Gillette 1958 'TV Special' SuperSpeed

I have been wetshaving for about eight years with mordern day Gillette offerings paired with Williams soap and a boar brush. After hearing me comment on DE razors several times, my wife bought me a Merkur Futur.

I have been using it for about three months. I have also branched out to experiment with many of the fine shaving products commonly mentioned on this board. I kept hearing about these Super Speed razors and my curiosity got the better of me.

I purchased a 1958 Super Speed from a board member and I love the thing.

1. Price: I paid $14 shipped for this thing in great condition. No brassing or pitting. That gets a 10, especially when compared to what my wife paid for the Futur from AOS.

2. Quality: This is a well built razor that still functions well 51 years later.

3. User Friendly: This is pretty much dummy proof.

4. Grip: Well textured grip. No slips. I'm still getting used to the look and feel of the shorter handle. It certainly is growing on me. But I'll give it a 9 for that.

5. Ease of blade replacement: Lefty loosy, righty tighty. How much simpler could it be?

6. Aggressiveness: As I have limited experience with a lot of different razors, I really don't feel qualified to comment on this aspect. I would guess that it is on the mild side. It's hard to compare it to my Futur for some reason.

7. Adjustability: Dont press so hard.

8. Balance: That's one of the things I like best about this razor. I was somewhat concerned when I first held it in my hand as it is a great deal smaller than my Futur. I was really wishing the handle was longer. I know they made them with longer handles and I was worried I had picked the wrong one. My worries vanished with my first shave. This razor is nimble. I am able to manuever it well and it shaves those hard to reach places (i.e. under the nose) without a lot of contortion. To paraphrase another poster, this razor is the jet fighter or sports car of razors. The weight is substantially less than the Futur.

I love this razor and now understand all the fuss. Barring the oft mentioned acquisition disorders, I can't seem to think of a good reason to need any other razor.

oh yes sir !!!, GOD bless king camp gillette for given mankind such a wonderfull tool. i tried DE shaving and i was happy, then i moved to straight razor shaving, a disaster !!. i have been honing my straight razor for the past two weeks and nothing, dull as a wet lettuce. i'm tired of all this honing, so i can back to DE shaving and my beloved super speed gillettes ( i own three of them). nothing can beat a super speed loaded with a feather, palmolive shaving stick and a shavemac silver tip xl early in the morning. to hell with all the stropping, honing, bevel setting, no pressure madness of the straight razors. some people will shave with oyster shells because " this is the way in which our ancestor shaved". i came back to you baby and this time for good.

Well, after my first month of DE shaving, and having become obsessed with the hobby, I've come to a few conclusions (though as said, I'm not exactly a guru). I've collected a few DE razors and have tried quite a few different soaps/creams/gels (realizing of course that this isn't encouraged for a newbie). The razors I've tried so far have been the Schick Krona, the Gillette TV Special, and the Gillette Fat Boy. I've tried all three with the same blades (local CVS brand) as a constant to see what I like and how the razors shave. And again, you're supposed to try different blades with your razors, but I really like those CVS ones.

In any event, from my experience I can say this is the best razor in my arsenal. I got it for around $25 in amazing condition on the Bay. It's a little heavier and more bulky than the Schick, but is a bit less aggressive. I originally thought this would be a problem, but I have actually gotten much better shaves with this razor. The less aggressiveness encourages more passes rather than trying to get rid of the hair at once (which leads to a better shave and fewer mishaps). As with pretty much anything you do, the slow old-school advice is usually right.

The razor's weight feels good in the hand, and is very sturdy/user friendly. If you're new to DE shaving, or otherwise haven't had a chance to use this puppy, try to get your hands on one. In my opinion it trumps the Fat Boy (though the Fat Boy does feel better to hold).

Well, must say, I think this is the BEST DE shaver I've used. I've tried the FUTUR by Merkur and the Progress and I'm not cool with adjustables and I also have been using a Merker Classic and even though the classic is a complete iron horse of a razor I just think if you can find a Gillette SS basically from the 40's to the 70's get it and use it. The easy of blade change is supurb with the butterfly opening, the handle grips nice though I have yet to drop any razor, the aggressiveness is almost perfect for a beginner but is like your trusty number 2 pencil for an artist. Sure there are more fancy razors out there but this does all the work you need it to. Price as far as I've always seen is priced nicely unless you just find some punk guy who knows he can gouge.

My only other experience with a safety razor is with the Merkur HD so this short review will essentially be my feelings of how this razor compares.

The price of the razor couldn't be beat, I paid 20.00 for a vintage razor in excellent condition, Ebay can be a good friend!

For quality I give it a 10/10, it's hard not to, they really built things well in the 'good 'ole days'. Not much to say here, made of steel and not a spot of rust on mine.

The biggest difference between the HD and this SuperSpeed is the agressiveness. I read many suggestions on how the HD is the best razor to begin with, after using this superspeed, I would disagree. I believe the superspeed is a less agressive razor, and to me this means a more 'lax' technique can still produce nice results without the razor burn. I wasn't sure how to rate the aggressiveness scale here as all the others, so I just rated it on a scale of how agressive rather than how 'good'.

For all you newbies looking for a starting razor, or, a person with sensitive skin such as myself, I highly suggest either this superspeed or others in the era. I'm not sure of the aggressiveness of other SS models, but I'm sure they are very simillar to this one, learning technique with a 'less agressive' razor will leave both you and your face happy!!