. It started shaving and I really felt some skin being taken off too.
I rinsed off (edit after 3 passes) and felt my burning face, still heaps of stubble there, though I bet I could tame the razor if given some time, but yeah 0 feedback.

I did the last pass on the GEM 1912 parade. I could hear all the patchy spots I missed, I knew when it was working hard or whether I was wasting my time going over a patch that was already DFS. I could be as careless as I like, these blades don't tug or cut no matter what you do once you've mastered it. While a DE can always bite you not matter what your experience. I hardly get cut by either, as I've used both quite a bit, I'm refering to rash and weepers here when using a feather DE or a GEM by personna SE blade.

Right then I knew I was wasting my time trying to make DE work for me.
To be honest I was only playing around with DE now (by coincedence the same time as you), because I'm all out of SE blades and I'm waiting for my 200 blade shipment to arrive.
If I ever get a proper new improved on ebay, I might revisit DE. My new improved is a british three piece style that came with a lightweight hollow handle.

But most of my adjustables and superspeeds etc are on loan to friends, and most of the milder razors like techs I hope to get rid of soon.

thirdeye said:

I think the Tech is way to mild personally and I think your going to find the same thing.
I'd suggest you jump oot and try a Bulldog or a Diplomat.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I must agree -- an 1948-era Aristocrat or something with a little more blade exposure than a Tech would probably suit you better.

I think a red tip could be good for you. Some decent aggression, vintage, and in the shorter handle variety as most of your SE razors are. Also, I'd pick up a variety of blades assumming you don't have them already. I also believe that using a Gem razor only raises your DE technique.