Old Safety Razor

[CastorTroy36]

Hey Everyone,

I recently inherited my Grandfathers razor. I have been using a disposable razor for a year now and before that an electric (TERRIBLE). I did my research and bought feather blades and a badger brush as well as Proraso Shaving Cream. I will attempt my first shave soon and I admit i'm nervous. Any tips? But I just have a couple questions about the razor itself (I have included pictures).

1) What type of metal is this?
2) There is mild tarnish or soap scum, whats the best way to clean this? Scrubbing bubbles? Peroxide? Boiling?
3) Does anyone know what type of razor this is, or year it was made? It says made in england and has a patent number but not many other markings. I am just looking for some backround information.

Thank you so much for your help,
Mike

p.s. stupid question: Blades are double edged? Why? Am I supposed to use one side until its dull?

 

[CastorTroy36]

here is a picture of the gillette

 

[CastorTroy36]

and an image of the inside

 

[Gerald_G]

Hello and welcome. Great to inherit a razor!

 

[dpm802]

Congrats on a great find, and welcome to B&B!

Family heirloom razors are the most treasured of shave gear, regardless of age, make, model or condition. The fact that its Made in England pretty much guarantees it to be a high-quality piece.

Clean it with Scrubbing Bubbles or SimpleGreen. Work the mechanism back and forth to make sure the cleaning solution reaches all the inner parts. Scrub it with an old toothbrush, and Repeat the cleaning several times to remove all the soap-scum. After its clean, disinfect it with Barbicide, Isopropyl Alcholhol, or Hydrogen Peroxide.

Sounds like you're off to a good start with the other gear you've ordered. Also consider getting a blade sampler pack, rather than just the Feathers, so you'll have a variety of different brands to choose from. www.westcoastshaving.com is a good source for blades and other gear, with a wide selection, fair prices, and great service.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Congrats on the nice razor! I clean mine up by scrubbing them with soap and an old toothbrush. Then I boil them, polish, then another scrubbing. Yours looks to be in good shape, so it should clean right up.

Feathers are one of my favorite blades, but I had a rough time with them at first. You might or might not, but don't give up on DE if you don't like them. Instead, order a sampler pack and start working through the brands. You will find a blade you like.

If you haven't watched Mantic's videos on YouTube, pull them up. They'll give you a good introduction to DE shaving and you'll learn a lot.

And welcome to B&B!

 

[EfraRios]

congrats on your find!

It's a Gillette SuperSpeed Flair Tip, It has a letter and a number on the back, you can check that to find out date of manufacture

 

[johnmrson]

The razor is a Gillette Super Speed. Date would be mid 1950's to mid 1960's. I'm not sure of the base metal (I think they are brass) but it's nickel coated. Scrubbing Bubbles will be fine to clean it. It isn't very dirty. Blades are double sided so you can do a stroke or two with one side, twist it and do another stroke or two with the other side before having to rinse it.

As for tips, take it slowly and enjoy it.

 

[prophetic_joe]

Actually considering it's made in England I believe it's a flare tip Rocket correct?

 

[xjrob85]

Good call on it being a Rocket.

 

[CastorTroy36]

awesome, thanks for the welcome and information! I'll make sure to clean it pronto. I'm just trying to figure out all the new words. I get "TTO" is twist to open, but what is a "flare tip"? And is "rocket" the brand name? As for a number or marking on the back the only thing I see is: II

Im not sure if that helps to date it, but the general timeline you gave me is great. I'm really excited about this. I bought ten of the feather blades (I guess if I turn my face into swiss cheese i'll know to switch brands lol) So i'll pick up an assorted pack then, I was just trying to pick a blade that looked like the best quality. What kind of differences would you notice in a different blade?

thanks again,
mike

 

[prophetic_joe]

As far as dating it goes we're going to be looking for a letter number combo with the numbers being 1-4 signifying the quarter of the year created. You'll find the date on the underside of the razor head.

As far as it being a brand name yes it was. The Rocket came out in England and had 3 different versions as far as looks go. 1st version came out in the early 40's, the version you have came out in the second half of the 50's.

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Gillette_Rocket

 

[Abyssos]

Gillette Rocket.

 

[maxman]

Welcome and don't forget to pop by the newbie check in.

 

[Lando]

Here is the obligatory insertion of the Rocket thread from another shaving forum (a very interesting read BTW):

http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9206

Congrats on a very nice razor and family treasure.

 

[c0ry]

Nice Rocket!

 

[BIGACONCEPT]

British flair tip rocket and it´s an amazing razor, one of my personal favorites

 

[HokieGeek]

What kind of differences would you notice in a different blade?

I'm fairly inexperienced myself, but I have shaved with feathers, merkurs and personnas. The feathers cut me up the most. They are pretty sharp and very unforgiving of bad technique. Personally, I wouldn't have minded starting with the feathers as I might have developed less bad habits knowing that any mistake would cost me! I say that if you're OK with a few nicks in the next few shaves, then go for it, but make sure you buy a styptic pencil!

Oh, and welcome!