Guys, wanted to share a very first-hand impression of the Darwin Popular, which (it would be fair to say) has been largely overlooked because of its gorgeous sisters the Deluxe and the Standard. More plain and ordinary looking and not made in cobalt steel like the others. But still gorgeous and (to me) utterly attractive.
Description
The Popular is a chrome plated all-brass razor, 2-piece, solid bar setup. Built probably in the 1940s (but nobody knows!!), and significantly it has the same old school ‘adjustability’ as the Eclipse Red Ring: You can untighten it a bit and shave with it untightened. (To me however that sounds unsafe, I’ve never tried it with my Eclipse and probably never will. More daring members here have tried it and liked it...).
Also, the Popular has a feature I never saw before - when taken apart the head baseplate swiwels freely, mounted solidly on the handle(!). Strange. Probably has to do with the adjustability, even if I cannot figure out on first sight what good that does...
...As a matter of fact, in physical view the Popular looks a helluva lot like the Eclipse - if they had come unbranded I would have thought that they were from the same company. As it stand however they are like close cousins - you get the same feel, balance etc.
History
Not much really is known about the Popular’s background and history, apart from the very brief description in Waits (pic below). Today, it appears to be even rarer than the Deluxe and the Standard, and only very few seems to have survived to this day. In the Darwin general thread here on B&B it is mentioned only very sporadically and I was only able to identify 2 or 3 other owners!
Seller of this particular one told me that it actually used to belong to a former Darwin company employee(!), and when this gentleman passed it was given to a grandson who then eventually sent it forward. It is in quite good shape, certainly not perfect, clearly has been loved
and thus used a lot. The plating is worn here and there - but still not too much and the mechanics are flawless.
Tomorrow: First shave!
Here, for the archives and for your enjoyment, a few pics:
The Popular together with the Eclipse and a nice US 1941 Ranger Tech
...And alone with its very close cousin...
Description
The Popular is a chrome plated all-brass razor, 2-piece, solid bar setup. Built probably in the 1940s (but nobody knows!!), and significantly it has the same old school ‘adjustability’ as the Eclipse Red Ring: You can untighten it a bit and shave with it untightened. (To me however that sounds unsafe, I’ve never tried it with my Eclipse and probably never will. More daring members here have tried it and liked it...).
Also, the Popular has a feature I never saw before - when taken apart the head baseplate swiwels freely, mounted solidly on the handle(!). Strange. Probably has to do with the adjustability, even if I cannot figure out on first sight what good that does...
...As a matter of fact, in physical view the Popular looks a helluva lot like the Eclipse - if they had come unbranded I would have thought that they were from the same company. As it stand however they are like close cousins - you get the same feel, balance etc.
History
Not much really is known about the Popular’s background and history, apart from the very brief description in Waits (pic below). Today, it appears to be even rarer than the Deluxe and the Standard, and only very few seems to have survived to this day. In the Darwin general thread here on B&B it is mentioned only very sporadically and I was only able to identify 2 or 3 other owners!
Seller of this particular one told me that it actually used to belong to a former Darwin company employee(!), and when this gentleman passed it was given to a grandson who then eventually sent it forward. It is in quite good shape, certainly not perfect, clearly has been loved
and thus used a lot. The plating is worn here and there - but still not too much and the mechanics are flawless.Tomorrow: First shave!
Here, for the archives and for your enjoyment, a few pics:
The Popular together with the Eclipse and a nice US 1941 Ranger Tech
...And alone with its very close cousin...
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