Modern versus Vintage

[Lifes a Peach]

Okay...there seems to be a lot of love for the Vintage stuff around here. I sampled a few from the previous P&C Travel Box. They were good but (getting ready to duck now), I'm yet to be convinced that they were any better than their modern counterparts.

They are harder to source and more expensive. Knowing what works for me, and finding it at a reasonable price, can be a bit of a mine field. Yes, they come in pretty dispensers that make current packaging look cheap. However it is performance that matters to me.

The Platinums that I sourced from @Nick the Knife are excellent, in certain razors. However, I don't get any love out of them in Open Combs. The Personna's (Lab Blue or Med Preps) are excellent in all of my razors. Why would I pay 2-3 times the price for a vintage blade that doesn't perform any better than current a production one?

I'm more than happy with the modern blades in my bathroom but I'm very curious why the vintages have a cult following.

 

[khun_diddy]

All vintage blades I've tried have been terrible.

 

[Mark1966]

Yes @Lifes a Peach I agree that vintage blades can be a minefield and had kept away from them before joining here. Knowing which are which etc etc is hard BUT ...

While I've tried a few duds the vintage blades I have in some form of bulk all well and truly outlast the modern ones. I'm lazy and simple. With the Personna Lab Blues (my standard modern blade) I get about 4 shaves then the results deteriorate. Now there are 7 days in a week - so I have a logistical challenge there.

With all of my vintage blades I can be assured of getting at least 7 days - so I change once a week. Much easier!

I could push many of my vintage blades to two weeks but then you have the same conundrum re timing

 

[Pjotr]

...........I'm more than happy with the modern blades in my bathroom but I'm very curious why the vintages have a cult following.

You don't have to like vintage blades although the barbed comments from "you know who" have subsided considerably since I became a convert. I was seriously skeptical towards vintage blades and was convinced their supposed superiority was nothing more than the usual shaving community, unobtanium/hard to get, fanboyism. I've got Schick Plus Platinums, Gillette Super Stainless and English Wilkinsons (not all vintage Wilkies are the same) and each of those will give you as smooth a shave as you'll get from a Feather blade but unlike the Feather, which basically conks out completely after three shaves, they'll remain very sharp for half a dozen shaves and after that will give you half a dozen more great shaves. That, and to a degree the satisfying notion that I'm loading a blade of the same age as my razor, is the reason I've jumped off the fence.

Current production blades can be fantastically sharp and give you great shaves but I haven't come across one yet that will outlast the three vintage ones I've listed above.

All vintage blades I've tried have been terrible.

You've either been incredibly unlucky or you've tried average brand vintage blades or you're suffering from "enhanced uncultured Philistine syndrome" which is biasing your opinion and experience before you even load the blade.

 

[Monsta_AU]

The Platinums that I sourced from @Nick the Knife are excellent, in certain razors. However, I don't get any love out of them in Open Combs. The Personna's (Lab Blue or Med Preps) are excellent in all of my razors. Why would I pay 2-3 times the price for a vintage blade that doesn't perform any better than current a production one?

That's because they don't work well in OC's as I have been saying for years. You want the White Platinums (spiritual successor to Swedes) for that, but they end up at something like $2 per blade once you factor in high prices, and even higher Correos (Spanish post) charges. For that money, I can get 3x-4x the number of vintage blades. That said, @Drubbing speaks highly of the blade itself so you know they are good. I passed some out yesterday at the Sydney Meet so you will see comments from @SydBJW, @filobiblic and @Mark soon enough on these. Unfortunately I was only able to give them a blade each due to cost and my own fast dwindling supply - I only had about 25 to start with.

Vintage do not need to be expensive. You just need to keep your eyes peeled and strike quickly.

• My GBE's (considered classic rather than vintage) were sourced for about 15.5c per blade delivered at the time of purchase due to favourable exchange rates.
• The brown French-packaged English Wilks I picked up 600-odd for just under 50c/blade delivered.
• I got 640 Spoilers for under 60c/blade delivered (I was ultra lucky on that).
• @borked got a lifetime supply of vintage Polsilvers for a very nice price per blade.

The vintage blades do need a bit of a run at them to understand. There's more to them than just using them a few times and they certainly have their quirks. Some don't like more than 2 days growth - they struggle a bit on the initial pass but the second pass is butter.

I am happy to push you a 5-pack of the French Wilkies if you want to go at least 3 blades back-to-back shaving. By the end of that, I think you will 'get it'.

 

[borked]

Exactly, most items of our mutual pursuit require at least a week to develop an informed decision.

 

[Pjotr]

Exactly, most items of our mutual pursuit require at least a week to develop an informed decision.

I'm not applying that concept to my collection of worst blades. In fact most don't last the first stroke. All of 0.5 of a second.

 

[borked]

I'm not applying that concept to my collection of worst blades. In fact most don't last the first stroke. All of 0.5 of a second.

That is true.

 

[Lifes a Peach]

Thanks everyone for your views. Sounds to me that I missed the boat when these blades were available at a cheaper price. Otherwise there's no difference between the modern and economical blade that doesn't go the distance versus the longevity of the vintages but at 2-10x the price.

From the sounds of it, vintage blades perform at their peak for longer.

I like the merit a 7 day blade, @Mark1966 . I'd be happy for a blade that goes 5 days (no shaves for me on weekends). It would make blade rotation a no-brainer, thats for sure.

Thanks for the offer, @Monsta_AU . I've got a small stash of Schick blades (Platinum Plus I think) in my vault. I'll experiment with those.

My curiosity is still there so I keep my eyes opened on eBay.

 

[Mark1966]

We might be able to assist with sales too ....

Only if needed of course!

 

[Lifes a Peach]

We might be able to assist with sales too ....

Only if needed of course!

Thanks Mark. I'll give my vintages a go once I come off the Mongoose. If the spell works on me I'll be up for some Spoilers or GBE's may be. They seem to be good all rounders and in plentiful supply?

 

[Pjotr]

Thanks Mark. I'll give my vintages a go once I come off the Mongoose. If the spell works on me I'll be up for some Spoilers or GBE's may be. They seem to be good all rounders and in plentiful supply?

Being Gillettes and therefore a collectors community favourite, Spoilers tend to be way overpriced unless you can buy them in very large quantities. Mind you it's been a while since I've bought vintage blades but my major coups have always been large quantity buys. Of course I tell a lie, as it was Mark who bought them and I just hung around like an annoying jackal, snapping up whatever I could.

 

[Lifes a Peach]

Thanks for the heads up. The path of least resistance is becoming my preferred option and I'll just stick to current production blades. But thanks for the enlightenment. At least I know why these blades have a cult following.

 

[Pjotr]

Don't be daft LaP. You can't give up that easy. And you're depriving us of the pleasure of witnessing you bleary-eyed hanging out on ebay 24/7 looking for that bargain lot of vintage blades.

 

[eggbert]

Thanks for the heads up. The path of least resistance is becoming my preferred option and I'll just stick to current production blades. But thanks for the enlightenment. At least I know why these blades have a cult following.

Did you say you might have some for sale?

 

[alfredus]

I must admit I absolutely agree with @Lifes a Peach on this topic. I really don't see the point of searching "out of print" consumables...and would be quiet afraid of actually liking them

The limits (and soon disappearance) of blades is the reason I don't dabble into SE's...

Searching once for an antique razor is totally different than sourcing blades and soap from the Bay - just my 2 cents.

 

[eggbert]

Then again, there are plenty of us who don't see the point in spending $100s on new razors.

It's really not that hard to get a couple of decades worth of blades accumulated when they last 8 or more shaves per blade.

 

[Pjotr]

I must admit I absolutely agree with @Lifes a Peach on this topic. I really don't see the point of searching "out of print" consumables...and would be quiet afraid of actually liking them ........

Yeah but it's fun searching ebay and you really don't need that many to last a lifetime. And if you are worried about running out of unobtanium blades just alternate their use with current production ones. I guess having scored a 400 blade box of A grade vintage Wilkies for bugger all has meant I don't have to worry about finding any more for years. And I can just exclusively use vintage blades.

........The limits (and soon disappearance) of blades is the reason I don't dabble into SE's...

Oh my god. Do I have to stock up with a monster order? Not really. The reason GEM SEs are still around is because they're used for tissue sample preparation and not as a result of the miserly amount purchased by SE shavers. yeah the lack of choice in SE blades is what stops most from bothering with SE razors. I like it as it puts the emphasis on the razors rather than the blades.

 

[borked]

I must admit, part of the fun with vintage is the hunt and kill, funnily enough, just like our ancestors did to survive.

 

[Lifes a Peach]

Don't be daft LaP. You can't give up that easy. And you're depriving us of the pleasure of witnessing you bleary-eyed hanging out on ebay 24/7 looking for that bargain lot of vintage blades.

Rest assured - bleary eyed looking at other vintage things. It's full of frustration and a complete waste of time but I keep going back

Then again, there are plenty of us who don't see the point in spending $100s on new razors.

It's really not that hard to get a couple of decades worth of blades accumulated when they last 8 or more shaves per blade.

My own personal view is that I missed the boat from a value perspective. From what I read above I could have purchased these blades for as cheap as chips years ago. That would have made the longevity to price ratio a lot more palatable. At today's prices vintage blades last 3 times longer (may be more) but cost 2 to 10x more. But as @Pjotr just pointed out - bargains can still be found. I was just curious why they were highly sought after.
In any case the mystery behind the love of vintage blades has been made well clear.

Did you say you might have some for sale?

I don't think so. I've got a handful of some Schicks and a few Gillettes (in blue packets). Nothing in sellable quantities.

I do confess to a spontaneous and pressured purchase of these Australian made blades from a local antique shop. Cant remember the brand. Made in Melbourne in the 1940's. 100 in their original carton. No idea if they are any good.