Trying to date this razor. I found this piece in a vintage clothes store. No pics unfortunately. Has a travel case. Gillette Pocket Edition. I believe it is silver(very tarnished though). Nice scroll type detail, in the center is a small raised rectangle(? a place to engrave initials). About 2 3/4 in by4 inch wide. Has worldwide Gillette patent dates on back. I saw the same case in the monthly Score Thread. It has Two serial #s on the head. C28341 and L 73936. Was this common? Has anyone ever seen this before? I am assuming it is a Gillette head. Has 2 bullet shaped pins and a threaded center. Head appears to be the "thin" version I saw in the identifying Gillette Razor section on B&B. The handle has no markings. Appears to be silver plated and in good condition. It is an open-comb to be thorough. I am confused about the two #s. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you. Matthew
2 Serial #s on old Gillette razor
- Thread starter mplaz-OFD
- Start date
From what I can gleen from the experts here... Gillette would post a second serial # if the razor had been returned for repair... I'm sure someone will be along momentarily to either say i'm right or full of crap....
You are correct, Brian. An "L" prefix on a serial number denotes a razor sent in for repair. The other serial number is the actual one that lets one determine the year of production.
- Thread starter
- #4
I see. So it that is correct then the razor dates from 1911. It is a nice razor. The silver plating on the fluted handle is in great shape, all the teeth are straight. Case needs a good polishing but functions perfect and the inner purple felt lining is in ok shape. The woman was asking $85. I am trying to reseach current prices on these now. Any input on that front would also be appreciated. Thanks all, Matthew
It sounds like an American Button Company set. Does it look like one of the razors in this thread? And does the case look like one in this thread? It sounds a bit like a Shell razor with a Shell case. If so, $85 is really high. If you are patient, you can find them in the 25-35 range in good condition. If it's in excellent condition it might go for a bit more. But $85 still sounds too high.
I knew one of the experts would show up... thanks Brian
Interesting. mplaz-OFD found an ABC with a repair code, Len said that he has ABCs with repair codes, I have one with a repair code.
Brian, how many of your ABCs have repair codes?
Krumholz said that a repair code was rare to find!
-jim
Brian, how many of your ABCs have repair codes?
Krumholz said that a repair code was rare to find!
-jim
I never thought that I'd be counted among the experts. But I do have a thing for these ABC sets...
Good question, Jim. Of the seven ABC sets that I have, one has a repair code. I think Krumholz is definitely right in that finding one with a repair code is less common than finding one without one. But I am curious about how common they are. Just out of curiosity, I'll post another thread so as not to detract from the initial conversation and we can compare notes there.
