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The "Not Gillette" Vintage DE Thread

Here's a bakelite razor and case, the previous owner said it was a Double Six, I'm pretty sure it's made by Souplex, Ltd. of Morecambe, England.

Ungodly aggressive! The case is unhinged and I haven't opened the blade as much as I really want a peek.




Wow looking at it i wouldnt think it to be aggressive, classy looking thing though, and the blade thing... would drive me nuts i would so peek, i congratulate your self restraint lol
 
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I recently got this one in from the BST. It was very low cost and I was in a fit of OCRAD. I know nothing about it. Perhaps just a German clone? The markings on the bottom of the head are "James Davis Chicago" and "Germany". I thought it had an unusual looking handle. Have not shaved with it yet because I am on a 7 day Cobra pass around until next Friday. Anybody know something about this one?

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There is indeed. In terms of shave quality, there are many razors that surpass the Gillettes, and it is not hard to figure out why. Following the brilliant, pioneering work of founder King Camp, Gillette designers and engineers mostly lay down on the job, focussing their efforts on creating ever-fancier handles and packaging, and inventing ever-sillier names that tapped the roots of male status consciousness and insecurity (Big Fellow! Senator! Aristocrat!, Diplomat! Regent!). But in terms of actual technological innovation, Gillette managed to produce only four or five generations of DE razors (Old Type, New Improved, New, etc), and, each time, the essential features of the new designs were copied from other companies (solid guard bar, TTO, adjustability, etc.).

Meanwhile, scrappy European companies had to compete for what was left of the market so, in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, they concentrated on delivering quality shaves. Now, one-half century later, the very finest vintage razors are branded Eclipse, Rotbart, Hoffritz, Leresche, Kirby Beard, Apollo, Emir, and the like. Mind you, I’m not saying that there are no outstanding Gillette razors – far from it (the Tech and the President come first to my mind). Only that anyone who seeks absolute shaving perfection is best advised to turn elsewhere.

Very exquisite writing as always Moshulu....Are you saying that the best razors at some point are not Gillette?
 
Mortals,
Moshulu speaks truth. Heed his words.

All but one of my Gillettes are out of rotation and just last night I traded away my birth year fatboy. The quality of those "scrappy European companies" products is just so high in comparison to all of the Gillettes I tried to love that I couldn't justify keeping them in the rotation. The ones that Moshulu lists tend to be pretty expensive for those of us in the states, so if you're interested in trying some, I've picked up a L'essor for as little as 15 bucks (shipped!!) that shaves as well as or better than any of the gillette OC's and is even more beautiful. Occasionally, you'll find some little known or unknown razor that is actually made by Hoffritz or Leresche or Henckel's and meets their standards of quality and design. Right now, my best shaver is a German Slant that I can find virtually no info on and I just got another mystery vintage slant yet to be cleaned up.

It's also possible to get, as I have, a series of uninspired and crappy shavers who were mass produced under virtually no quality control. One thing that can be said in Gillette's favor, I think, is that their worst razors are better than the worst that were produced even if their very best couldn't match the standards of the best of their European counterparts. They also managed to do this on a rather grand scale which is something no other manufacturer has done.

And as we say here on the board, if there ain't pics, then it ain't so:
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Here's a bakelite razor and case, the previous owner said it was a Double Six, I'm pretty sure it's made by Souplex, Ltd. of Morecambe, England.

Ungodly aggressive! The case is unhinged and I haven't opened the blade as much as I really want a peek.



Doug, you have Double six Minor which are identical to the Double Six that are military issued by Souplex Limited of Morecambe Lancaster, England 1944
 
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nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Doug, you have Double six Minor which are identical to the Double Six that are military issued by Souplex Limited of Morecambe Lancaster, England 1944
Thanks Alex. Do you think it should it be called Souplex or Double Six when I put it in the wiki?
 
I bought this open comb two piece razor a few years back.

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I'm unsure or the maker as there are no stamps or maker marks. The handle spins to unscrew the cap but the
bottom plate does not come off. I've used it a few times and it is a very nice shaver. It weighs in at 56 grams.
looks German made, with the long grooves in the handle. Sweet razor.
 
Thanks Alex. Do you think it should it be called Souplex or Double Six when I put it in the wiki?

Doug, its Double Six minor made by Souplex. The Double six was a military issued razor and it was in all black , your is not black and has a case.
 

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Interesting, if you Google Double Six Razor you get this:

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They're well-shaved.
 
the straight in that picture is interesting in itself, looks to have to blades on it, and the handle is quite thick to support it, stropping and honing that thing would seem to be impossible, but the blades seem to be mounted on outside of the spine,...

now that thing looks to be a mystery in itself, wonder if it really existed or was just there to match into the name, and the album title "razors edge" ? or if all that even exists at all lmao maybe someone was just having fun and made it all up
 
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