1940 Gillette French Bakelite Tech Set No25

[Luminose]

I received a 1940 Gillette French Bakelite No25 Tech razor in the mail today.

While I have the Gillette Bakelite & plastic handle razors on my list of razors to buy when I have the spare money or see a good deal I've never put a priority on them.

This razor was a surprise find since I can't recall seeing the French No25 set outside of mr-razor's site. It was only $21 so I bought it right away.

I couldn't find any signs that the razor was ever used, the cap is very shiny and doesn't have a single scratch, scuff or any wear on it.

Since this is my first Bakelite razor I was wondering if anyone has any experience using them? Do they shave like a pre-war, post-war or late model Tech? Is it closer to a different razor all together?

 

[CartridgesAreADrag]

Wow. That thing is awesome looking. Is there any way you could backlight the razor baseplate so you can better see the Bakelite color?

 

[nemo]

Congrats! Just goes to show ya, lots of really cool and different stuff out there.

Nice photos -- thanks for sharing!

 

[MacDaddy]

Beauty! That's really odd, though, how it's marked "Fabrication Francaise" on the bottom of the guard plate and "Importé d'Angleterre" on the underside of the cap, like the caps were imported but the plastics molded in France.

 

[Luminose]

Wow. That thing is awesome looking. Is there any way you could backlight the razor baseplate so you can better see the Bakelite color?

I rearranged the lighting but without using my light box I'm not sure I can do better than this:

It's a dark brown with lighter brown color.

 

[Luminose]

Beauty! That's really odd, though, how it's marked "Fabrication Francaise" on the bottom of the guard plate and "Importé d'Angleterre" on the underside of the cap, like the caps were imported but the plastics molded in France.

Good catch, maybe they weren't setup to make those specific caps or it was cheaper to import the metal caps from the England factory?

 

[CartridgesAreADrag]

That looks very similar to an English Bakelite set in Achims collection.

http://www.mr-razor.com/Collection/Display NEW-02 2012-10-12.JPG

 

[Jake]

Very nice set. Congratulations!

 

[Luminose]

Has anyone here shaved with a bakelite Tech before? I'm not sure if I'm going to try it out or not but I'm still interested what others think of bakelite as a material for razors.

 

[alex2363]

Beauty! That's really odd, though, how it's marked "Fabrication Francaise" on the bottom of the guard plate and "Importé d'Angleterre" on the underside of the cap, like the caps were imported but the plastics molded in France.

They really never had a razor making factory in France, just a make shift blade factory [ old bike factory], and even that factory was made up just to work some expiring patents that were due by years end. Most likely it was made in nearby England.......Importé d'Angleterre -means imported from England.

 

[alex2363]

Has anyone here shaved with a bakelite Tech before? I'm not sure if I'm going to try it out or not but I'm still interested what others think of bakelite as a material for razors.

I tried many a few years ago, they were too mild for me.

 

[MacDaddy]

They really never had a razor making factory in France, just a make shift blade factory [ old bike factory], and even that factory was made up just to work some expiring patents that were due by years end. Most likely it was made in nearby England.......Importé d'Angleterre -means imported from England.

Of course that means "Imported from England," just like "Fabrication Française" means "Made in France." The "bike shop" factory that you're talking about was only Gillette's French presence in the very, very early years. They did end up with a larger Paris factory and later in Annecy that was still operating up until the '90s, if I remember correctly.

 

[mjclark]

I had the identical razor but rebranded under Gillette's British 7 O'Clock name. This razor also appeared as the Minora, another British brand bought out by Gillette.
If you like bakelites ( and I do) this is a very nice shaver and noticeably more aggressive than the post-war Techs.
Use a smooth blade and a light but decisive touch, and the very responsive bakelite razor will reward you.
Congratulations on a lovely set!

 

[xillion]

Here is my green 7 O'clock version of the bakelite Tech.

 

[Luminose]

Here is my green 7 O'clock version of the bakelite Tech.

That green bakelite razor is pretty darn neat looking thanks for showing it!