First of all, Id like to say hello to everyone as a new member of this wonderful forum!
Ive been reading all sorts of posts with great interest (and gaining untold amounts insight) for the past several months. I have been a on again- off again fan of double edge and injector shaving for at least 15 years but have only recently decided to commit to DE and injector as my standard shave method because of 1) effectiveness 2) retro-factor 3) cost.
Anyway, to the subject of my first post the Gillette Diplomat!
I like to browse local thrift shops looking for cool and unusual items from time to time, but until yesterday I have never seen a decent razor worth picking up. Well that all changed, and $4.96 +tax later I was lucky enough to find a beautiful gold Gillette in its original case. I didnt see a name on the case or the razor, (the case is a little shelf worn on the outside, but close to perfect inside) and the razor it appears to have been used no more than what probably amounted to as many shaves as the blades that came with it would provide, then put away like a time capsule!
At first I though it was an Aristocrat, but upon researching the photos of the razor case itself and the way the handle knurling is identical from the TTO knob all the way up the handle - it is indeed a Diplomat. I think I scored quite a find! What seems so unusual is the date code on this beautiful razor is B 1 which makes it a 1st quarter 1956 model. I was under the impression that Diplomats were only produced until 1955. I will attempt to post photos later, but in the mean time it look exactly like the diplomat in this post (minus the sealed blades and price tag):
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=769311#post769311
So, is a Q1 1956 Diplomat simply the last of the line for this model, or an undocumented year of production?
Thanks so much, and its a pleasure to be in such fine company!
Ive been reading all sorts of posts with great interest (and gaining untold amounts insight) for the past several months. I have been a on again- off again fan of double edge and injector shaving for at least 15 years but have only recently decided to commit to DE and injector as my standard shave method because of 1) effectiveness 2) retro-factor 3) cost.
Anyway, to the subject of my first post the Gillette Diplomat!
I like to browse local thrift shops looking for cool and unusual items from time to time, but until yesterday I have never seen a decent razor worth picking up. Well that all changed, and $4.96 +tax later I was lucky enough to find a beautiful gold Gillette in its original case. I didnt see a name on the case or the razor, (the case is a little shelf worn on the outside, but close to perfect inside) and the razor it appears to have been used no more than what probably amounted to as many shaves as the blades that came with it would provide, then put away like a time capsule!
At first I though it was an Aristocrat, but upon researching the photos of the razor case itself and the way the handle knurling is identical from the TTO knob all the way up the handle - it is indeed a Diplomat. I think I scored quite a find! What seems so unusual is the date code on this beautiful razor is B 1 which makes it a 1st quarter 1956 model. I was under the impression that Diplomats were only produced until 1955. I will attempt to post photos later, but in the mean time it look exactly like the diplomat in this post (minus the sealed blades and price tag):
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=769311#post769311
So, is a Q1 1956 Diplomat simply the last of the line for this model, or an undocumented year of production?
Thanks so much, and its a pleasure to be in such fine company!
