I wasn't looking, it found me

[aihpcfl]

Elderly lady friend of my wife gave this to her to give to me. It belonged to the friend's husband.

My wife apparently was telling the friend how I've lost my mind. She told my wife I could throw the razor away away if I didn't want it. I said no way would I throw this away.




This is what it looks like as received. I don't see anything wrong, only petrified soap scum. I'm going to clean it with soft soap and a tooth brush and shave tonight for fun.

 

[Jeff_H]

60's Flair Tip Super Speed. Looks like it has seen it's share of love. It should clean up nicely and give you a mild, smooth shave. I have a 66' that honestly gets no use. I bought it because it's my birth year, one quarter off. It's near mint but it's just too light and mild for me. However, plenty of guys love to shave with it every day and get great BBS shaves with it.

Would love to see pics after you clean it up. Very nice of your wife's friend to think of giving you her husbands razor. It was obviously something personal to him and something he used quite often, if not every day. My wife would have a hard time getting rid of all my razors because she knows how much I love them. I would want her to keep a few to pass down to grandchildren or other family members. I would want the rest PIF'd or sold back into the B&B community.

Nice gift.

 

[aihpcfl]

I had got as far as Flair Tip Super Speed, and guessed 60's by what the friend told my wife. She said it is 60 odd years old. Is it possible from just the razor to narrow down the age better than that for this model? So far I haven't figured that out while searching.

 

[Jeff_H]

Once you get it nice and clean, on the bottom there will be some things stamped into the base plate. Near the handle on one side will be a letter and on the other side will be a number. Mine for example, is an L3. L = 1966 and 3 = 3rd quarter of that year (July, August, September). That's a close as they can be nailed down to an exact date. Below is the link so you can look up what yours is.

***Edit. I just checked and the FT SS was actually made from 1954-1966, so it could be anywhere in that range.


http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/US_Gillette_Dating_Information

 

[packtray]

The Super Speed is an under-appreciated razor, overshadowed by the Slim and Fatboy. It's a quality razor. Excellent find; enjoy.

 

[aihpcfl]

Thanks. I see now. Better light and I took my glasses off. C1. So that is first quarter of 1957?

The code isn't near the handle. The C is on one side out near the end of the head, and the 1 is on the other side.

 

[aihpcfl]

The Super Speed is an under-appreciated razor, overshadowed by the Slim and Fatboy. It's a quality razor. Excellent find; enjoy.

Thanks. As I say, it found me.

 

[The Accountant]

my birth quarter / year (first quarter 1955) Is a Super Speed Flair Tip very much like what you have. Every time I shave with it I am reminded how well it shaves. Those razors are well built and deliver a great shave. Sometimes simple is better! Enjoy.

 

[Kerrplunk]

I glad the razor found a good home! Happy shaving..

 

[maxman]

Once it's cleaned up it'll be great.
Nice find!

 

[ERVARGASNY]

Wow that was pretty Kool of her to pass it to you, Make good use of it and let us know how it shaves for you )

 

[aihpcfl]

Just shaved with it. Used a new Feather. Didn't spend but minutes cleaning the soap scum off with soft soap and a tooth brush. It doesn't shine like I see in razor pictures here, but could be me, and I'm not motivated to do any more. It's clean enough.

The shave was good. My only DE comparison in recent memory is my DE89 and this was about the same. It will take some practice to be able to hit the correct angle first try after the second pass, however. I was doing a lot of hunting.

As far as the razor, the handle is shorter than the DE89, but I think I like short handles anyway. The razor feels comfortable in the hand. The larger head because of the TTO mechanism is a little more awkward at the bottom of the sideburns and under the nose. I know a man gets used to things such as this, and I will, but I still prefer the DE89 in this regard. It's just easier to see what you are doing.

My plan is to use it all week with that Feather blade. Then? I don't know. I like the DE89. Who knows, simple one razor and one brush me may alternate one week on the Gillette and one week on the Edwin Jagger.

 

[Copierguy]

Glad you enjoyed the shave. A fifties Super Speed with a Feather blade is an amazingly comfortable shave in my book.

Your razor reminds me of a wonderful experience I had razor hunting in a nearby town a couple years back. Hearing what I was looking for, the lady behind the counter at an antique mall said her late husband used one of those twist open Gillettes and she gave me her address. Later that day she met me on the porch with a fifties Super Speed and would not take a nickel for it. She said her husband would go on and on about what a great shave that razor gave him and she liked the idea that someone might enjoy that razor too. Her husband was right, that razor gives a great shave.

 

[Jeff_H]

Your razor reminds me of a wonderful experience I had razor hunting in a nearby town a couple years back. Hearing what I was looking for, the lady behind the counter at an antique mall said her late husband used one of those twist open Gillettes and she gave me her address. Later that day she met me on the porch with a fifties Super Speed and would not take a nickel for it. She said her husband would go on and on about what a great shave that razor gave him and she liked the idea that someone might enjoy that razor too. Her husband was right, that razor gives a great shave.

That's the kind of story that just makes me feel good. It's the little things in life like this that we have to look for. That nice woman has good memories of her beloved husband and that razor and she wants someone else to enjoy it as well. It means that a little part of her husband will live on if you think about her kindness and comments about her husband every time you shave with that razor.

Neat story.

 

[aihpcfl]

For what it's worth.....

I'm close to finishing a week with this razor. I'm still having trouble holding the angle after the first pass. I don't hear anything (and I'm not turning the radio off) and the window within which I feel the right angle is very narrow and hard to feel. I was tempted to grab the DE89 but decided to do just one pass for the rest of the week. The first pass is easy as I feel the angle no trouble then. But I'm not motivated to keep practicing with this razor and learn to hit the right angle reliably after that first pass.

I'm going to switch back to the DE89 next week and give this old Gillette another spin again sometime; no regular alternating back and forth in the plan, however.

 

[duderubble]

I find that putting the head of the razor on a table or counter as if I am going to shave it helps me see the proper angle. The angle is right when the safety bar and the top plate both hit the surface of the table. Usually the top plate angle is the same as this angle as it gets near the blade edge. Somebody has posted a picture here. But the angle is different for different razors.

 

[wagstaff]

That's the kind of story that just makes me feel good. It's the little things in life like this that we have to look for. That nice woman has good memories of her beloved husband and that razor and she wants someone else to enjoy it as well. It means that a little part of her husband will live on if you think about her kindness and comments about her husband every time you shave with that razor.

Neat story.

+1. I'm even finding it's getting a little dusty in here...
Great razors, those SuperSpeeds.

 

[aihpcfl]

The word is out and now another razor has found me. This one is a K1 slim adjustable. It's soaking in dish washing detergent at the moment. I'll be trying it tonight. My dilemma is whether to use the Merkur blades I'm trying, or break my pledge to myself to finish a pack before I open another. I'm tempted to put an Astra SP in it. What fun!

 

[Jeff_H]

Just open another pack of blades. You will love the Astra. Soon, you'll be like the rest of us. Trying so many different blades in different razors. You'll have half a dozen blades on your counter, trying to figure out which one came out of which razor, and how many times have I shaved with that one now? Ultimately, you just bin the ones that look manky and start over.

 

[aihpcfl]

Well, this Slim is a nice razor. If I had started with it I wouldn't feel any need to look for anything else. It is a substantial razor that feels good in the hand, and a close and comfortable shave on the first try was a piece of cake. I set it at 5 which meant nothing to me other than it is in the middle. I went ahead and opened a pack of Astra blades to give the Slim a decent chance of pleasing me. It's as good for me as the EJ DE89, though I think the DE89 is always going to be my favorite.