Finally Got A Brownie

I finally got to try a razor I believe I remember my grandmother endorsing, a later variety of Gillette Old Type. (For herself? For her spouse? I'll never know. I thought they were talking about the dessert, because I was four years old.) The originals had thinner caps than this one, from the twenties, but it still has a much flatter profile than my Merkur 41c.

Looks like the "1904 Classic" moniker refers to Merkur history, not Gillette, as I had previously thought. This is not a beginner razor, where the edge is by default suspended away from where it may do harm. You have to choose your angle wisely. Not because it is prone to cut, with the gapless geometry, but because it has tremendous "chomp," which reaches roots with ease, and can go too deep just as easily.

I'm tempted to go bald again, just so I can see if it can be managed on my scalp, where the 41c excelled. As for my face, I find it a bit exfoliating. My rationalization of this is that the curvature of the skin between OC teeth presents the blade at a range of angles, like a slant, and is thus not precisely controllable. Compensating for the most aggressive aspect would push the mildest aspect out of the effective range, and vice-versa.

I really don't think "efficient" is the right word for such razors. I've come up with some alternatives. "Angle relief" for the technical leeway, if not the mechanical advantage, of slants and combs; "traction relief" for pressure modulated anchors and TTOs. I've been shaving with all of them, lately, to see how they handle 2xWTG. (Though I frequently expand that to a four-pass shave, because I'm unwilling to give up the BBS attempt.)

The Tech is still the best razor for me, and I'd call the Slim the best razor for the theoretical everyman. One opinion has changed, though. I used to think OCs were better with smooth blades, and anchors needed sharp ones. I'd much rather take the dull blade out with traction relief now, and spare my skin from overly keen starts with angle relief. Deviating from the ideal, I not too surprisingly end up recreating the shaves of prior years; but I extract the full life from every blade, and never have to work too hard on technique.

As I find myself reflecting a lot lately, shaving just keeps getting better and better. Still, the last carrot may be dangling in the form of Razorock Mamba. I've seen some complain that the guarded geometry makes shaving close difficult or impossible, and I know my hair is that type, too. But I've been really good at adapting between razors, lately. Meanwhile, I have such precision with the Tech that I'm thinking about how to exploit the angle of cut tips. My hope is that the angle and traction relief of the Mamba are balanced, if not ideal; so that this other "efficiency" will not be denied.

Alas, my tax refund is already spent on minivan repairs. Maybe for Father's Day...