1940's TTO Super Speed

I got a 1940's era Gillette TTO Super Speed. This is one pretty aggressive razor. It was my understanding that they were supposed to be quite mild -- Merkur HD mild. Well this on certainly is not. Now there's three things that I know of related to DE aggressiveness, but if there are more please school me.

1. Blade Gap. The distance between the blade and the safety bar or comb.
2. Reveal. The distance the blade extends beyond the top cap
3. Exposure. The distance which the blade extends beyond a tangent line between the bar/comb and the edge of the cap.

I'm going to have to try to do some measurements, I guess, to try to see what the cause is. Based of feel alone, I'm going to guess the culprit is exposure. Anyone else experience this with a Super Speed?

Hmm, the only two Super Speeds I ever used were excessively mild (60's vintage). They got the job done, but I prefer to feel more blade. I wonder if the earlier ones were more aggressive.

My 48-50 notched Super Speed is a great little shaver. Drama-free, but very efficient.

I always heard super speeds were supposed to be extra mild, but I never found that to be the case. Mine is very efficient, and while it is very comfortable to use and my familiarity with it provides a very mellow shave, she will bite if I slip or lose focus.

This was my first vintage razor, and the 2nd razor I bought. I started using it about 5 shaves in to my learning process, and I definitely suffered some nicks and cuts. It is definitely not as mild as the Seygus I used, nor is it as mild as the British Tech I had for a bit...

Less aggressive than thw Maggards V3, as well. i would say it is around a level 3 or 4 on my Slim, as a point of comparison....

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I would say that this particular Super Speed is on par with my Slim cranked all the way open, or perhaps a bit more. I have a flair tip Super Speed that's very mild and I was sort of expecting the same qualities from this one, so it was more surprising than dangerous. I didn't bite myself with it, but it was not really what I would call a comfortable shave. For the three shaves I did with it I was using a Gillette 7 O'clock super stainless, which is kind of my go-to blade. Perhaps, I'll try some different blades and see if something else works better with it. I guess I could drop down to a Derby and work my way up from there and see if there's a sharpness/smoothness sweet spot somewhere along the way.

I would say that this particular Super Speed is on par with my Slim cranked all the way open, or perhaps a bit more. I have a flair tip Super Speed that's very mild and I was sort of expecting the same qualities from this one, so it was more surprising than dangerous. I didn't bite myself with it, but it was not really what I would call a comfortable shave. For the three shaves I did with it I was using a Gillette 7 O'clock super stainless, which is kind of my go-to blade. Perhaps, I'll try some different blades and see if something else works better with it.  I guess I could drop down to a Derby and work my way up from there and see if there's a sharpness/smoothness sweet spot somewhere along the way.

Sounds to me like it has gap or alignment issues. No way is my SS anywhere NEAR my Slim wide open...

I would say that this particular Super Speed is on par with my Slim cranked all the way open, or perhaps a bit more. I have a flair tip Super Speed that's very mild and I was sort of expecting the same qualities from this one, so it was more surprising than dangerous. I didn't bite myself with it, but it was not really what I would call a comfortable shave. For the three shaves I did with it I was using a Gillette 7 O'clock super stainless, which is kind of my go-to blade. Perhaps, I'll try some different blades and see if something else works better with it.  I guess I could drop down to a Derby and work my way up from there and see if there's a sharpness/smoothness sweet spot somewhere along the way.

Sounds to me like it has gap or alignment issues. No way is my SS anywhere NEAR my Slim wide open...

Or, perhaps it's technique or type of skin or type of beard or pattern of beard growth.  In other words, YMMV.

Or, perhaps it's technique or type of skin or type of beard or pattern of beard growth.  In other words, YMMV.

I hope it's not technique. I'd hate to think the past 50 years of practice was for nothing.

Or, perhaps it's technique or type of skin or type of beard or pattern of beard growth.  In other words, YMMV.

I hope it's not technique.  I'd hate to think the past 50 years of practice was for nothing.

LOL.  Well, I think we can throw out that part of the theory.

Obviously, I was just making general observations.

Or, perhaps it's technique or type of skin or type of beard or pattern of beard growth.  In other words, YMMV.

I hope it's not technique.  I'd hate to think the past 50 years of practice was for nothing.

49 years of cartridge doesn't count

49 years of cartridge doesn't count

Good one!

You'd have to subtract my rather protracted cave man phase for sure.