Questions for Shavers of the 50's, 60's, and 70's

[SteveWY]

This is specifically a shout out to our 60+ year old brethren. With all our talk about razor and brush collections, drawers full of soaps and creams, and buying blades by the hundreds I thought it would be insightful to bring some "mid-century" perspective. So, if you were or have been a safety razor & blade/soap & brush shaver from back in the day please let us now what shaving was for you then. Specifically but not limited to...

- How many and what razors did you have?
- How many and what brushes? Did you have more than one?
- What were your blades and how many shaves to you get on a blade.
- Williams and Colgate ruled the day. What soaps or creams did you use pre-Barbasol and other foams?
- Anything else you think may be fun to share about the golden era?

 

[Bookworm]

I don't know about myself, but my father is now into his 70's, and he's mostly used an electric, other than perhaps while he was in the service.

 

[RandyC]

In the 70's my Dad was using a Gillette adjustable, not sure what year, and a Schick injector. I just got him a pack of injector blades from Maggard's. He used Noxema sensitive skin foam, light blue can, I think it's the same as their red can now.

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[JimmyHAD]

Beginning around 1963 or so a Gillette DE. Not sure which, but probably one of the Super Speeds, followed by an adjustable. In the early '70s I switched to a Schick injector. When I began shaving the Blue Blades were what was available and they were terrible. When the Super Stainless and Platinum Plus came out they were great by comparison and worth the extra cost.

Whatever year the Gillette Good News disposables came out I began using those and continued with them until 2007 when I found this forum and went back to the Gillette DE of various types/years. Then slant DEs followed by straights, Now I might shave with any of the above, except for the disposables, on any given day.

Lathering I started out with the canned goo, and Barbasol was the one I settled on after trying many. In about 1973 I bought a badger brush at Hoffritz for Cutlery along with Old Spice mug and puck. When the puck ran out I bought a puck of Williams. When that ran out I picked up the bar of face soap I had on the sink and lathered on that. Continued doing that until I found this forum and was introduced to more brushes and soaps/creams.
Sure glad I joined the wet shaving renaissance, think of all the money I've saved !

 

[maybe smith]

While in the military (1966-1969) I used a Gillette tech and canned foam. I still used it until 1987 when I purchased a Gillette super adjustable. I switched to Williams soap a mug and made rite brush. There was no pre or after anything except aftershave. I still have all this and since finding B&B, I have not really changed much except I now own way too many razors (18) and RAD hasn't even kicked in yet.

 

[Razorcan]

My father always used canned foam and a DE,he changed the blade once a week,he still does in his 90s .I have been doing the same since 1980 too.

 

[Big Jim]

I almost always used a mug and brush. One brush at a time until they wore out. Equivalent to the basic VDH boar of today. The original had a wooden handle. I also had my grandfather's Erskine pure badger, but it was pretty shot when I got it. The mug was an Old Spice. The most common soap was Williams. The first razor was a Gillette TTO but I don't know what model it was. It was eventually replaced with a Gillette Black Beauty. I tried all sorts of blades. The best shaves at first were with Gillette Blues. They actually shaved better than Gillette Stainless when they finally came out, but the Blues didn't last nearly as long. Later I found the Gillette Techmatic and felt I had better shaves with it. When they were discontinued I moved to Gillette Cartridges and have been more satisfied with cartridges ever since.

Today I have 35 brushes and counting. Mostly either Silvertip or Finest. I also have several cartridge brands and styles. The short life of Gillette Fusions drove me to it. I rotate among Gillettes, Schicks, Dorcos, Harrys, and the cheap ones made by the same company as Harrys. All have much longer life than Gillettes. Last I counted i have over 15 different soaps in rotation.

I have never enjoyed shaving more.

In the old days it was just an unpleasant chore. DEs left me with nicks or weepers nearly every day.

 

[Vespasian]

I'm seventy (groan.) When I was 13, in 1960, a stewardess on a United flight gave every man on board a Fatboy. I taught myself to shave (ouch) and never looked back. I bought a drugstore boar brush and used whatever hard soap was handy. In 1971, I moved to London. Same razor, but a nice badger brush and lemon verbena shaving soap from Floris.

Around 1990, I lost my razor and began the Dark Years - Bics and Mach 3s. I kept the same brush, now butterscotched a deep brown and worn to a nub. I discovered B&B three years ago. I bought another Fatboy and had my Floris brush rebadgered in silvertip, so I'm shaving like it's 1971, except better soaps and blades.

One shaving bowl, an art deco Listerine froggy blade bank, a boar brush and a cheapo razor in reserve, 50+ soaps and creams, 8 aftershaves, and I'm ready to face the world.

Today was the third awful day in a row, bad news everywhere, nothing accomplished. So at noon I dropped my futile life for half an hour. Long shower (the drought is over!) and a slow, bbs shave. GBS blade, Martin de Candre Rose soap, Fine Italian Citrus AS splash. Feel like a million bucks, and I smell nice, too.

 

[Graybeard57]

I started shaving in the early 1970s. After one attempt with my father's Slim, I got a Schick Technic (I think it was called), but that was really a poorly conceived engineering idea. Went to a Trac II, and tried every Gillette cartridge iteration up to and including the Fusion. My favorite was the Sensor. I started with Edge gel, then went with Williams/Colgate pucks with a cheap synthetic. Used that for years before switching to tubed shave cream. Along the way I had numerous electrics, an early generation Braun being my favorite. From 1972 - 2012, shaving was a chore.

In May 2012 my son, then 16 and active on B&B, talked me into trying DE. I started with an EJ89, loved it, and within a couple of months I pounced on a C1 Red Tip, my birth year/quarter. I've never looked back.

I own three brushes, all Omega boars (two are LE B&B ones), four vintage Gillettes (Sheraton, FB, C1 Red Tip, Aristocrat CC), about a half dozen soaps (more than my usual 2-3 puck stock, but QCS had a going out of business sale), about 275 blades (I buy in bulk to save money), and five AS (a bountiful number, for me). I try to focus on the process of shaving, kind of a "joy in the journey" approach. Since 2012, I have enjoyed my shaves.

 

[SamariJack]

I started shaving in the early 1970s. After one attempt with my father's Slim, I got a Schick Technic (I think it was called), but that was really a poorly conceived engineering idea. Went to a Trac II, and tried every Gillette cartridge iteration up to and including the Fusion.
.

When I've asked my father in law, who sounds like he's about the same age as you, he gave a similar history as yours. He was completely unaware of DE being an option during that time period.

When you chose to start with a Schick or the Trac ll, were you aware of DE? I'm wondering if Gillette marketing for the latest and greatest contraption had already over taken the consumer desire for ease and efficiency at that time.



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[KQY61]

Hi,

Well I am still only 55....but started shaving in 1976. Dad gave me a pre-war Tech and a Rubberset brush which was the same as his, only longer (his unused spare). I still have them.

We used Yardley in those days. He had a post-war Tech and, in a drawer, a NDC SuperSpeed which Mom had given him for Christmas in 1948. He preferred the thinner head of the Tech. We used Gillette Platinum Plus blades at that time. So, I began shaving in the same manner he always had, going back to at least 1946 when he came back from the war.

Moving forward in time, first the Yardley went away around 1980. So, we switched to Old Spice. Mom would always give each of us a new puck for Christmas each year. Gillette DE blades went away next, so we switched to Schick Plus Platinum. By 1990, both the Old Spice soap and the Schick blades disappeared and we were truly into the Shavepocalypse.

But, I sourced some Med Prep blades from the hospital, then learned I could get them at the surgical supply store. Plus, the Laboratory blades were exactly the same but half the cost. The only issue was they came in 1000 blade cartons. That fixed he blade problem and I was able to be creative in the soap department. Dad had enough Old Spice to last him until he passed away in 1995 since he only shaved twice a week.

In any event, we never did go down the Cart or Electric paths.

Stan

 

[bobskins]

i started in the mid 50's with a Gillette. bought a slim when they came out, with Barbisol and Gillette blues. back then, shaving was a chore, tried to get it done quickly, a lot of weepers, kept a styptic handy.
then the army, rotating blade razor, i think Shick and Old Spice mug and soap and brush (they were sold in a package together). next 2 blade razor, then the dark years-Norelco. just wanted speed, BBS wasn't in my vocabulary.
2 years ago bought a $15 Harrys razor, blades, shaving soap kit. used that for about 6 months, added bowl, brush, TOBS soap and it went back to DE from there, 50's nostalgia. started with the Gillette Slim, added 5 more razors, 4 brushes, 6 soaps, scuttles, bowls, AS. now just having fun.

there's always a plan B.

 

[Graybeard57]

When I've asked my father in law, who sounds like he's about the same age as you, he gave a similar history as yours. He was completely unaware of DE being an option during that time period.

When you chose to start with a Schick or the Trac ll, were you aware of DE? I'm wondering if Gillette marketing for the latest and greatest contraption had already over taken the consumer desire for ease and efficiency at that time.

I don't remember DE razor ads then, but perhaps there were some. I vaguely recall seeing them in the 1960s. DE blades ads were pervasive, with Wilkinson, Gillette, and Personna blades being the most memorable to me. Personna injector razors and blades are others that I recall. The Technic was touted in ads as being chosen by NASA for use in space. It was a cartridge with a coil of razor edge ribbon inside, which you advanced as needed. I think it had about 10 or so turns available. It was awful. I believe Gillette had their own version of one. The Trac II ads were everywhere, and I distinctly recall Gillette touting that the first blade pulled the whisker out, and the second cut it, then the hair slipped back below the surface of the skin. They were right; generations have had ingrown hairs ever since! I was 15 in 1972, and Gillette was clearly pushing Trac II in a big way.

 

[bobskins]

in Boston, in the 50's the Red Sox were sponsored by Gillette. they had a thick about 2" x 2" book that when you fanned it there was a movie of baseball plays. this came with the Gillette adjustable razor. i bought one.

there's always a plan B.

 

[Graybeard57]

The Technic was touted in ads as being chosen by NASA for use in space. It was a cartridge with a coil of razor edge ribbon inside, which you advanced as needed. I think it had about 10 or so turns available. It was awful. I believe Gillette had their own version of one.

Whoa, was I off the mark! I had a Gillette Techmatic, as seen in my avatar. It was also adjustable. The wide head allowed you to shave half of your moustache in one pass. The ribbon was held in place at four points, but it had memory, which meant that the ribbon's business end was actually kind of wavy. Makes me sore just thinking about it.

 

[santamariasteve]

It was pretty minimal. I started shaving at age 15 in 1951 with a Gillette TTO (maybe a Black Tip?) and Gillette canned goo. In 1957 I grew a thin mustache and switched to a Schick Injector Type I that was better for trimming the area above the mustache and below the nose. Went into the army in 1961. The army took the Schick Injector away from me and prohibited the mustache. I was issued a Gillette Tech and it went to Korea with me. (I still have that Tech and will always keep it, though it is too mild for my present tough whiskers.) Two years later I was home and I bought a Gillette TTO Flare Tip. In the 1970s and for a long time thereafter I used a Trac II and the Flare Tip. In 2010 I discovered the hobby of serious shaving and the rest is history. I have about 75 DE and SE razors. This week I'm shaving with a 1914 Ever-Ready SE. I have shaved daily since 1951.

 

[Raissermesser]

Father used a Gillette Tech Fat Handle into the mid 1960s, when he went to a Gillette Slim. He was still using that when I started shaving with an adjustable Schick Injector. I went with the Schick because I thought it was more modern.Yeah, I did not know the injector dated from the 1920s.

My father had an Old Spice shaving mug - that I bumped reaching into the medicine cabinet and which broke in the sink. Never saw him using it, and he wasn't upset. He kept his brush, an EverReady, long after I moved out.

In the late 1970s, my father went to disposables. I stayed with the injector, trying various disposables off and on. Would eventually try the Atra, but that's out of the 1970s.

My father's blade of choice was Wilkinson Sword. Interesting enough, this is the DE blade I would eventually settle on. Shaving cream was Gillette Foamy. In the 1970s I found an Old Spice gift mug in the store that was shorter than his old mug, and an EverReady shaving brush in the drug store. That would have been the late great Old Spice shaving soap. After that ran out, I used Colgate shaving soap, and would continue to do so until they stopped producing it. Though my father no longer used mug soap, he showed me how to lather in the mug.

When I didn't use shaving soap, I used Gillette foamy. That remained the case through the 1970s.

My father's aftershave was once Old Spice. Clearly remember the bottle. I'd give him Hai Karate, and wonder why it sat unused. At some point he went to Skin Bracer, which he used through the 1970s. Mine was the aftershave for teenage boys of that era: Brute. I would have likely started out with an old bottle of my father's Old Spice or Skin Bracer, but to be honest I don't remember which. Someone in the family, maybe one of my grandfathers, must have used Pinaud Clubman because the fragrance is very familiar and gives me a relaxed feeling.

Someone gave me Racquet Club for Christmas soon after I started shaving, but to me it smelled like dishwater and I never used it much. I'm tempted to say that my first dates weren't impressed, either, but that was probably due to the wearer.

 

[Lord Greystoke]

In the 70's my Dad was using a Gillette adjustable, not sure what year, and a Schick injector. I just got him a pack of injector blades from Maggard's. He used Noxema sensitive skin foam, light blue can, I think it's the same as their red can now.

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I used both razors, starting around 1965. Blades were Gillette, Schick and Wilkinson. I used canned goo - Noxema, Rise, Barbisol, and Gillette Foamy.

 

[lancelot]

I know that we always yearn and say how much better things were in the old days, but I think something really was. For ME the Gillette "Super" blue blade(1959, I think) was the best de, razor, blade ever produced! The first times I used it I honestly couldn't tell if there was a blade in the razor. It was carbon steel with what, for me, was a wonder coating.
A couple of years later Gillette came out with a stainless blade. I remember thinking it would "knock it out of the park." Not so. For me, it pulled and tugged and had nothing like the sharpness & smoothness of the "super", and all of this was accomplished with Rise, canned, foam. This wonderful blade dried up soon after the stainless blade's intro.
Of course all of this is imo.

Best regards, Ron

 

[Macfrommichigan]

Gillette tech plus Everready 200t boar brush and Colgate soap. The old blue blades were awful, I think. I got many years out of that brush, however.