Good video! Thank you for sharing! I like that long handle on the 109. Maybe, Gillette will go back to making these vintage razors. Making them here in the USA would be great. I know that your 109 will have stamped into the metal "Made in USA" on it. Think of all those vintage razors in the landfills or scrapped and melted down. Oh well. Oh, I subscribed to your channel.
Hi John! Excellent information on the Gillette Super Adjustable. I have a 1970 Super 84 and I agree with you that it is more aggressive than a Slim Adjustable. I read on a website that the Super Adjustable were designed with a larger blade gap...so setting 9 on it would equal setting 13 on a Fatboy...if there was such a setting. Personally, I use a deceasing settings during my shaves and found 6, 4, and 2 works well. If I had to pick just one setting it would be setting 4. For my blade choice, I use the GSB , Nacet, or Astra SP. I found those works great for me...but as you say, YMMV. Thanks again!
Hi John , Funny I was looking for a Gillette Super Adjustable 109 yesterday and today on eBay , was thinking of a slim , but I wanted the longer handle . Checked on you , you were using one ! Incredible ! Thanks
hey big john i have watched this video more than once i have two gillette slim adjustable razors and gillette 195 fat boy i enjoy your videos have a great weekend
A Gillette adjustable will probably be my next vintage acquisition. Either a Super Adjustable or a Slim, most likely. The Aristocrat is my current favorite vintage model.
and I have 2. one is a 75, it was my dads. needless to say it is my favorite DE I own, but is the best shaving hands down on 4 for me thanks to mike baker on RU-vid salute to him
A wonderful video I just had to watch it right away when I saw that it was about the black beauty. I'm a young-un in the world and the shaving world (my birthday razor would have to be a 1990), but I have the privilege of inheriting my grandpa's H4 black beauty. I love it. It's my first and for now my only safety razor. I've been using it for almost two years now, and I just recently found that 3 is perfect. thanks again for such a great video on a razor that is dear to my heart.
Hi John, I'm so pleased you reviewed this razor as I have one. Personally completely agree with your comments about it being quite fierce on the face. I too have used it with feather blades and essentially ended up with cuts. Thought it was just me!
Hey love the video.. Just got into vintage Gillette razors.. A friend gave me a 73 super adjustable.. The detent spring is gone or broken inside.. I am thinking of having it restored or at least fixed.. interested in your thoughts..
John good information I had two or three back in the late 60's early 70's and got rid of them for electric, injector and tech razor. I recently started to buy vintage Gillette razor and shave with them. I am enjoying every minute. Always look forward to see your videos. Keep them coming.
Hello, just came across some of your vids and I'm really enjoying them! Got ypurself a New Sub! Also I've been looking around for a 1967 Slim due to it being my Mother's Birth Year as well as Her name starting with an (M) Martha. Was wondering if You were willing to sell Yours sir?
Really enjoyed this, informative and great insights. Awaiting an O2 Super 84 from Razor Emporium to supplement the arsenal. Thanks for doing this. Oh and good call on the Kai blades they are currently my No 1 blade for exactly the reasons you pointed out.
top 2 razor in my den...love it to bits! I have a 1970 O2 model. I wouldn't say it's that much milder than my Fatboys or Slims but I have to say I think it's way smoother. All of my adjustable shave at 7. Maybe the adjustment is a little out on yours?...dunno. I know that on 7 with a GSB I cannot get a bum shave from it.
and I have 2. one is a 75, it was my dads. needless to say it is my favorite DE I own, but is the best shaving hands down on 4 for me thanks to mike baker on RU-vid salute to him
Another good review. The Black Beauty was my first safety razor, back in the Seventies. Your review brought back memories. Now, I use the Muhle R41 2013 with Kai blades as a daily driver. Keep posting. Thanks.
hi big john im really enjoy and your channel. ive been wet shaving for almost 2 years now. im currently in the process of buying a safety razor my dad owned the Gillette black beauty from the 80s just before that model died out. but im really interested inbuying something more vintage like a 40s or 50s like a superspeed. i was wondering if you sell your razors. and i was wondering if you have a Facebook page.
When I first got my Super-109, I also thought it was aggressive, but discovered that I was having issues with the final quarter turn. I ended up using some WD-40 on mine which gave a more solid feel to the quarter turn and gave it an aggressiveness more in keeping with my Slim. That said, I'm still very mixed about mine. At times, the handle feels much more slippery than the Slim. Also, it is much more head-heavy which seems to cause me grip issues.
Thank you for such a thorough review, may have saved me from making another one of many compulsive DE razor purchases. I’ve been using a Slim lately and love setting 2-or even 1-as I have pretty sensitive skin but very coarse hair, so I’ve been loving the mildness. Sounds like I’d lose a bit of that with the black beauty.
I have a Gillette Black Beauty with a date code of O-1, the same year as yours. It belonged to my best friend's father, and she gave it to me after he passed away. It needs some fine-tuning and finish work. I'm going to send it to Razor Emporium to be refurbished. I look forward to shaving with it! Thanks for sharing the video.
Mine seems milder than my Fat Boy as Slim. I know some people liked to change the gap setting on the Fat Boys. Any chance yours had been altered? Hope you are well and decide to start making videos again for us.
I do believe Gillette didn't call it the black beauty until 77 when they came out with the black plastic base plate. I have a gold super justable which was only made in 69 and 70 one of the best razors I ever used
I have a black beauty 109 with a black plastic base with no date codes, any suggestion of a date range? I heard you John say 1977 they. started black bases, but any year there were some without a code????
Thanks John!, I just checked inside the blade bay it says PAT NOS. ON PKG., but on the bottom it only has a "3" for the qtr. of the yr. but it does not have the yr. letter?? Its a very clean razor and legible; just no letter.
+ShaveNontheDarkside This is what it would look like: www.google.com/search?q=date+code+location+Gillette+109+Super&espv=2&biw=1273&bih=627&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwih4rvT5pHLAhVHKGMKHfHGBx0Q_AUIBigB&dpr=1.5#tbm=isch&tbs=rimg%3ACQdBs2fWu36eIjh9p_1ByDTv5Le8wyORm3FMRR_1wrSPxuWxB0tTaoBKuqLH_12eBE1KBBBN9zTxNaMd_1hc0VUgUlh11SoSCX2n8HINO_1ktERsqTUbPNC8FKhIJ7zDI5GbcUxERqm-vJFO62iwqEglH_1CtI_1G5bEBESVMlGqje1AyoSCXS1NqgEq6osEXmz0ddWgDjtKhIJf_1Z4ETUoEEERYDTkr6KyphUqEgk33NPE1ox3-BElYNStKlpu7SoSCVzRVSBSWHXVEYsmklz1dxwn&q=Gillette%20109%20Super%20adjustable&imgrc=uuFx3L0ZM0ZEYM%3A
What is the blade gaps at each setting? I've heard that the Super Adjustable has a wider range of adjustment than either the Slim or Fatboy. I'm looking for a birth year / quarter Super Adjustable, an S4.
+fukitol1972 There was someone several years back posted on Badger and Blade forum that the Black Beauty had a less aggressive and milder blade gap than the FatBoy or Slim. - Slim and Fat Boy range from .022 @ 1 to .045 @ 9; Fat Boy (195) weighs 79 gm, Slim Adjustable weighs 70 - the Black handle Adjustable ranges from .017 @ 1 to .041 @ 9 or 1 setting smaller than the Slim or Fat Boy. I suspect this is where the "Less Aggressive" notions came about. I don't really care about the blade gap in a razor. A razor could have a much wider gap but shave milder if the other factors of the head configuration make it so.
+MadScientist .OfWetShaving (BigJohn) I totally agree with you about the blade gap measurements not telling the whole story about razor aggressiveness. There are more variables involved. I want to know how Kai blades compare to Gillette Silver Blue blades. Sharper / Smoother?
Don't recall what I said in video but a week should be plenty but all depends upon your personal experience and skill level. I can judge how a razor will perform pretty quickly...just a few days.
@@FutrNovlst Ok. I have a couple Gillette superspeed razors that are just gorgeous and in excellent shape, but they just don't perform as close as I'd like them to. I just want to make sure I'm giving them a fair shake. Maybe I should look for a red tip...as I do use my fat boy and slim on 8,9 setting.
@@dc76384 Have you tried different blades. Some blades do work better in different razors. I always recommend Kai blades. To me they are the sharpest and smoothest in a sharper blade
@@FutrNovlst I first started with personna blue blades, and those are ok. Then I tried feathers, which I find a bit rough on the first shave. The 2nd and 3rd shaves with a feather are much better. Almost as if you've got to smooth out the edge. I'm currently using Gillette 7 o'clock blades. KAI Blades huh? Hmm I'll have to look for those.
Hello John. Another good video, and another good shave. I think the 109 was first released in 69. I spent a long time looking for a birth year razor 68, N-4 109 with no luck. Razor Emporiums Razor Archive: www.razorarchive.com/gillette-date-codes I don't know how accurate the list is, but I figure Matt knows more than most about what's what and when was what, and what not. Hope you have enjoyable weekend my friend. Be Well -John
+John Thomas I thought I saw a chart somewhere or read something about the 109 starting a bit before '69 but I read so much conflicting stuff I get confused sometimes. There's this one page that says it debuted in '68 www.gilletteadjustable.com/super-109.html but they could be wrong.
They could be wrong, but maybe they're right. Finding my birth year sure would be nifty. I think I may be near the end of my vintage collecting. I've only got the one face to shave. Of course I say that, but dollars to doughnuts, I'll come home with another shaver, from next months antiques fleemarket.
+John Thomas I looked all over for some kind of ad or commercial on the Black Beauty but found nothing. Guess Gillette had better things to spend their advertising money on or just not much has survived.
Thirty years I had a stack of Playboys from the mid sixties. They had great ads... amongst other things :) I remember an ad for the 1967 ford mustang, SRP of $1,400! Man I wish I had held on to those.
+John Thomas I found another Code List, the one used by the Mr-Razor site, which I think is the most reliable. It shows 1968 as the start of the Black Beauty, so keep looking, there may be one out there for you. wiki.badgerandblade.com/US_Gillette_Dating_Information
