My first antique store find

[mbrooks]

Gents,

After a search around yard sales in town on Saturday, which left me empty-handed, today I got the urge to make a drive down about 45 minutes south to a little town with (supposedly) several antique stores within a few blocks of each other. Of the six, I couldn't find two and three had nothing. But at the other, there were almost a dozen razors!

Oddly(?) enough, more than half of them were single edges, which I'm not familiar with, but all was not lost. They had a couple of Gillettes: a ball-end Tech with a mangled head that I couldn't open and a 40s style SS that was so nasty I couldn't even tell if it had a date code on it. I ended up getting just the SS, for a whopping total of $6. Took it home, cleaned it, and used some sort of polish that my dad recommended. Turns out it has no date code, placing its manufacture sometime between 1946 and 1950. The polish left me a little unsatisfied, perhaps because it was at least ten years old, but I'll go out and find some Maas tomorrow. I'm planning on giving it a Barbicide bath and hopefully using it tomorrow.

Here are the before and after shots! Sorry about the lighting; should have thought that through a little better. There aren't really many good places here in the house to get good lighting; maybe I'll add some daytime shots tomorrow.

Before:
View attachment 68579 View attachment 68580

After:
View attachment 68585 View attachment 68586

Random stupid newbie question regarding Techs: how do you open them? Would the ball on the one I found today twist off, or is there another way?

Thanks in advance and thanks for looking!

 

[Hoos]

Congratulations! That Superspeed cleaned up nicely.

With Techs, you grasp the handle and slowly unscrew the head of the razor. They're in three pieces: the handle, the guard, and the cap.

 

[DSB]

Nice find.

 

[michiganlover]

Great find on the Superspeed. That's a 40's style Superspeed, and is considered by many to be the best of the bunch. Depending on when it was made, it may, or may not have a date code. The earlier production models were made prior to date codes being added.

As for the Single Edge razors, do some research on the Gem/Ever Ready/ Star razors on the boards (same razor, same company, different brands), these are incredible shavers, and the blades are still readily available.

You may have also seen some Schick Injectors, which are quite a bit smaller than most other razors, and mimic the shave of a cartridge razor (or maybe it's the other way around, cartridge razors borrowed existing concepts from the Injector). The Injector has a very compact head, which makes shaving hard to reach areas a breeze.

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to pick up the single edge razors as well, if the price was reasonable.

 

[mbrooks]

Thanks guys, I wish I had better pictures since they're really not doing this one justice.

With Techs, you grasp the handle and slowly unscrew the head of the razor. They're in three pieces: the handle, the guard, and the cap.

That makes sense, having seen pictures of them in multiple pieces before. I was just afraid to mess with the head since the woman was standing right next to me. At best it was on wrong, and at worst it was bent beyond repair and I didn't want to mess it up any more. Thanks!

As for the Single Edge razors, do some research on the Gem/Ever Ready/ Star razors on the boards (same razor, same company, different brands), these are incredible shavers, and the blades are still readily available.

I'll definitely do some digging on the SEs, since I could have picked up four or five of them for $5-6 apiece. I just didn't know what I was looking at or how to open them (all I know is the twist knob, which both my Merkur HD and the SSs have), so I left them.

 

[gaseousclay]

the Maas works wonders. I just cleaned up a British Tech that had a bit of tarnish and now it sparkles

 

[T Rick]

Well done, and the clean up went well too from what we can see. I'd love to see a pic of the inside.

The undated Super Speeds were made from '47 to '50, but you can tell the '47 by the center bar, which is different than the later models.

A daylight shot would be great too, but for 6 bucks I'd say quite a find

BTW, with razors like the Tech and other 3 pieces, be cautious grasping to open, a lot of "non-razor" types don't take out the blades, thinking the vintage blades add to the value.

Also, single edges are great, check out some of the threads on Gems and the 1912 in specific. Great razors!

 

[michiganlover]

I'll definitely do some digging on the SEs, since I could have picked up four or five of them for $5-6 apiece. I just didn't know what I was looking at or how to open them (all I know is the twist knob, which both my Merkur HD and the SSs have), so I left them.

Only the Gem Micromatic (of which there are three variations) is a Twist to Open. The others have a spring loaded top, that you simply grasp, and pull up on to load the blade.

 

[John C]

Oddly(?) enough, more than half of them were single edges, which I'm not familiar with, but all was not lost.

but, but, but you left all the good ones at the store.....
but seriously, check out the Gems, Ever-Ready, ect. type of single edge razors. They give an excellent, smooth shave. I prefer the stiffer blade of the SEs over the thinner feel of the DEs. YMMV, but for 5 or 6 bucks you can't really go wrong. The next time you down there pick up one or two and try them out. I tend to use the Gem/Personna blades that you can pick up at any Walgreen's Drug store.

In any even, the Gilette is a very nice score, and I know that you will enjoy it!!
Cool find.

 

[pal]

Nice score!

 

[luvmysuper]

Great score.
You did a fine clean up on it.
As far as polish -
MAAS is more expensive than Blue Magic or Flitz, but not more effective.
Blue Magic and Flitz can be found at stores like Autozone.
That Superspeed is a fabulous shave. Let us know how things go after you take it for a spin.

 

[wglr13mwz]

Great find....it seems as though you will never find what you are looking for and then all of a sudden you hit the mother load, or at least find something you are willing to buy.

I use Blue Magic. Works well for me.

Ryan

 

[koso]

a lot of "non-razor" types don't take out the blades, thinking the vintage blades add to the value.

One of my favorite eBay laughs is the seller(s) who feature a picture of the cruddy blade still in the razor.

"Ooo! I gotta bid NOW!"

 

[r0ckrat]

Great find! If you open it up, and look inside, you can narrow down the date a little further. There are two styles of blaade-positioning bars. One has wings, the other notches. The winged version is from '47, the notched version is from '48-50...

There's a thread here somewhere for identifying Super Speeds that has photos.

 

[AsylumGuido]

Great find! If you open it up, and look inside, you can narrow down the date a little further. There are two styles of blaade-positioning bars. One has wings, the other notches. The winged version is from '47, the notched version is from '48-50...

There's a thread here somewhere for identifying Super Speeds that has photos.

See my signature for IDing both Super Speeds and three piece razors like the Tech.

 

[jakespoppy]

Great find, Mike, and nice job cleaning up the Superspeed. You might also try an old toothbrush and toothpaste on it. Seemed silly to me when I read about it here, but was very surprised at how much more the razors sparkle afterward, even after using MAAS first.

I've also seen a few Techs that have the two parts of the head screwed on wrong, where the base plate is upside down. I guess it looks like it should go that way to some who aren't familiar with these razors.

And if you do get a SE razor, I've found the GEM Personna blades you can get at Walmart to be equal to the Ted Pella blades that have to be ordered online.

I look forward to seeing your next pics.

 

[e sinker]

awesome fine classic razor

 

[mbrooks]

Hey guys, thanks for all the compliments and help. It has the notches, so it looks like it's a '48-'50. I went out and got some Maas today (it was cheaper than the Flitz and Blue Magic wasn't available) and was much happier with that. Haven't tried toothpaste yet, but with everything else I've done to it, I might as well, at least on the head. I did discover a slight bit of brassing on the underside of the head, at the sides. I'm still pleased, though.

Anyway, here are some better photos. Most of these actually do it justice! Had a little trouble getting good lighting on the head, but trust that it's shinier than it looks.

Also, my dad suggested using very fine grit sandpaper (on the order of 2000 grit) to buff out the scratches on the head. Anybody have any experience with that? He's an antique car guy, so he has all sorts of tips and tricks that work for cars but are not necessarily proven on razors. Thanks!

 

[Hughies_online]

Good score!