The "Not Gillette" Vintage DE Thread

[moshulu]

This thread has turned into a bit of a freak show, but I suppose there is nothing really wrong with that, so here are two more contributions:

This lovely slant from the French maker Kabrand has the most finely worked handle of any razor I have known:

View attachment $DSC02143.JPGView attachment $DSC02140.JPGView attachment $DSC02141.JPG

The head can be pivoted from side to side by loosening and tightening the handle.

Then there are these two asymmetric-head razors from the French company Gibbs (pronounced " zheebz"). The two edges have different blade exposures.

View attachment 273168View attachment 273169

Their strangeness, aside, these razors illustrate my earlier point about Gillette designers having stopped innovating as soon as King Camp left the room. The examples shown here may have been flashes in the pan, but at least the creative juices flowed on one side of the Atlantic.

 

[oakeshott]

lol well you will have to become the resident expert in French DEs around these parts

Synge,
that spot is already occupied, well occupied it should be said, by Moshulu who has taught me more than I have learned on my own.

Fyi, if you would like to try Le Dauphin, drop me a PM and I will send it to you. It's not in the rotation and a second opinion would not go amiss.

 

[oakeshott]

This thread has turned into a bit of a freak show, but I suppose there is nothing really wrong with that, so here are two more contributions:

This lovely slant from the French maker Kabrand has the most finely worked handle of any razor I have known:

View attachment 273170View attachment 273171View attachment 273172

The head can be pivoted from side to side by loosening and tightening the handle.

Then there are these two asymmetric-head razors from the French company Gibbs (pronounced " zheebz"). The two edges have different blade exposures.

View attachment 273168View attachment 273169

Their strangeness, aside, these razors illustrate my earlier point about Gillette designers having stopped innovating as soon as King Camp left the room. The examples shown here may have been flashes in the pan, but at least the creative juices flowed on one side of the Atlantic.

That is a spectacularly worked handle. Real art. Do we know what something like that sold for or what the market for it was? Also, where were they sold? What kind of store would carry what must have been an expensive men's grooming tool?

 

[Maxime D.]

A not Gillette vintage safety razor thread ? Heresy !

 

[syngent]

I may take you up on that at some point Oak, but i have a couple of things on the go, a borrowed R41, and something on the way, not to mention some straights that im trying to get off the ground as well,... but maybe some time in the not to distant future lol, although if you really want a second opinion, and you cant find someone to take you up on it, i would certainly squeeze it in as its never a bad problem to have to many razors lol, i just hate trying to keep track of that many peoples things, plus my own stuff out there lol

Synge,
that spot is already occupied, well occupied it should be said, by Moshulu who has taught me more than I have learned on my own.

Fyi, if you would like to try Le Dauphin, drop me a PM and I will send it to you. It's not in the rotation and a second opinion would not go amiss.

 

[syngent]

A not Gillette vintage safety razor thread ? Heresy !

shhhhhh dont say that to loud, gillette may here you

 

[moshulu]

That is a spectacularly worked handle. Real art. Do we know what something like that sold for or what the market for it was? Also, where were they sold? What kind of store would carry what must have been an expensive men's grooming tool?

I have no answers to these questions, and many more: why is the razor handle so nicely worked, and the head seemingly cast out of pot metal? Why does the case appear to be lined with duct tape? I'm afraid no one can, or will, ever know. One reason why I am attracted to non-Gillette vintage razors is that their history is almost completely undocumented, so it will be forever impossible to answer questions about them. Kind of like the first 300 000 years of the Universe, when all photons were absorbed. They are gone for all eternity, and so we will never know, no matter how hard we look (I'm ignoring neutrinos and gravitational waves, but safety razors are surely transparent to these).

 

[Smoothy]

A not Gillette Vintage DE razor thread? Why not, that is an excellent idea! The vintage Gillettes are great, I had a lot and still have a few (am especially fond of a nicely Rhodium-replated Aristocrat or NEW...). But there is also really a lot of very nice other stuff out there. I take my recent acquisition as an example - a Rotbart Mond-Extra open comb. Up to now, I only knew of the closed comb version which I never really liked. But just a few weeks ago, a good friend of mine told me about an OC he had and how good the shaves were with that one (particularly with the Rotbart blades in it) so I started searching (or, more accurately, surfing). And came across two different ones on the website of a large online auction house. And scored this beauty below. No cracks on the handle (as is often the case with other Vintage razors - and although it doesn't affect those razors, I just don't like 'em), feels solid, really rock solid and is, although not unique, quite unusual. And that appeals to me. The Rotbarts, by the way, have a small but interesting thread here.
View attachment 273293View attachment 273294View attachment 273295View attachment 273296View attachment 273297

 

[syngent]

That's a really cool razor too.. I like that one...

And we see and have a lot of knowledge on Gillette stuff around just thought it would be nice to see some other stuff to what's out there what makes a great shave and help share with one another... and pictures are always a good idea lol

 

[DutchmanRiver]

i have three ultra rare german razors in very good condition...
from left to right:
Erfa Brillant de Luxe made in the former GDR (East-Germany) Adjustable razor 1960s
Walbusch B5 Adjustable slant made in Solingen 1930s
Zwillings (twin works) gold plated razor. the design was adopted later by merkur for the merkur hd 1920s

maybe you come across this razors only once in lifetime

 

[Deltaboy]

i have three ultra rare german razors in very good condition...
from left to right:
Erfa Brillant de Luxe made in the former GDR (East-Germany) Adjustable razor 1960s
Walbusch B5 Adjustable slant made in Solingen 1930s
Zwillings (twin works) gold plated razor. the design was adopted later by merkur for the merkur hd 1920s

maybe you come across this razors only once in lifetime

Great Historical finds.

 

[Jake]

Great sets there. Just goes to show how creative the non-Gillette engineers could be. Or were. And where are they now? Working at Apple?

 

[NexlevMM]

i have three ultra rare german razors in very good condition...
from left to right:
Erfa Brillant de Luxe made in the former GDR (East-Germany) Adjustable razor 1960s
Walbusch B5 Adjustable slant made in Solingen 1930s
Zwillings (twin works) gold plated razor. the design was adopted later by merkur for the merkur hd 1920s

maybe you come across this razors only once in lifetime

That B5 is so badass. That'd be my dream razor i think.

 

[amishmotorboat]

Some quality not-gillettes...

Here I have a prototype from inventor Lee S. Chadwick. While they never made it into production, he did make a few for his grandchildren. I know of the existence of at least 3 others.

Here is a Le Supreme adjustable, similar in looks to the gibbs, but unlike it in the shave.

The above are two of my favorite razors to use, but their scarcity makes me hesitant to do much more of it.

Here is a more common nice shaver that is not gillette.

The stahly live blade... this pic is not of mine, it is an auction pic for a demo razor that showed the inner workings.

 

[Maxime D.]

Ok Ok Ok ! Now, that's really steampunk ! I'm confused, is it a razor or a clock ?

 

[syngent]

Some quality not-gillettes...

Here I have a prototype from inventor Lee S. Chadwick. While they never made it into production, he did make a few for his grandchildren. I know of the existence of at least 3 others.

Here is a Le Supreme adjustable, similar in looks to the gibbs, but unlike it in the shave.

The above are two of my favorite razors to use, but their scarcity makes me hesitant to do much more of it.

Here is a more common nice shaver that is not gillette.

WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINS, If transformers shaved, they would do it with these, which one is the autobot and which one the decepticon ? i want it,... no really i want one now lol,.... that is amazing, i knew this thread was a good idea

 

[oakeshott]

Some quality not-gillettes...

Here I have a prototype from inventor Lee S. Chadwick. While they never made it into production, he did make a few for his grandchildren. I know of the existence of at least 3 others.

Here is a Le Supreme adjustable, similar in looks to the gibbs, but unlike it in the shave.

The above are two of my favorite razors to use, but their scarcity makes me hesitant to do much more of it.

Here is a more common nice shaver that is not gillette.

The stahly live blade... this pic is not of mine, it is an auction pic for a demo razor that showed the inner workings.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are no longer in Kansas.

 

[Maxime D.]

Do you think the Wicked Witch of the East was shaving with that ?

 

[Sled Dog]

Some really cool razors showing up in this thread...keep em coming!!

 

[Snargle]

Here's one I just acquired recently...a German Zwilling (circa 1918-1919). Looks very much like a clone of the Gillette Old Type, but I found the shave to be a bit more aggressive than the Old.

(Photo is pre-cleanup. I need to take some newer ones. It cleaned up very, very nicely!)

Here's a link to my original thread with more details. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/310344-Zwilling-DE-Razor-Set