Errol
Razor Review Guru
Gillette Techmatic Razor (USA)
Even though it was used by astronauts on the Appollo missions, the Gillette Techmatic is not the type of razor I search out under normal circumstance. This razor is very special to me though having been gifted to me by my seriously ill son. At a quick glance it looked like the Techmatic took an injector blade; great, I have few of them. However, on investigation it was found to have a cartridge holding a coil of blade that unravels to give 6 or 10 cutting edges depending on the cartridge used. Where on earth am I going to find a cartridge for this one. Ebay to the rescue; there were dozens of Techmatics for sale, some new and most in pristine condition, at giveaway prices. And very few cartridges at exorbitant prices. Well I want to use this bloody thing, so I laid down some hard earned, again.
‘N1’ – There it is stamped in the underside of the metal chassis, that makes it 1968 so this is one of the earlier ones; production run from 1966 to about 1973. Gillette referred to it as ‘A Revolutionary New Way to Shave’, their early forays into the world of cartridges. Two types of cartridges were available; the earlier one has no adjustment while a later version was adjustable. How simple can a razor be, a pressed and electroplated metal chassis with a plastic handle and a rotating lever on top to wind on the blade. The cartridge holds the roll of blade and on the underside there is a counter to show how many blades have been used. Loading the new cartridge is as easy as depressing the catch and sliding the old cartridge out, reverse the procedure to fit the new cartridge.
When the cartridge from Ebay finally arrived it was the adjustable version, I’d prefer to use the non-adjustable cartridge. I was thinking of going back online when I rotated the lever and found the dial rotated from #6 to #5; another rotation #5 to #4, it displays the number of blades remaining. Good - that’s two full blades in and the blade looks in one hell of lot better condition than what I’d been looking at previously: I’m going to try that blade. Christ only knows where or how this razor has been stored for the last 50 years or so but for the first few strokes it felt like each whisker was being plucked out and hacked off with Mum’s kitchen knife. As the 50 years of neglect wore off the shave did improve. I did say improve, at no point could it be considered good. Efficiency was just above Karve CB Level #B but because of the lack of a truly sharp blade the shave was anything but smooth. Comfortable? Forget that to. To be brutally honest, the shave was very much what I expected. Gillette knew a thing or two about ergonomics, this razor has a square handle that actually feels comfortable in the hand. I’ve used a few modern razors with square handle and comfort is not a word that comes to mind. This razor was released during the period I started shaving but I have no recollection of it, however I feel for the many who gave up their perfectly good DE razor to use the then new, Wizz Bang Techmatic razor from Gillette. When Gillette stopped producing cartridges it spelt the end for the Techmatic and relegated it to the history books. It may have shaved to the moon and back but that does not make it a good razor.
Blades Used – Cartridge
Material – Electroplated metal chassis/ plastic handle
Weight – 34g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 46.4mm
Handle Length – About 105mm
Availability – Out of Production
Final Word – Fancy paint scraper
Even though it was used by astronauts on the Appollo missions, the Gillette Techmatic is not the type of razor I search out under normal circumstance. This razor is very special to me though having been gifted to me by my seriously ill son. At a quick glance it looked like the Techmatic took an injector blade; great, I have few of them. However, on investigation it was found to have a cartridge holding a coil of blade that unravels to give 6 or 10 cutting edges depending on the cartridge used. Where on earth am I going to find a cartridge for this one. Ebay to the rescue; there were dozens of Techmatics for sale, some new and most in pristine condition, at giveaway prices. And very few cartridges at exorbitant prices. Well I want to use this bloody thing, so I laid down some hard earned, again.
‘N1’ – There it is stamped in the underside of the metal chassis, that makes it 1968 so this is one of the earlier ones; production run from 1966 to about 1973. Gillette referred to it as ‘A Revolutionary New Way to Shave’, their early forays into the world of cartridges. Two types of cartridges were available; the earlier one has no adjustment while a later version was adjustable. How simple can a razor be, a pressed and electroplated metal chassis with a plastic handle and a rotating lever on top to wind on the blade. The cartridge holds the roll of blade and on the underside there is a counter to show how many blades have been used. Loading the new cartridge is as easy as depressing the catch and sliding the old cartridge out, reverse the procedure to fit the new cartridge.
When the cartridge from Ebay finally arrived it was the adjustable version, I’d prefer to use the non-adjustable cartridge. I was thinking of going back online when I rotated the lever and found the dial rotated from #6 to #5; another rotation #5 to #4, it displays the number of blades remaining. Good - that’s two full blades in and the blade looks in one hell of lot better condition than what I’d been looking at previously: I’m going to try that blade. Christ only knows where or how this razor has been stored for the last 50 years or so but for the first few strokes it felt like each whisker was being plucked out and hacked off with Mum’s kitchen knife. As the 50 years of neglect wore off the shave did improve. I did say improve, at no point could it be considered good. Efficiency was just above Karve CB Level #B but because of the lack of a truly sharp blade the shave was anything but smooth. Comfortable? Forget that to. To be brutally honest, the shave was very much what I expected. Gillette knew a thing or two about ergonomics, this razor has a square handle that actually feels comfortable in the hand. I’ve used a few modern razors with square handle and comfort is not a word that comes to mind. This razor was released during the period I started shaving but I have no recollection of it, however I feel for the many who gave up their perfectly good DE razor to use the then new, Wizz Bang Techmatic razor from Gillette. When Gillette stopped producing cartridges it spelt the end for the Techmatic and relegated it to the history books. It may have shaved to the moon and back but that does not make it a good razor.
Blades Used – Cartridge
Material – Electroplated metal chassis/ plastic handle
Weight – 34g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 46.4mm
Handle Length – About 105mm
Availability – Out of Production
Final Word – Fancy paint scraper
