1909 Gillette in a Bostonian Case?

[naegling]

Hi all, Fist post here, and my first razor purchase.

I just got back from a vintage shot here in my little town and I made a puchase...

As far as I can tell from the date on the screw part of the razor, it was manufactured in 1909.

The "bolt" part of the razor appears to be brass, while the rest of the razor looks like silver with a thick layer of tarnish.

The blade holder is in very good shape with little tarnish, and has about 20 Gillette Blue Blades inside.

The box is silver and appears in good shape too. the elevator for the razor works great, but the velvet like material on the inside of the case is worn down to almost nothing.

The clips hold the razor and the blade case tightly.

Full size pic


I do have a couple questions:

- All of the Bostonians I've seen have different knurling on the handle, is this handle consistent with what would have come with a Bostonian set?

- the part of the razor with the comb lookes much thinner and less machined than the other gillettes I've seen on this site for it's age, do I have just a hodge-podge of parts that make this razor?

- Does anyone know what the value of this set, or the pieces individually would be? I looked on ebay, but there are no listings of Bostonians right now.

Thanks for the help, this is beginning to be very interesting to me. I can see another hobby forming...

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

First of all, welcome to the forum! Stick around and asks lots of questions.

It appears to me that you have an Old Type Single Ring in a Bostonian case. And I can't quite tell from the photo, but it appears that the knob is slightly bigger than what I would expect for a single ring, but I don't think any other knobs would fit in the barrel of the handle. So, I'm not sure about that, but I'm sure someone else will chime in. And the thinner head on the razor is correct for a Single Ring. That is just the style for the Old Type razors. The thicker ones you've seen are likely some variant of the 'New' heads. I just don't know about the knob on that one you have.

Value is pretty tough to determine, especially as the razor doesn't go with that case. Are there any cracks in the handle of the razor? What about the teeth? Are they all straight?

 

[naegling]

Thanks for the reply Brian,

The teeth and the razor in general are in good shape other than the tarnish. They knob is slightly larger, about 1/ 1.5mm. There are no cracks in the barrel.

Bummer to find out it's not a set, but all the parts are still very neat.

How do these single ring razors shave? I have a buddy who gave me a Gillette Tech, that I have been thinking about using, but this set caught my eye with the cool silver box and all.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

The Bostonian cases do look great. I don't own one yet and at some point I'll probably track one down. The Single Ring is a great shaver. It will definitely be more aggressive than your Tech, but it is nothing that will be unmanageable for you with a bit of extra care and diligence for the first few times while you get used to the way it shaves.

I'm still quite curious about the knob. It is probably original as I don't know of any others that would even fit, but it just looks a little bigger than I would expect. Is there any chance that you could post a few more photos of the knob close up and perhaps one with the razor disassembled and the knob next to the handle?

 

[BBrad]

Welcome to our group . . . and congrats on your first purchase!

You would be surprised what a good cleanup will do for that razor. Try the "famous" Aluminum foil and baking soda trick (post #13 here)

You may want to try the Tech first until you get your DE technique mastered . . . the Single Ring is a great razor but not what most would recommend for a novice.

 

[naegling]

 

[johnmrson]

Welcome to the forum. It definitely looks like the knob doesn't match the rest of the razor. The tarnish should clean off pretty easily and there is more than likely a nice silver razor under it all. It looks like someone has had a box or parts and put a razor together as the knob , the top and the box don't match.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

Okay, that does appear to be the correct knob. For some reason, it just looked a little bigger in the initial photo. But sometimes cameras can distort lines.

Some people like the tarnished look, but others, including myself, prefer them shined up. If you want to try cleaning it up, first give it a good scrubbing with a toothbrush and some dish soap. Then the trick in the thread that Brad linked to does wonders for these old silver plated razors. It reverses the tarnishing process itself without removing any of the silver as would happen if you used many of the polishes that are available. Here are two links that show before and after photos of razors that I used the trick on.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130040

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=137637

Also, in case you are interested, the razor that would actually go in the case that you found is in the first thread. It is the New Imporved head design.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

It definitely looks like the knob doesn't match the rest of the razor.

That's what I thought as well based on the first photo, but the others look like it is the right knob. I even counted the number of marks in the checkered portion of the close up photos on the knob and compared it to mine. Everything comes out right based on the one I have.

 

[naegling]

Thanks guys for all the help, I'll clean this sucker up tonight, and see post some pics tomorrow.

 

[Greyfox]

Welcome to B&B. Enjoy yourself here.