Out of all the razors I've owned and there's a pretty nice bunch I've always been fascinated by 1941 Ranger Tech Safety Razor even though I've never got the chance to use one or own for that matter. I think maybe it's because in my mind it seems to be a fairly simple put together razor but it's well-crafted and it looks to be indestructible. I know that it's a fairly rare razor anyway I just wondered what everyones thoughts were.
1941 Ranger Tech Safety Razor
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To me the 1941 Ranger has a very special place in the Gillette product line and in U.S. history.
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holy crap is that yours? That's an amazing razor
I will let you know! I found a user grade one at the flea market last week. I feel it's a really cool transition piece. Going away from the patent info on handle and no endcaps era to the superspeed era.
Kindly,
Adam
Kindly,
Adam
Thanks. Yes it is about as sweet as you can find for a Ranger set. I'll never get it wet but that's OK with me.
I have other ones '41 and '46 that I can get wet.
That is a beauty.
Thanks Dave. I was very lucky.
I have been lucky to find several razors from the unobtainable category in the wild (a Serial Toggle, three giant Gillette single ring display razors, several Red Dots, a Darwin Deluxe), but the Ranger Tech managed to elude me for several years. Now that I have one, I find that I'm drawn to it for reasons that I cannot explain.
WONDERFUL!! Thanks for sharing. 
I've found one recently as well. It shaves decidedly different than a Super Speed for me. A bit more aggressive. A much different feel with that neat handle. I really like it. And it's a cool bit of history the way it surrounds WWII.
What a beauty. One of the few I'm still looking for.
The Ranger Tech gives me chills. I think about the cataclysm that terminated its production as the country headed into the Christmas shopping season of 1941. It's locked in as part of a watershed moment in American history. No other razor gives me chills, but the Ranger Tech does.
I do not use mine often. I've even thought about selling/trading it. But every time I think about it, I end up holding on to it. I think its what you mentioned. Its is a razor that is fairly rare, but for the wrong reasons. Not even sure if "wrong" is the the right word here.
I had mine replated by Chris. It does give outstanding shaves, and I agree it's a tad more aggressive than a SS.
Good point. I wasn't even thinking on that level. I must know more. To history, I go! Thank you!
Nice Onyx brush too.
It's so interesting to see how these razors are a part of history and the events that occurred in their time!
Thanks for posting. It IS chilling thinking about how this razor was around during Pearl Harbor and WW2.
I have a Ranger Tech Milord (I think mine is actually a 1946. It has the Ranger Tech form factor but has end caps) with some plating loss on the head. It is a good shaver, but it does have a problem seating some blades (see this thread: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/499434-Ever-have-a-blade-not-fit-your-DE). I don't think it shaves much differently than other 40's Style Super Speeds. It is definitely worth more than the $5 that I paid for it.
If you can get your hands on one I think you will be pleased with the performance. However, because of the bar design, I prefer the 40's Style Super Speed with the notched bar (1948 and onward).
If you can get your hands on one I think you will be pleased with the performance. However, because of the bar design, I prefer the 40's Style Super Speed with the notched bar (1948 and onward).
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It's my understanding they stopped making them because of the war. That is why they were only made the last quarter of 1941. That's also why there isn't any Gillette razors from 1941 until 1946, when production started again.
If someone knows anything different, please chime in.
I think this is right. Gillette did produce some razors for the civilian market during the war, but much (most?) of its production went into razors for the military.
The Ranger Tech was rolled out as the first solid bar TTO razor Gillette produced for the common man. They had already come out with the gold-plated Milord and more upscale gold-plated Regent Tech, but this was just nickel. And they rolled it out for the Christmas season of 1941, then stopped production after Pearl Harbor.
It's safe to assume that a lot of these Ranger Techs were Christmas gifts in 1941, and you can imagine that a guy's first shave with them may have been accompanied by thoughts, "Will I be drafted? Should I enlist?" Interesting time to be a man shaving with a new razor in December of 1941.
garyg
B&B membership has its percs
I've hung onto mine for the rarity and historical perspective as others have noted. It gives a good shave, I can't tell much difference from a 1940's SS though. This one is in near mint shape, missing the instructions but the Blue blades are still in cello (?had cello been invented in 1941?).
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