Closed Try out some vintage blades

Hiya,

Ok then, I'll start the list. Got four members signed up for a short monkey house tour so far. Now of course everyone's opinion about blades aren't the same as mine, but anyone who doesn't like these is an idiot. Certainly no offense meant in advance....naturally. Oh, I'm kidding, if any new members are reading this. Can't always take things at face value sometimes.

According to the soon to be worldwide authority on rusty old Wilkinson blades (NTS), these are some of the very early stainless steel versions.

Dipesh, would you please pm A-W for his mailing address when the blades get to you.

So:

1. NTS.....has them now
2.Dipesh
3 A-W
4 Jamies
5 CMOT
6 Helveticum

Jamies said:
Wow Marvin, how did i miss this thread:icon_eek:

Could I please throw my hat in the ring, Wilkies that old cannot be passed up. This is extremely generous of you and you know my fetish for Wilkies:blush:
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What's up Jamie,

Yes, I'm well aware of your.....hmmmm......disturbingly enthusiastic enjoyment of certain UK made razor blades. I was surprised you weren't first to sign up, and I figured someone close to you musta organized an intervention. Glad to see that's not the case and you are still looney as ever!

Marv
 
Northam Saint said:
If anyone wishes to try some vintage blades I have these

Blue Double Life (British Made)
Take It (German)
United Blades (USA)

So it's one packet of Double Blue and the rest split between the three.

Just don't come running to me if it all goes pear shaped!

PM me
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That's an interesting offer,

Never tried those brands, but I've used the Gillette Blue Blades from the 50s-early60s. If there was one blade I thought everyone would hate, those were them. Tugged like a hyena ripping it's prey.

Of course, it turns out there's lot of people who like shaving with that kinda pre stainless blade. Yeah,it seems there's a bunch of guys who appreciate that blade's 'character'.

I would mention those to have a bit of a 'ride em cowboy' kinda feel to em.

Martin
 
Yeah I've used a couple of Blues and they're all the same. The Super Blues which came out in 1958 and were included with the Fatboy are actually pretty good. Much smoother than the Blue but still not that sharp or long lasting. They're worth a try; I can stick a couple in (unwrapped as they will have to come out of a dispenser) courtesy of Paul_D.
I'll also include some early 60s 7 o'clock blades, made by Gillette but not branded as such and a couple of other vintage ones I may be able to dig out. Without wanting to piss on anyone's chips (least of all Dodgy's) I can say with some confidence they wont be as satisfying as Dodgy's kindest offering
 
CMOT said:
Dear Mr Dodgy sir
Can I get in on this please ? I'm hoping 2 years de practice will be enough to prepare me for this moment. Thanks in anticipation.
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Yes, I believe you will qualify......now on board the rusty blade Crazy Train ride.
 
dodgy said:
Sheeesh, very little interest shown in trying the blades.....hard to believe. Maybe I overestimated this forum's intelligence, but for some reason I figured at least a few people to reply. No problem that my opinion of the group has been damaged beyond repair.
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Hey Marian - my 2c on this - I'm reluctant to try more blades that are at best hard to get or worse impossible to get - don't mind so much if they're rubbish, but my limited experience tells me that there are too many of them are great shavers and knowing that the blades I currently accept are crappy in comparison is not where I want to be... heck I've been through all that with the modern recently discontinued/relocated stuff.

Keep on keepin' on though.
 
Ok, received Dipesh's address and will post on to him at the weekend (sorry mate, forgot to mention that in my reply to you!)
Added a couple of vintage carbon steel blades of my own:
5 PAL
8 7 o'clock
4 Gillette Super Blue
This could be a pretty polar experience for the onward recipients since the Super Blue is the best vintage carbon steel blade I've tried and the PAL the worse, with the 7 o'clock right in the middle.
 
hunnymonster said:
Hey Marian - my 2c on this - I'm reluctant to try more blades that are at best hard to get or worse impossible to get - don't mind so much if they're rubbish, but my limited experience tells me that there are too many of them are great shavers and knowing that the blades I currently accept are crappy in comparison is not where I want to be... heck I've been through all that with the modern recently discontinued/relocated stuff.
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Yeah, I know what you're talking about. It can be frustrating not having an easy and reliable source for favorite shaving items. There's a few things that I'm almost out of myself, and I know the only possible place of getting more is the WTB section on a few shaving forums. Never seen on ebay or other places like that.

One thing is I don't mind doing a little vintage blade searching if the mood hits me (not often anymore). I like the idea of maybe finding something a little outta the norm to use in my SOTD, as long as it's still effective.

What surprised the hell outta me was how good some vintage blades can be. Even better than my previously beloved Iridium, which was my go to blade for years. Now using a blade I like more than my previous go to one is fun to me. Last six shaves have been with an old Wilkinson loaded up...six amazing shaves from one blade.

But it's all in the motivation, and I can see why the vintage blade thing won't attract everyone. I don't go outta my way to buy em (usually), but if the price is right and I love em then done deal.

Heh, I admit to being slightly enabling by starting this thread. It may be that neither one of the blades will be a good fit, or maybe one outta two...who knows. There's a LOT of old blades to sample if you got the druthers for it. Maybe some members will find a similar attraction to these old things.

Only so many chances to shave in a man's life. Hah, how's that for rationalizing?

Marvin
 
dodgy said:
Only so many chances to shave in a man's life. Hah, how's that for rationalizing?
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Exactly - so I didn't settle for some of the garbage out there - bought a heap of blades that *I* like above all the others I tried.. happy with the finest satin, sure I might be happier with organic, hand-woven by virgins silk but know it's not sustainable long term :)
 
hunnymonster said:
dodgy said:
Only so many chances to shave in a man's life. Hah, how's that for rationalizing?
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Exactly - so I didn't settle for some of the garbage out there - bought a heap of blades that *I* like above all the others I tried.. happy with the finest satin, sure I might be happier with organic, hand-woven by virgins silk but know it's not sustainable long term :)
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Oh I don't doubt at all that you culled the herd a good bit before settling on your favorite blades. I did the same and ended up with a few go to blades after lots of trial and error. Didn't think the shave could get better, which is what I thought when I replaced the blades that came before those.

Tried a bunch of vintage blades and found some to be really good. Nothing that would be as wonderful as the Iridiums I was using. Of course there were lots of members who liked blades that I didn't.

But then I ran into a few versions,and that worked out pretty darn well. Two of those are the blades in the thread. Bought 80 of those Schicks for around 35 cents a blade and that's a year's worth of great shaves. I'd been looking for these since trying a pack earlier. Heh, the idea is to build up a 'buffer', so you never run out. Yeah, I'm big on buffers (said in my best Willi Cicci voice).
 
I have a few really nice vintage blades but I don't expect to use them every day. I have modern 7 o'clocks for that. A change of pace blade, as The Great Enabler once said. Same reason I have injector razors and a single edge one, too. I'm not sure how much my just tried Techmatic will get used...
 
Chaps,

After a visit to a local antiques type shop I managed to secure three packs of different blades.
Servex, Paragon and Pal Hollow Ground.

If no one has any objections I will add these to the box once I receive it?
 

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No objections from me, but then I've already had my turn. I've already added some Pal hollow ground blades so there should be plenty of those.
Not sure I would try a blade called Cervix!
 
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