Gillette or not?

[Uncle Brian]

Hi folks,

I need a little help identifying this razor. It's for sale on a local auction site but I don't think it's a Gillette as the seller claims; I think he assumes it is as it comes in a Gillette box.
1.There are no makings on the razor but I have asked him to confirm this.
2.The head of the razor might be earlier than the box.
3.The box doesn't look like it was made for that razor
4.I can't find the razor on Mr Razor

Any ideas out there in B&B land.

Cheers,

Brian

 

[duanek]

I've seen it too, pretty sure he's calling it Gillette because of the box.
The razor looks very similar to one I have, I wrote about it here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/370567-Unmarked-bakelite-handled-razor-Swing?highlight=

 

[Uncle Brian]

Thanks for that duanek I never thought it could be Swedish and I have spent a lot of time looking online

I'm tempted even at $25 maybe once he knows it's not a real Gillette the price will come down or knowing my luck go crazy.

 

[alex2363]

The case looks like NEW #77 set.

 

[alex2363]

Thanks for that duanek I never thought it could be Swedish and I have spent a lot of time looking online

I'm tempted even at $25 maybe once he knows it's not a real Gillette the price will come down or knowing my luck go crazy.

Does look like a Swing', but your has some indents at the neck

 

[rockholger]

Same handle as my razor in my avatar. And thats a swing.

 

[Haegar]

(Use of the small picture instead of the big one that requires login to the remote gallery.)

View attachment 403840






Does look like a Swing', but your has some indents at the neck

 

[Uncle Brian]

I don't own it yet but I must say that now that I know it's Swedish I may have to do the proper thing and adopt it. I have asked the seller some questions but have had no reply yet. Will try to get the price down if possible.

How does a SWING shave? It looks like an Old Type so I'm guessing it might be expected to shave a bit like one Please don't tell me you have them in your collections and have never shaved with them! If you have any blade recommendations that would be nice too.

 

[duanek]

Please don't tell me you have them in your collections and have never shaved with them! If you have any blade recommendations that would be nice too.

Sorry, I haven't tried mine...

 

[rockholger]

This is my swing.
I have shaved with it a couple of times. It gave me really smooth shaves with Personna reds. Efficient similar to adjustable on 4 or a Merkur hd but smoother than both. I have yet to try it out with feathers and Astra but to me it has so far been surprisingly good. Thought it was going to be to mild considering the low weight, but no.

 

[Uncle Brian]

Nice to hear it's a good shaver. I have not had my questions answered by the seller so I guess he wants to hold on to the fantasy that it's a $25 Gillette.

If only he knew the truth

 

[Uncle Brian]

Just had a reply from the seller and he is going to put up some more pictures and he confirms that there are no makings on the razor at all. He also mentioned that the material in the handle and the Gillette box are not similar.

Going to let him know that it's NOT a Gillette Razor, it's possible identity I will leave as a B&B secret

 

[Swing]

That razor definitely looks like a Swing, but I can't tell for sure, since I haven't owned an open-comb Swing. Also, if you look this thread by Jake you can see that there are markings under the base plate:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/193470-Swedish-made-Swing-razor


If that is an original Swing handle, I'm pretty sure that the handle and the Gillette box were made out of the same material - bakelite (maybe there are variations of bakelite, but nevertheless both of them should be bakelite). The difference between them is that the first coat (lacquer) has came off the razor's handle, while lacquer is still visible on the Gillette box (that and the handle looks pretty beaten up). If you look at the picture that rockholger posted, you will see one of my Swing razors and it shows how the handle looks like when the lacquer is still on the bakelite. I also own one where the lacquer is gone and the difference is clearly visible.

 

[Uncle Brian]

So maybe a Gillette head on a swing handle ... but even a Gillette head has markings. I did once have an OC that looked like an Old Type and had no marking but it was fitted with a Gillette handle. Could be a real collection of bits or maybe just a razor we haven't seen before.
If you have a close look at the head in my picture it doesn't look like the Swing O.C razor, guess I will just have to buy it and then try to figure out its identity ... at this point it could be almost anything but i hope it's something cool from long long ago and far far away.