first vintage store find

[rogueinfomaniac]

Well, after a long day of searching every vintage store I could find near me in Chicago I finally found a razor, and a fine one at that. At the final vintage store in a 6 hour adventure I greeted a new 1955 Gillette Super Speed Red tip to my collection. After a bath in hot soapy water the grime just fell off the ugly duckling and now... after a good scrub with Barkeepers Friend I was left with a beautiful razor. The date code is A2 so if I am correct this is a first year second quarter red tip, pretty exciting! I am used to a Futur, but it seems like the doors a working just fine and tighten up perfect, the previous owner must have taken care of it The pack of Gillette blue blades has only three remaining, one of which is rusted, can I use the other two or shoud I just stick with my modern blades? Now RAD has my attention and I am planning antique store trips for my next weekend off, anyone know of someplace good near chicago that's not too picked over?

 

[blackfoot]

There's nothing like finding them in the wild.

 

[Mako72]

Congrats!! My first was a garage sale a Red Tip... I seem to remember I was looking for a DE to save money!! You should to be careful with old blades. I have tried some and most are ok(Disclaimer for legal purposes- I live in the Mojave desert where we preserve metal with heat and a lack of moisture!!). If your tetanus is current give it a go. I have found most vintage blades are like the "Favorite" current production. They are rough for the first shave and smooth out for the subsequent shaves. That said.... YMMV!! But its always fun(if a little harsh) to load up a 50-60 year old blade in a 50-60 year old razor, put on a swing tune and have a shave!! Enjoy!!

Jay

 

[rogueinfomaniac]

Shaved with the new red tip today, AMAZING!!!! After 6 months with only a futur this red tip was so smooth and close. I couldent bring myself to use the blue blades that came with it, so I just slapped a new chrome shark and went to town, It was awesome! What blade are you guys using in your red tip?

 

[americanarmsdealer]

What blade are you guys using in your red tip?

A Wally-World Wilkinson Sword blade currently resides in mine. Nice, smooth shaving combo for me! Congrats on your local find!

 

[NostalgicinSC]

Shaved with the new red tip today, AMAZING!!!! After 6 months with only a futur this red tip was so smooth and close. I couldent bring myself to use the blue blades that came with it, so I just slapped a new chrome shark and went to town, It was awesome! What blade are you guys using in your red tip?

Congratulations on your find!

I have used Crystal (which always do well in my opinion) and just put in a Derby over the weekend. I was surprised that the Derby seemed to do well in the Red Tip as I did not remember them doing as well in my 40's Super Speed.
I will reiterate what many here have said; try a variety of blades to find what works best for you.

Enjoy