Made-in-England Gillette NEW ID request

[Duke of Buckingham]

I’m trying to find out whatever information I can about this England-made Gillette NEW:

Gillette NEW chromium box

Gillette NEW - Made in England

I’d like to know:
How much of it is genuine
The year of production (I’m guessing ‘36)
Is the razor silver plated? Is the blade holder (I'm guessing not)?
Was it originally sold in the metal box seen here?
Any other interesting facts about this item

So, this is what I can tell you. . .

There’s no apparent date code or patent number anywhere, which I find slightly worrying. . .

The underside of the head includes the Gillette diamond and Made in England. The top plate attaches with two small tabs (I thought most NEWs had a blade positioning bar). The handle is hollow and appears to be one-piece – as opposed to three items press fitted together – without any patent information stamped or inscribed anywhere I can see.

The box opens and shuts with snap, and is stamped underneath: chromium plated made in England.

I’ve done a little research, and would guess it best fits the description of #1 in the Numbered British Gillette Information wiki (open comb, un-notched centre bar, diamond on bottom plate, barber pole handle with two large rings - except there's three here - in a bare metal case. . .)

It that’s so, it would take me back to 1936 – the Berlin Olympics, completion of the Hoover Dam and the death of King George V. . .

(I’ve looked through the Mr Razor site, naturally, and the razor it most closely resembles is the one shown in the NEW Jewelry Set and French Service Set, except the tabs in the top plate seem wider on mine.)

And most importantly, it shaves like a dream, being an ideal mix of aggressiveness and smoothness. I’m very, very impressed with it. It’s my first open comb razor – and quite a revelation.

 

[xillion]

The razor looks like one from a French service set to me. Howe long is the handle on yours?

Here is mine for comparison:

As far as I know there are no date codes stamped on NEW heads.

I have seen variations in the cap pins. Here is my British service set with offset pins.

 

[Sledgehammer39]

Great looking razor.. Simple but appealing.

 

[Duke of Buckingham]

The razor looks like one from a French service set to me. How long is the handle on yours?

Hmm. . . interesting. Mine looks exactly like your top picture, the French service set.

The handle is 3 ins. (7.6 cm) long.

It is completely hollow - you can look right through it.

I'm guessing the French service set was made under contract to the French government, for military use. Would that account for the lack of stamping on the handle - as things destined for export would be made to different specifications?

Does this put my estimated date of manufacture back a little?

 

[xillion]

I think that it was made sometime in the 40's. The blade that my French set came with is this one from 1944.

 

[Duke of Buckingham]

Thanks.

Now, this is going to look obnoxious. . . but as the French government surrendered to Germany and Italy in June 1940, then the French Service Sets would have been either (1) manufactured prior to this date, (2) made for the Free French forces, or (3) just manufactured anyway and sold to the public at large, as the machinery was tooled up, and who cares all that much when there's a war on?

Have to admit it, I really am attracted to the history part of this. I know most collectors are drawn to rarity, but to me, I like a story. (Like black tip Super Speeds and the story about brass shortages during the Korean war.)

Anyway, I'm going to research French Service Sets, and see where that takes me. . . any razor historians out there who can point me in the right direction?

 

[shanman]

Cool looking base, I was about to say Criterion, but then noticed the visible slots underneath.

 

[alex2363]

your looks similar to a minora, same case it seems.

 

[Duke of Buckingham]

what exactly do you want to know, its just a razor with limited exact pinpoint production dates due to obvious reasons. the history to it is limited, unless someone famous used it. You really cant dig any further due to the razor not being all that coveted by collectors through the years so not much info has been documented openly. If i find something I'll let you know.

Alex - thank you for posting. . .

What am I after?

Initially, I wondered if the handle and head went together. I’d not seen much like this razor before, but then I’m a completely new at this – it’s my first open comb.

Then, I got interested in the history of the item. Personally, the story of something means more to me than its rarity – like being able to say these French Service Sets were made for the French military until they were overrun by German forces in 1940.

I don’t think it’s that simple, however.

People’s replies have helped me direct my searches, and I’m finding a number of people posting pics of very similar razors, albeit with different markings.

Looks like Gillette UK at the time manufactured the same product under a number of different guises: Minora, Gillette (like mine, seen here), Gillette (but with French inscription, "Importe D'Angleterre"), and 7 O’clock. Minora and 7 O’clock seem to have been budget brands owned by Gillette – I guess to give them both ends of the market.

So, it looks like my razor is original, and possibly even came in the chrome plated box. . . and was manufactured sometime between the mid-1930s and late '40s.

Can anyone tell me the years Gillette was making open comb razors in the UK? The British Gillette dating wiki suggests they were making open comb razors from 1936 onwards, and making solid guard bars from 1948 onwards – but did they produce both side by side for a while?

Why? I just enjoy this kind of research. I spend longer reading about these things than I do shaving with them. . .

(And here’s another pic in case I bored y’all.)

Another England-made Gillette NEW shot

 

[wulfgar1976]

your looks similar to a minora, same case it seems.

I have one of those with the original case. It must have been a Gillette razor, as with the 7 O'Clocks of the same era. The lettering saying 'Made in England' is identical to that used on the Gillette NEW and 7 O'Clock series.

 

[Studio1]

Hi, I just found myself a very similar looking Gillette as part of a travel set. The set is an odd firm brown leather that looks like a binoculars case. There was an unopened shaving soap and an un-used razor (still had the cardboard in the head). I shaved with this, this morning and couldn't believe what a great shave I got (first time with an open comb). As you can see from the razor the case lining is very similar (no blade holder though). The markings are all the same and the blade holders are the same. Cool, good to get an idea of its history anyway. I had daftly thought the set was a lot younger than it appears to be. Only cost me $18 for the whole set too!

 

[Lasse]

Those are some sweet travel cases for those razors you have there. I purchased a similar razor with same diamond knurling but one thing that has been bugging me is the cork inside of the handle. What was it for? Is it like a floater that just in case the handle would drop into the sink full of water would float a bit and decrease the possibility of breaking? =)

 

[stillshunter]

Sorry to raise this thread from the dead, but I am super curious about a nickel Gillette NEW LC (UK) I just snagged at auction and hope you can all help with piecing it together.

The head is simple enough to ID, thanks to @xillion's great work. According to this line-up:

It is a "UK Long Comb NEW" - third suspect from the right near the 7 o'clock.

…and has the "Twin 1 Pin" that is suspect #1 in this line-up.

But more interestingly, it does not have any of the handles shown in this line up:

From the left:
Ball End, Husky Bar flat shoulder, Husky Bar rounded shoulder, Common bar, Norfolk bar, Thin Long bar, Thin bar, Fat Tech, Thin Tech, Tuckaway.

After laboriously picking through image searches I finally found the handle in another quality xillion post. It is this handle here!

So do I have a stock standard NEW LC? If so, which type? Otherwise do I simply embrace the new arrival as some unique Frankenstein pieced together from many holes in the ground over at the razor graveyard?

 

[nuclearblast]

Is it that exact handle, or this one:

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1930-40 NEW in brown bakelite case England.JPG

In any case, they came with many different handles.

 

[xillion]

Can you post a link to the item you won?

Here is the handle image with the British handles included on the far right.

And here is an updated image of only British LC New heads.

 

[xillion]

The handle that Edgar linked is another variation and would be correct with a British LC New head.

 

[Jeff_H]

I am not 100% sure, but I believe the handles in Xillion's picture are all American. I have many examples of the British NEW's, and I do have a handle like yours. Also, several similar with more rings carved near the end. Maybe Xillion can confirm.

 

[Jeff_H]

Oops, Xillion beat my post with a more inclusive handle photo.,

 

[nuclearblast]

Yes, great pictures as always, Chris!

 

[stillshunter]

Can you post a link to the item you won?

Thanks mate. PMed the auction link. I'll update this thread with an image once the razor arrives - as I'd prefer not to litter this thread with an inevitable dead link.

So you are spot on, the suspect looks like he is lurking either in second or third from the right in this shot below.

…and third from the left in this shot.

So sorry I'd not hunted this image and info down earlier - and so to have wasted your time. Not sure how I missed it.

What an excellent reference you have built on the NEW. Even though I'm fresh to the community - well will be when she arrives - my sincerest thanks for everything you've done for the OC community.