1946/47 Super Speed Question

[Sabledog]

I think this was covered before; I suspect MTGrayling and Mr Razor but can't find the old thread.....

The photo is of two unnotched no date code super speeds with different necks, all the wording is the same but one has the larger stamp size. Is this just a different neck machining, or indication of a '46 super speed?

Please discuss amongst ourselves.....

 

[MTgrayling]

I think this was covered before; I suspect MTgrayling and Mr Razor but can't find the old thread.....

The photo is of two unnotched no date code super speeds with different necks, all the wording is the same but one has the larger stamp size. Is this just a different neck machining, or indication of a '46 super speed?

Please discuss amongst ourselves.....

I have a theory there was a transition period after the war when civilian TTO production first resumed when Gillette used some Ranger Tech (RT) back stocked parts to build the first Super Speeds (SS), specifically the older RT blade trays. I have in my collection two early un-notched SS's with RT blade trays, one has the 'shoulder' you cite the other looks like a normal '47 SS. I also had quite a few normal '47 SS's so I think these are on the rare side.

To answer your question I don't have enough information about early post war Gillette manufacturing and these razors in particular to make a call.


Here is my original post about these mysterious hybrid razors.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=30132&highlight=shoulder

Now a question for you: Does your SS have the RT blade tray/safety bar design or a typical SS one?

 

[Sabledog]

yeah, that's the thread I was looking for!

Well, the shouldered '47 has light stamping, so I think that's just a matter of where/when/who was at the controls.

the shouldered one has an indentation at the bar opposed to the ranger and the "normal" '47 that look the same. This all goes to remind me what a shame that Gillette has NO interest in it's own history and we are trying to recreate it as if it were a long lost society!

Here's the RT and the shouldered '47:

 

[MTgrayling]

Well it gets more confusing all the time. Out of the three '47's with the 'shoulder' I've seen pictures of only mine has a RT blade tray/safety bar.

There was some weird wild stuff going on in Boston in 1947. For some reason I can picture a bored Gillette worker making these changes just to see if anyone notices.

I am interested to know if anyone else has a SS with a RT safety bar. The odds are against me having the only two of these hybrid razors. Check your un-notched SS's guys!

 

[Sabledog]

I think it's pretty likely that they used old and new parts and maybe made pieces they didn't stick with (like the shoulder). I really doubt there was any real thought or strategy behind it other than maybe trial and error-"Oh, this one is easier/quicker to make let's go with that".

 

[Sabledog]

Let's add variables, I also have a '47 with shoulder, RT tray, and large print (unfortunately missing a cap)....

That tray makes the blade follow the guard more, I think; like a tech....

 

[MTgrayling]

Let's add variables, I also have a '47 with shoulder, RT tray, and large print (unfortunately missing a cap)....

You have two shouldered '47's?

 

[Sabledog]

indeed

 

[MTgrayling]

Well that makes three oddball RT/SS hybrid razors I know of. Two shouldered one not. This is fun!

Anyone else have one?

 

[thirdeye]

My thought for what it's worth is nothing more tha a quility control issue.
With the to period razors being so close it would have been easy for someone to grab the wrong die and put it into a machine. You have to remember that theey used lines of machines to get these parts out in the numbers they did.

The other thought I had which has already been mentioned is that Gillette was famous for using over stock parts in transition from one to another razor or even going back into the warehouse and cleaning out old stock well ito the run of a new piece.

 

[Sabledog]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were loads of pieces that the assembly people picked from, some new, some old, some with a different die....

Well, here's the 2 shouldered ones:

 

[MTgrayling]

The other thought I had which has already been mentioned is that Gillette was famous for using over stock parts in transition from one to another razor or even going back into the warehouse and cleaning out old stock well ito the run of a new piece.

Am I the only one who gets drastically different shaves from a RT vs. a SS?

I'd think they'd use up all the RT parts before they started with the more "advanced" SS blade trays/safety bars, but I have worked in machine shops before and getting the product out was job one, quality and consistency was not as important. That's another story entirely, but what a freeking awful nightmare that was!

 

[thirdeye]

During that time period Gillette had all they could do with keeping the orders going. The demand after the war almost broke the company.

 

[MTgrayling]

Well one thing that I can say, someone prove me wrong, is that all this happened before the posts got notched in 1948 so it was a fairly short and confusing transition.

Have we confirmed the date of the first post war TTO as 1946 or 1947? I remember Ray and CJBianco talking of a 1946 Ranger Tech, but possibly Mr_Razor figured out it was a Milord or something else.

 

[Sabledog]

I've looked through a bunch of razors today and I think all of the '48 through '50-somethings have looked the same and seem to be the same tray, or at least same bar guard indentation, as the shouldered one above.