Old Tech safety razor - stand aside Gillette Mach 3 Turbo!

This is a post about my "new" safety razor - a Brittish Gillette Tech made mostly of aluminium. The handle and blade tray is aluminium, the cap piece is brass with a nickel plating and it is a mild, quite "safe" razor. And cheap too!

I think it´s funny that you can have something that works fine, and then someone makes a new version with better specs, more features, a more high tech appearance, and of course a heftier prize tag. Well, it's marketing and sales of course. And to be fair, most of the time the new stuff is better, and smoother, and nicer looking. More convenient too. But still, the old stuff worked, and sometimes it worked very well. But that's not enough now that the new one is here, right?

I would like to have a new car. I currently drive a Volvo 945 (you know I'm from Sweden, don't you?) with more than 430 000 km (update 2015: 443 000km heh heh) on it. Yes, it really has driven that far! 5 speed manual, noisy, and roughly as exciting as an old ice box on the road. Rust spots too. But it's cheap, it gets me from here to there, and here in Sweden you can buy new brake pads next to the milk. No, of course you can't, I'm kidding, but parts are readily available and cheap. Headlight blown? That's like ten bucks at most. Blow a Xenon headlight on a newer Volvo however and it's more likely 200 bucks. I can swap the camshaft drive belt myself in a few hours or so. But the newer Volvo with the expensive headlights and costly services is smoother, more comfortable and much quieter. Still, my 945 was the new and better one a few years ago!

What am I getting at? Shaving. Razors. The Sensor Excel is great and has a small head that fits nicely under my nose. But then came the Mach 3, wow what a smooth razor! Larger head of course since it holds one more blade. It's really easy to rinse clean due to the more open construction. Really great shaves, but following the newer = usually better = more expensive rule, it costs more. And now there is this Fusion razor, and Fusion Power if you feel like it. Or why not the newest Fusion Proglide with FlexBall Techblah blah blah....

Now here's my point: Some time ago I got interested in safety razors. And I got even more interested when my older brother told me the blades are much cheaper! So, meet my new friend:

  

 

British Gillette Alu Tech Ball End - iPhone 4s, square

This is a Gillette Tech, a British made mostly aluminum razor. Made somewhere along 1950 or so. I paid a whopping $1,50 plus postage for it on the Swedish equivalent of eBay. Blades cost me about 21 dollars for 100 Astra Super Platinums. That's like two years if I shave every day. Oh yes, with the Gillette alu Tech I can shave every day, both with and across/against the grain, something I couldn't do with the Mach 3. This double edge safety razor is mild, meaning it won't cut you so easily or expose a lot of blade to your face. Since I´m quite ham handed the mildness is a plus. You still have to understand that it is holding a very sharp blade, and it can cut you. Press it hard enough against your face and it will happily cut into it!

My shave routine goes like this: wet the face or take a shower, lather with brush and soap, shave with the grain, rinse, lather again, shave across or against the grain depending on what the area can take. One more rinse and I´m done. On the right side of my neck I get ingrown hairs if I go against the growth, so I try not to do that. Ingrowns are a bad idea - if you get them, adjust your shaving technique. Sometimes I shave a little extra if I´ve missed some spot.

After shaving I apply after shave or balm if I feel like it. Smooth, close shave and very little money spent. And if you are into that kind of thing, a nice feeling of doing things like the old days.

Try this for an aftershave: 1dl water, 1dl 95% alcohol, 5ml glycerine and 5 drops of peppermint oil. Nice refreshing scent!   

You can get as snobby or in depth about shaving as you like, join the different forums such as Badger & Blade, buy $200 razors, slants, vintages, different soaps, brushes (oh yes even those come in $250 versions), after shaves, balms, pre-shave oils, different blades, have your favourite razor gold plated and on and on and...

What you really need is a razor, a blade, some soap, a brush and water. You could even use canned gel instead of soap for convenience, or a Mach something instead of the double edge razor. But the cheapest shave would probably be with a vintage razor of a common model such as the Gillette Tech (very little investment up front, or if you prefer a new one perhaps a Muhle R89), Astra Superior Platinum blades, a cheap brush and a run-of-the-mill soap such as the Palmolive stick.

No, no links since I'm not selling anything, the expensive brush link above was just for fun.

However. Depending on how good your technique is, it may not be as smooth going as with the newer, more expensive stuff. It may not be as fast either. You can nick yourself or get razor burn if you or your razor is too aggressive. That's the trade off between old style and new style. You lessen the risk of nicks and burn if you use a mild razor like the Gillette Aluminum Tech.

If you don't mind spending the money, the Mach 3 is great! The shave gel in pressurized cans is very convenient, no doubt. But if you want cheap, good shaving and are willing to invest some time and skill, a double edge or safety razor, brush and soap is the way to go in my opinion. 

For a comparison to a Bluebeards Revenge shavette check out this post.

If you have nothing else to do you can use the dull razor blades to practice TIG welding on. Don't forget to shield the backside as they're stainless...


UPDATE April, 2015: Yep, I bought one more Aluminium Gillette Tech Ball End. They´re so good!