Old Type with a bakelite/plastic handle

[Sled Dog]

Picked up this Old Type with a bakelite or plastic handle...I figure its some sort of Frankenrazor that someone replaced the handle at some time.
It is interesting that the razor in this old post seems to have the identical handle...hmmmm
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...orrect-for-a-1917-nickel-plated-Old-Type-head

 

[alex2363]

almost identical

 

[mharris127]

I suspect Gillette may have sold a razor with a bakelite handle from what you guys are saying. That handle definitely looks professionally made with a metal insert for threads. From the head I would say about 1930-1932 for manufacture which corresponds to the Great Depression's worst years -- maybe they needed to reduce the cost of their razors during that time.

 

[BBrad]

I suspect Gillette may have sold a razor with a bakelite handle from what you guys are saying. That handle definitely looks professionally made with a metal insert for threads. From the head I would say about 1930-1932 for manufacture which corresponds to the Great Depression's worst years -- maybe they needed to reduce the cost of their razors during that time.

No, the head is not from the '30s . . . definitely an Old Type and not NEW, which was introduced before 1930. The big thing with Bakelite in its early days was the ability to mold shapes that couldn't be made from other materials. I doubt it was cheaper to make than the Gillette brass handle. Even when Gillette made bakelite handles during WWII and the early '50s it was to save brass, not money. An extrusion process for forming bakelite goods wasn't introduced until after WWII, which is what really made bakelite items less expensive to make.

Since the Old Type handles were so prone to cracking we often see OT heads with newer handles on them. I can envision a man getting a new razor because his handle is no longer usable, but keeping the old head because he likes the shave better - instant Frankenrazor! Durham Duplex, Star, and Gillette Tech handles are often seen mated up with Old Type heads.

It is a bit of a rare one, since we've only seen two of them here on B&B over they years!

 

[jbradley]

No, the head is not from the '30s . . . definitely an Old Type and not NEW, which was introduced before 1930. The big thing with Bakelite in its early days was the ability to mold shapes that couldn't be made from other materials. I doubt it was cheaper to make than the Gillette brass handle. Even when Gillette made bakelite handles during WWII and the early '50s it was to save brass, not money. An extrusion process for forming bakelite goods wasn't introduced until after WWII, which is what really made bakelite items less expensive to make.

Since the Old Type handles were so prone to cracking we often see OT heads with newer handles on them. I can envision a man getting a new razor because his handle is no longer usable, but keeping the old head because he likes the shave better - instant Frankenrazor! Durham Duplex, Star, and Gillette Tech handles are often seen mated up with Old Type heads.

It is a bit of a rare one, since we've only seen two of them here on B&B over they years!

Or picking up the cheapest handle he could find, or trading with a friend for a handle, or as this pic shows, making something work. We forget, no, I forget, how easy we really have it. It gets a scuff? Throw it away and get another one!! Our forefathers were much more frugal. Or at least it seems so to me.

View attachment 299536View attachment 299537

 

[Sled Dog]

Or picking up the cheapest handle he could find, or trading with a friend for a handle, or as this pic shows, making something work. We forget, no, I forget, how easy we really have it. It gets a scuff? Throw it away and get another one!! Our forefathers were much more frugal. Or at least it seems so to me.

View attachment 299536

Wow that is quite the razor!!
Good points with the replacement handles
Here is another Old Type that I have with an odd handle...

 

[mharris127]

No, the head is not from the '30s . . . definitely an Old Type and not NEW, which was introduced before 1930. The big thing with Bakelite in its early days was the ability to mold shapes that couldn't be made from other materials. I doubt it was cheaper to make than the Gillette brass handle. Even when Gillette made bakelite handles during WWII and the early '50s it was to save brass, not money. An extrusion process for forming bakelite goods wasn't introduced until after WWII, which is what really made bakelite items less expensive to make.

Since the Old Type handles were so prone to cracking we often see OT heads with newer handles on them. I can envision a man getting a new razor because his handle is no longer usable, but keeping the old head because he likes the shave better - instant Frankenrazor! Durham Duplex, Star, and Gillette Tech handles are often seen mated up with Old Type heads.

It is a bit of a rare one, since we've only seen two of them here on B&B over they years!

Interesting. I knew the NEW and New Improved started manufacture in the late 20's but I thought the Old-Type was made for a few years along with the NEW. We may have a case of frankenrazor here but to find two with the same rare franken-handle surprises me. The metal threads in the handle was what started me thinking, a homemade handle would not likely have the metal insert.

 

[BBrad]

Interesting. I knew the NEW and New Improved started manufacture in the late 20's but I thought the Old-Type was made for a few years along with the NEW. We may have a case of frankenrazor here but to find two with the same rare franken-handle surprises me. The metal threads in the handle was what started me thinking, a homemade handle would not likely have the metal insert.

The New Improved series was introduced in 1921 (after the expiration of the original 1904 patents) and contained improvements in design that were patent-protected. The New Improved became Gillette's premium line product, while the old-style Pocket Edition model continued to be sold as the "Old Type" razor at a lower price point. Gillette knew that with patent expiration other manufacturers could start producing razors that would compete with the Gillette at a lower price. Gillette beat the competition to the punch by selling the Old Type at an opening price point of one dollar, with the NI razor selling for $5. Meanwhile, competitors focused on the production of lower cost blades, which had also lost their patent protection in 1921. Gillette's need to design a new and patentable blade, build a razor around it, and parlay their razor market share into increased blade sales resulted in the NEW being introduced well in advance of the New Improved's patent expiration.

The Old Type remained in production along with the New Improved until the NEW Gillette razor was introduced in 1929. The NEW was produced in both standard and deluxe series, and was designed to use only the NEW blades with the center slot and notched corners. At that point, production of the Old Type, which could use any three-hole blade, was discontinued.