Double ring parade

[Buick48]

Another picture, another theory.....

Note that the words "PAT. APL'D FOR" are inverted on my example. My theory is that around 1903 and 1904, when Gillette was just beginning to establish their production lines, skilled machinists were almost non-existent, and ones skilled in producing parts from patterns scarcer still. I feel that the odds are that the split locking nuts were produced by a skilled machinist, while the far less complex inner locking tube was produced by those lesser skilled.... as time progressed, and more machinists were trained, this was no longer necessary for production, and they turned to the one piece locking tube. The same applies to those in charge of quality control, as evidenced by the inverted patent line. As more inspectors were trained, these errors became less frequent.

Cheers,
Kevin

 

[Mlee]

Another picture, another theory.....


View attachment 866247

Note that the words "PAT. APL'D FOR" are inverted on my example. My theory is that around 1903 and 1904, when Gillette was just beginning to establish their production lines, skilled machinists were almost non-existent, and ones skilled in producing parts from patterns scarcer still. I feel that the odds are that the split locking nuts were produced by a skilled machinist, while the far less complex inner locking tube was produced by those lesser skilled.... as time progressed, and more machinists were trained, this was no longer necessary for production, and they turned to the one piece locking tube. The same applies to those in charge of quality control, as evidenced by the inverted patent line. As more inspectors were trained, these errors became less frequent.

Cheers,
Kevin

That sounds plausible to me. Mine also has the inverted PAT. APL'D FOR also.

 

[Buick48]

"So it looks like there may be many? of the split knob examples. Wonder if they hammered out a bunch of pressed on knurling base tubes initially and they were used up along the way with different boxes and linings?"


It appears to me, that, if the below is correct, it is possible that only 51 split locking nut razors were sold, however the number of cases with the TWENTY BLADE BOTTOM is definitely limited to this 51, as the amount of blades included was changed to twelve by the end of 1903, allowing only three months of production. This would also show that these were made in 1903, and not 1904, which agrees with my thoughts about the lack of skilled machinists....

Cheers,
Kevin

FROM A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR COMPANY

Gillette's initial advertisement, offering mail order sales of one razor and twenty blades for five dollars, first appeared in the October, 1903, issue of System Magazine. Only 51 razors and 168 packets of blades were sold by the end of the year, however, the volume of positive testimonial letters that were received instilled a feeling of great future success in both the directors and the shareholders. By the end of the year, Joyce reduced the number of blades from twenty to twelve, to increase profits. Gillette, began to realize how dearly he had paid for the company: he had allowed Joyce too many shares of company stock, and this principal shareholder had fast become his rival, in both his invention, and the company which boldly displayed his name.

 

[Mlee]

"So it looks like there may be many? of the split knob examples. Wonder if they hammered out a bunch of pressed on knurling base tubes initially and they were used up along the way with different boxes and linings?"


It appears to me, that, if the below is correct, it is possible that only 51 split locking nut razors were sold, however the number of cases with the TWENTY BLADE BOTTOM is definitely limited to this 51, as the amount of blades included was changed to twelve by the end of 1903, allowing only three months of production. This would also show that these were made in 1903, and not 1904, which agrees with my thoughts about the lack of skilled machinists....

Cheers,
Kevin

FROM A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR COMPANY

Gillette's initial advertisement, offering mail order sales of one razor and twenty blades for five dollars, first appeared in the October, 1903, issue of System Magazine. Only 51 razors and 168 packets of blades were sold by the end of the year, however, the volume of positive testimonial letters that were received instilled a feeling of great future success in both the directors and the shareholders. By the end of the year, Joyce reduced the number of blades from twenty to twelve, to increase profits. Gillette, began to realize how dearly he had paid for the company: he had allowed Joyce too many shares of company stock, and this principal shareholder had fast become his rival, in both his invention, and the company which boldly displayed his name.

Thanks Kevin for taking time to investigate this. It would be nice if we could confirm this.

 

[HDSledge]

"So it looks like there may be many? of the split knob examples. Wonder if they hammered out a bunch of pressed on knurling base tubes initially and they were used up along the way with different boxes and linings?"


It appears to me, that, if the below is correct, it is possible that only 51 split locking nut razors were sold, however the number of cases with the TWENTY BLADE BOTTOM is definitely limited to this 51, as the amount of blades included was changed to twelve by the end of 1903, allowing only three months of production. This would also show that these were made in 1903, and not 1904, which agrees with my thoughts about the lack of skilled machinists....

Cheers,
Kevin

FROM A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR COMPANY

Gillette's initial advertisement, offering mail order sales of one razor and twenty blades for five dollars, first appeared in the October, 1903, issue of System Magazine. Only 51 razors and 168 packets of blades were sold by the end of the year, however, the volume of positive testimonial letters that were received instilled a feeling of great future success in both the directors and the shareholders. By the end of the year, Joyce reduced the number of blades from twenty to twelve, to increase profits. Gillette, began to realize how dearly he had paid for the company: he had allowed Joyce too many shares of company stock, and this principal shareholder had fast become his rival, in both his invention, and the company which boldly displayed his name.

Great info. They must have sent out more than they sold in 1903. They only sold 51, but surely they made a few hundred (or more) of split tube, then solid tube at the end of that year which were sold the next year. One worker could probably make a dozen or more each day. They had at least 3 months to make stock in 1903.

Someone else here had a PAF Double Ring sent to the same businessman, same box, same razor, no split. Can't find the link at the moment. None of our PAF examples may be counted in the 51 sold and may have been free samples sent out to stimulate business.

Makes me wonder how many went out as samples (vs. sold) with the split and without. Still have questions about how many metal cased ones went out too and what was in them. Any split tubes in the metal boxed ones that we know of? Should be if they are the earliest.

 

[Buick48]

To add more food for thought, is this almost unknown PAF variation.....

This one is very rare, and hardly ever seen.
I think, possibly, only used in the litho tin cased sets....
Cheers,
Kevin

 

[Buick48]

I found another source for the same information about 51 razors being sold in 1903.... this time in a CNN Book Review of the Russell Adams book, "King Camp Gillette, The Man And His Wonderful Shaving Device".

To wit:
"The young company struggled with its limited capital and was quickly in the hole $12,000. "Delays were so serious that Gillette was almost persuaded to shut down and say goodbye to all the rainbows," recalled a friend to the Wall Street Journal. Nickerson, whose business judgment had an inverse relationship to his technical skill, solicited an offer from some New York acquaintances. "They agreed to put up $150,000 for 51% of the stock of the company," he wrote in his exhaustive, nine-part story, which appeared in the Gillette Blade. Nickerson's deal was flatly rejected by Gillette and company. Gillette turned to John Joyce, an investor in one of his earlier failed schemes, who provided additional cash infusions that let Nickerson create the production equipment. But Gillette did so at a significant price: He sold Joyce much of his own stock, making Gillette a minority shareholder in his invention and ultimately setting the two men on a collision course.

The first Gillette razors and blades appeared in mid-1903: A razor plus one blade was priced at $5, and 20 blades --each in a decorative wrapper bearing King Gillette's stately visage, printed in ink the color of money--cost $1. The firm announced its entry into the safety-razor market with a magazine ad that began, "We offer a new razor," the first volley in what would eventually become a full-scale advertising broadside, no small irony since one tenet of King Gillette's utopian vision was that society would be ad-free. But then, just the idea of a utopian thinker's devoting himself to making money was jarring. "It was almost as if Karl Marx had paused between The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital to develop a dissolving toothbrush or collapsible comb," cracked biographer Adams.

The company sold only 51 razors and 168 blades that first year. But testimonials from grateful men began to pour in, and Gillette's invention appeared to be on the verge of fulfilling its promise. The inventor, however, was miserable, as he had kept his day job working for his old boss selling corks and had been transferred to London at the beginning of 1904. "I did not wish to go," Gillette said in his company account, "and urged the razor company to make a salaried position for me. But those in control [meaning Joyce] refused to meet my wishes, giving as a reason the need of every dollar for development of the business."


Cheers,
Kevin

 

[Highspeedlane]

I love reading details of behind the scenes business evolution. Always interesting.

 

[Buick48]

Lane~

Since you love this Gillette history, this Bud's for you.....

Cheers,
Kevin

 

[Highspeedlane]

Lane~

Since you love this Gillette history, this Bud's for you.....

Cheers,
Kevin
View attachment 866650

Outstanding, thank you Kevin.

 

[preidy]

1904 SN# 23406. From a church sale in Boston area. Very heavy patina, cleaned up very nice but much plating loss. So I had it replated by Chris.

 

[Buick48]

An excellent find! And a very desirable razor.
Since serial numbers did not commence until mid 1904,
this razor was most likely manufactured in September or
October of that year.

Congratulations,
Kevin

 

[noelekal]

Here's No. 51625. It's a bit tarnished after delivering occasional shaves. The yellow seen is a reflection of late afternoon sunlight coming around the house and shining elsewhere in the yard and not tarnish or brassing. The plating is in fairly nice condition if polished.

 

[HDSledge]

Oh my! I was digging through my stored items to try to make some space and made a wonderful discovery. One of the first wood box Old Type Gillettes I bought 3 years ago. Back then I was very new to collecting. My jaw dropped when I opened the case. It is a 1903/04 PAF Double Ring complete with original box and blade cases! It was in the very bottom of a packed box with a couple Single Ring sets. I'll take pics and post when I get over the shock.

My question is: Did they make the PAF examples in 1904 or just 1903?

 

[Buick48]

The "Double Ring Razor" was originally named The Gillette Razor. The very first fifty-three of this razor's original production run of 494 razors were marked "PAT. AP. FOR" on the band near the bottom of the outer tube, above the tube locking nut, in very small lettering. They have no serial number. Only a few of these are known to still exist, and are the rarest of all Double Ring razors. They are believed to have been manufactured in 1903.

The balance of the initial production run of 55,000 are stamped "PAT. APL'D FOR", and also have no serial number. These are highly prized by Gillette collectors. There is no record of how many of the "PAT. AP. FOR" or "PAT. APL'D FOR" razors were manufactured and shipped in plain white boxes or the lithographed tins

The next 25,424 have serial numbers placed on the razor's inner tube. The serial numbers commenced with the number one, and were continuous through the following years of The Gillette Razor's production. These Double Rings continued to be marked "PAT. APL'D FOR" until November of 1904, when the stamping was changed to show the patent date.

 

[HDSledge]

More digging revealed a Double Ring with no patent markings on the outside tube, serial number on the inner tube indicating 1905. Patina matches all over. Where does that fit in? Someone forget to mark the outside tube?

 

[shavefreak]

Most of the sources for all the early Gillette info was found in the company news letters called the Gillette Blade. Although they started the newsletter a decade or more later there is a fantastic multi part series where William Nickerson who created the blade and machines gives the interview discussing the early samples and first sales. Part III by William Nickerson in the January 1919 Newsletter has great stuff and early pics of the tin and pre tin sample boxes.

The Gillette Blade ...

 

[romsitsa]

Hello Buick,

Gillette sets were advertised with 20 blades in May 1904., so I don't think the reduction to 12 blades came into full force at the end of 1903.

Adam

 

[Legion]

This is my DR. Pat Apl'd for, no serial number, and split knob. A fair bit of plating loss, but still has the "Gillette Way" booklet.

Interestingly, it also has the calling card of the slightly dodgy rogue who originally owned it. "Not married, but willing to be, has your mamma any more like you?"

Smooth.

 

[Mlee]

Hay! Long lost brothers.

That card is crazy. Do you know anything else about the history of the razor?