Red Tip is Just Unreal

I got one coming in the mail and I can't wait to give it a spin and see how it stacks up against my 1955 (US) Red Tip. I think the RT is one of the better handing and looking vintage Gillette's, and any serious vintage owner should spring for one of these babys.

I like the look of the design of the handle on the Rocket's. I have several and they just seem to cycle so much smoother that the US verisons. Also the Brit Red Tip is somewhat uncommon and hard to find. I finally snagged one after looking hard for 6 months.

I think it's great that the Red Tip has this following. It is one of the unsung gems of the vintage razor world.

My Red Tip, along with my birth year slim and birth year black handle super speed are with Captain Murphy getting a refurb. My Red Tip is a '56 and an excellent shaver.

Blue tips though.

Just saying...

Like a sports car if the Red Tip is the SUV.

Thanks, Teddyboy for posting this thread!  I pulled out my A4(4th quarter 1955) Gillette Super Speed Red Tip razor yesterday afternoon and paired it with a Personna Blue.  I had a really nice comfortable 3 pass shave.  Yup, the vintage razors keep pulling me back, even with all of the shiny new toys coming onto the scene recently.

I am a big fan of pairing the FT SS with a Feather blade for a close and super smooth shave. I dont have a RT in my arsenal so I cant say for sure on this particular model. If you have a Feather blade, can you try it and give it a spin to see if it plays out the same, or if its a combo not suited for happiness? Just looking to further my theory, if even vicariously

I actually used Feather DE blades in my Red Tip quite often back when I went on a month long tear with this razor. I found it to be a nice combo. I've been trying to mix in the Personna Blues as I bought a 100 pack almost 2 years ago when I first started. I would only get about 3 shaves out of the Feather DE blade in the Red Tip, but they were fairly smooth and efficient 3 pass shaves.

I use Feathers with mine. I use Feathers with everything though.

Astra SP greens with mine. I think I might have it Delta Echoed. I go back and forth. I'm not normally tempted to mess with things that work so well for me, but mine shows a lot of brassing.

Thanks, Teddyboy for posting this thread!  I pulled out my A4(4th quarter 1955) Gillette Super Speed Red Tip razor yesterday afternoon and paired it with a Personna Blue.  I had a really nice comfortable 3 pass shave.  Yup, the vintage razors keep pulling me back, even with all of the shiny new toys coming onto the scene recently.

I am a big fan of pairing the FT SS with a Feather blade for a close and super smooth shave. I dont have a RT in my arsenal so I cant say for sure on this particular model. If you have a Feather blade, can you try it and give it a spin to see if it plays out the same, or if its a combo not suited for happiness? Just looking to further my theory, if even vicariously

I actually used Feather DE blades in my Red Tip quite often back when I went on a month long tear with this razor.  I found it to be a nice combo.  I've been trying to mix in the Personna Blues as I bought a 100 pack almost 2 years ago when I first started.  I would only get about 3 shaves out of the Feather DE blade in the Red Tip, but they were fairly smooth and efficient 3 pass shaves.

So my theory holds true with them as well. Cool! I only use Feathers in my FT SS and my standard SS, some of my others have a higher cap angle, which in turn can make a mild blade wicked sharp. The FTs shave OK without a Feather, but shave awesome with them.

I had an aluminum handled black tip SS and it was pathetically mild. I cant remember it's birth date, but sold it off.

I saw a guy that took possession of a RT. It was almost mint in every way except the paint was chipping off and just made the razor look bad. He found that the International Harvester red was the perfect match. He taped it off and painted it. It wasnt a re-plate, but it looked like new. Just passing this along for the RT guys that might want to spruce up their razor.


(major opinion to follow)
In my heart I believe that DE and SE razors reached the pinnacle of research and development by the late 70s as each mfr was striving for the best razor, thus increasing inter company competition for your money. I realize we have computer aided design to help push the envelope on new innovation, but I dont think there is much meat left on the bone as a guy on a CAD machine only has his own initiative to drive him, not a team of designers with a multi billion dollar company pushing design to its limits.

I know a Toyota Camry or a Ford Taurus is better in every way than 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, but a Taurus will never be as cool. Neither will any razor be as cool to me as anything made beyond 1975. (except for my 37C of course!)

JMO and all that.

I have a Delta Echo 1956 Red Tip that I keep in rotation. It's an awesome razor.

Brian