Best Gillette Shavers in order?

This Rockwell Adjustable talk has me a tad excited and frankly, has given me a 180 on these two gentleman in terms of their tenacity. A resurgence of what once was got me thinking..... As a guy that owns many vintage razors, how would you rank the Gillette offerings as best shavers.... Top 5??


Here goes

1. The Aristocrat. I have oodles of these. I have one brand new in the box I will never shave with and some beat to hell. I have replated a few and frankly, I've used a ton of safety razors (no wolfman yet) this provides me probably the best shave I have gotten out of any safety razor I own. I've got very thick dark facial hair that grows like the Wolfman (irony excused) and this razor although not adjustable, is aggressive and smooth enough to always provide bbs shaves. It's frankly a razor I couldn't live without.

2. Red tip see above just not as good looking.

3. Fatboy. Cranked on 9 this thing is more effiecent than 1 and 2 and still smooth

4. Black beauty. The weight of these is pretty impressive considering the slim long handle. Cranked up there it delivers almost as well as the Fatboy. Despite the head changes between the two and this one being more apt at the nose area, the Fatboy gets the nod at 3 as opposed to 4.

5. The slim. A bastardization in performance between 3 and 4 in my opinion.

Worthless: the blue tip and tech.... Way too mild

Own: but never have shaved with: the toggle.... I have too many razors that give great shaves this one is a passing on item to my sons because its new in Box just like my mint aristocrat. What say you?

I have very limited experience with razors in general, and I've only shaved with 4 different vintage Gillettes, but in order...

1-40's Super Speed---This is my go to, no-brainer razor. Mild enough that I can get a quick shave on the rare occasion I don't want to take my time without worrying about nicks and weepers, but still efficient enough to get the job done in 3 passes with minimal touchups. A good , all-around "Daily Driver" in my opinion.

2-Slim Adjustable---I haven't used one cranked all the way up to 9 yet, but this thing excels at 5-7 in my opinion. Enough blade exposure to be really efficient, but still in the mid-range of aggression.

3-20's Old Type---Very efficient razor. Not one I use very often, but still gets taken out and shaved with on occasion. Lots of blade exposure, and provides the closest shave of all my razors. This one provides a fair amount of exfoliation, so using it more than 2 days in a row causes irritation.

4-Tech---I like the Tech, but the shave is so close in experience to the 40's Super Speed, in my opinion, that I traded mine for a Merkur 37c. I don't have a lot of room for redundancy in my shave den.

That's the extent of my experience with vintage Gillette razors...

Chris my man, great thoughts. Maybe it's just me, but Gillette's razors outside the adjustable and or TTO's new,old, tech, etc,etc just aren't aggressive enough. I have a great Gillette old in the box I simply just like to have but shaving with it for me.....doesn't cut the mustard. I like your style my friend.

What year aristocrat? I'm getting a 48-50 (I posted 48-49 lol) on Wednesday. Is there a difference between aristocrats from different years?

I would throw a Gillette NEW in your top five list. Not sure where though. I think it is as good as my red tip. The fat boy would be sixth because I don't like the head as much.

What year aristocrat?  I'm getting a 48-50 (I posted 48-49 lol) on Wednesday.  Is there a difference between aristocrats from different years?

I would throw a Gillette NEW in your top five list.  Not sure where though.  I think it is as good as my red tip.  The fat boy would be sixth because I don't like the head as much.

The Aristocrat was never produced past 52 The 1941 model is very rare and fetches a premium the 46-49 models are most common having more years of production. Basically, the end caps are the difference the shave performance isn't noticeable, at least to me. If you're at a flea market and ever find a 41 with a box..... You've got a goldmine..... I have one.... Found it at an antique store had it replated and redone.... It is the crown jewel of my den.

Nice, mine was listed as a 48-50 I think. We'll see when it gets here. Not sure exactly how to date them, but I know the guy I bought it from so I know it's legit lol.

The HD 500 (1953/54) tops my list

then:

1949 Rocket
1950's Rocket Flairtip
NEW SC
Red Tip
1954 Super Speed (40's)
1954 Super Speed (50'S)

My #1 is the NEW LC, mostly use it if I have a little more beard growth than usual

After that:
-40's Tech, which when used with a 7 O'clock Blue has been yielding a much better shave than with any other blade Ive tried in it.
-'56 Red Tip, love the weight on this one
-NEW SC
-'58 Fat Boy, have to use this between 3-5, anything above that I start getting irritation. Need to send it into Razor Emp. for a tune-up I think.

Red Tip
Aristocrat 48-50
Pre War Tech
Tried all 3 adjustables and they were ok but not keepers. Same with the short and long combs.

British "Importe D'Angleterre" Goodwill
NEW Deluxe
NEW Raised Flat Bottom
New Improved Bostonian
Raised Flat Bottom Hybrid Tech
Brit Aristocrat #16
Brit flat bottom NEW
Aristocrat #21
NEW Short Comb
New Long Comb
47/48 US Aristocrat
HD Rocket 500
Junior Aristocrat
34 Brit OC Aristocrat #15
Brit Set #58
Old Style Bulldog handle
Rocket Parat
Red Tip
Brit flat bottom Tech
Slim Twist
36 US Gold Aristocrat
Slim adjustable
Fatboy
Post 60s Techs


Glenn