It sounds like you may have had one too many sugar cubes.
Questions for Shavers of the 50's, 60's, and 70's
- Thread starter SteveWY
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It sounds like you may have had one too many sugar cubes.
I'm almost 64, and I started shaving with an electric that my parents bought me, then switched to a Gillette Super 109 in early or mid '70s. I probably still have it, but I cannot for the life of me find it. 
I used Blue Blades and then some kind of stainless blades. I liked the metal dispensers they came in, with no paper or wax dots to deal with.
Just push with your thumb (on the arrows) to expose the end of the blade and hook it over the notch on the end of the center partition of a TTO. You didn't even have to touch them except for the initial push.
I had only one brush at a time, that I recall. This is one of them ...
... unless I got that in the early '80s.
For soaps I only remember canned foam, and a brief experiment with Williams Mug soap in a coffee mug. I remember thinking at the time that I was reviving a lost art, since it was not a common practise.
For some unfathomable reason, I switched to Braun electrics in the late '70s, then went back and forth between disposables and electrics, until last September.
Not being able to buy a replacement foil for my perfectly good Braun was the last straw.
I have no recollection of what aftershave I might have used. Some of my friends used Hai Karate, but I don't think I used it. Maybe Old Spice Fresh Lime, because the frosted glass bottle rings a bell. Possibly Brut or some Avon product.
I used Blue Blades and then some kind of stainless blades. I liked the metal dispensers they came in, with no paper or wax dots to deal with.
Just push with your thumb (on the arrows) to expose the end of the blade and hook it over the notch on the end of the center partition of a TTO. You didn't even have to touch them except for the initial push.
I had only one brush at a time, that I recall. This is one of them ...
... unless I got that in the early '80s.For soaps I only remember canned foam, and a brief experiment with Williams Mug soap in a coffee mug. I remember thinking at the time that I was reviving a lost art, since it was not a common practise.
For some unfathomable reason, I switched to Braun electrics in the late '70s, then went back and forth between disposables and electrics, until last September.
Not being able to buy a replacement foil for my perfectly good Braun was the last straw.
I have no recollection of what aftershave I might have used. Some of my friends used Hai Karate, but I don't think I used it. Maybe Old Spice Fresh Lime, because the frosted glass bottle rings a bell. Possibly Brut or some Avon product.
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I just fit into your demographic. I started off with a DE, but I can't remember which. I suspect it was a cheap Wilkinson Sword razor and blades I bought in the local Woolworth's. Old Spice soap in a mug, a bristle brush, and I loved Tabac aftershave.
I worked abroad for a few years and disposables were the new thing, so I used those for about thirty years - I used to get about two weeks from each razor. At some point in my travels I picked up a badger brush in Beijing, and that lasted me 20 years.
I never used shaving foam, but did use shave gel for a while. Most of the time it was soap/cream with a brush.
DE shaving wasn't "retro" then, it was just fuddy-duddy. It was how your Dad might have shaved, but we were baby-boomers embracing the white heat of technology, so razors with two, three, five blades were the future.
I didn't realise DE shaving was a "thing" until I got an advert in my Twitter feed for a subscription shaving service, which offered a selection of cartridges, canned goo and so forth for a phenomenally high monthly price. I thought that this was a rip-off and started looking at alternatives and stumbled across B&B. Within an hour, I had ordered my Mühle DE89. Nine vintage razors later, the rest is history.
There is definitely something about authenticity and nostalgia for me. I've always enjoyed my daily shave, but doing it with a razor that goes back to somewhere between the 1920s and 1950s really grounds me first thing in the morning.
I worked abroad for a few years and disposables were the new thing, so I used those for about thirty years - I used to get about two weeks from each razor. At some point in my travels I picked up a badger brush in Beijing, and that lasted me 20 years.
I never used shaving foam, but did use shave gel for a while. Most of the time it was soap/cream with a brush.
DE shaving wasn't "retro" then, it was just fuddy-duddy. It was how your Dad might have shaved, but we were baby-boomers embracing the white heat of technology, so razors with two, three, five blades were the future.
I didn't realise DE shaving was a "thing" until I got an advert in my Twitter feed for a subscription shaving service, which offered a selection of cartridges, canned goo and so forth for a phenomenally high monthly price. I thought that this was a rip-off and started looking at alternatives and stumbled across B&B. Within an hour, I had ordered my Mühle DE89. Nine vintage razors later, the rest is history.
There is definitely something about authenticity and nostalgia for me. I've always enjoyed my daily shave, but doing it with a razor that goes back to somewhere between the 1920s and 1950s really grounds me first thing in the morning.
I'm 64. I know I started in the late 60's with a double edged razor. Some sort of TTO.
Later switched to a Schick injector for awhile. Abandoned it for a Trac II at some point. Resisted getting more than two blades.
I switched back to a double edged razor about three years ago.
I've used Williams but used to prefer a translucent glycerine soap (not sure of the brand) when I could find it. Burma Shave brush. Currently VDH soap and brush. Currently have four razors -- Weishi tto, Baili tto, Titan Razor 3 piece, and a Trac II I use when traveling light.
Have a Futur clone on the way with a Chinese Badger brush I added to round up the order.
Later switched to a Schick injector for awhile. Abandoned it for a Trac II at some point. Resisted getting more than two blades.
I switched back to a double edged razor about three years ago.
I've used Williams but used to prefer a translucent glycerine soap (not sure of the brand) when I could find it. Burma Shave brush. Currently VDH soap and brush. Currently have four razors -- Weishi tto, Baili tto, Titan Razor 3 piece, and a Trac II I use when traveling light.
Have a Futur clone on the way with a Chinese Badger brush I added to round up the order.
LOL!
What a great idea for a thread. Great to hear from our "vintage" shavers here. 
I remember as a kid in the 60's and early 70's watching my Dad shave with his Super Speed and can of Barbasol. He'd take the blade out, lather my face and let me "shave" with it lol. He later went to a Schick injector I think.
For my Dad it was Old Spice or Aqua Velva. He said he still has that Super Speed someplace in a box in the attic. We're going to look for it soon.
I know it was just something you had to do back then, nobody looked at it as a hobby.
I remember as a kid in the 60's and early 70's watching my Dad shave with his Super Speed and can of Barbasol. He'd take the blade out, lather my face and let me "shave" with it lol. He later went to a Schick injector I think.
For my Dad it was Old Spice or Aqua Velva. He said he still has that Super Speed someplace in a box in the attic. We're going to look for it soon.
I know it was just something you had to do back then, nobody looked at it as a hobby.
Well, the shaving isn't a hobby - it's everything that goes ALONG with it that's the hobby Kind of like mowing your lawn while wearing aerating spike shoes and experimenting with the best hat to shade the back of your neck.
Kind of like mowing your lawn while wearing aerating spike shoes and experimenting with the best hat to shade the back of your neck.Sugar cubes are really old school. Blotters, windowpanes and microdots were where it was at in the 70s.
There used to be toy plastic DE razors and cans of foam soap for "shaving cream." Last year or maybe the year before saw an updated version. It looked the same except a toy disposable type replaced the toy DE razor.
Yesterday morning, as I slid my Personna blade from its dispenser on to the waiting centre bar of my Gillette Slim, then smelled the fresh, uncomplicated scent as I leisurely lathered my Palmolive shave stick, I could close my eyes and be transported back to the sixties. That's one of the many things I love about DE shaving - the nostalgia.
I remember the '60s. There were a couple of years with a beard in the early '70s that are a little fuzzy 
Seriously, I did start to shave in the mid to late '60s with a Slim adjustable. That's what Dad used. I remember the Super Blue Blades were the smoothest but only gave me 3 shaves while the stainless blades lasted for a week or so. Wilkinson's felt the sharpest, kind of like Feathers today. I used a drugstore boar brush. I did try canned goo but went back to the mug with Williams. I do still have an electric which I never liked. Can't find the slim though I still think I have it somewhere. Switched to Trak-II then Good News disposables which I used until I went back to wet shaving a little less than a year and a half ago.
Seriously, I did start to shave in the mid to late '60s with a Slim adjustable. That's what Dad used. I remember the Super Blue Blades were the smoothest but only gave me 3 shaves while the stainless blades lasted for a week or so. Wilkinson's felt the sharpest, kind of like Feathers today. I used a drugstore boar brush. I did try canned goo but went back to the mug with Williams. I do still have an electric which I never liked. Can't find the slim though I still think I have it somewhere. Switched to Trak-II then Good News disposables which I used until I went back to wet shaving a little less than a year and a half ago.
I started shaving around 1973 or 1974. My first razor was an adjustable - a Slim I think. No memory of what blades I used. A can of foam of some sort. The razor was handed down/bought for me by my dad as he was a DE shaver at the time. (he turns 83 in April) Later on there was an injector if I recall correctly before going to the dark side known as carts. Came back to DE 3 years ago this month. In fact, the first 6 months back using a DE I used Edge gel.
I'm 55 but I remember my dad using a Gillette adjustable (slim I think), Palmolive stick, Wilkinson sword blades, and I'm not sure what type of brush but it had a wooden handle and wasn't badger, most likely boar.
In the UK during the late 60's early 70's the choice of blades were W/sword or Gillette.
In the UK during the late 60's early 70's the choice of blades were W/sword or Gillette.
- Thread starter
- #55
I started shaving around 1961 but didn't need to shave daily until '64. Before I shaved regularly I used a Superspeed and Wilkinson Swords. My dad used Schick Injectors exclusively and Rise shave cream. At that time my young face didn't like injectors so I was a DE user, using Rise, or Old Spice shaving foam and Wilkinson Swords. AS was always Old Spice. From 64 up until the very early 70's [probably in late 71 or 72] while in college and then the US Army, I used a 1964 Slim, again canned foam. Rise until it disappeared then Foamy, Noxema, Old Spice, or whatever was available in the PX.
When I came back from Vietnam, I was assigned to the Old Guard in Washington, D.C. This absolutely required a close shave on a daily basis as we had to look pretty. At this time the carts started appearing. I, stupidly, ditched my Slim for a Wilkinson Bonded Blade cart. That provided a very nice shave, close and comfortable, but, unfortunately, it disappeared quickly once the Trac II came out. I was still using the canned stuff; in the military it was just easier and faster.
Once I left the military in '73 I continued to use canned foam, and Old Spice, but upgraded my razors from the Trac II to the Atra and then the Sensor and their ilk. They gave decent close, comfortable shaves, the standard of the time. In the late 70's I switched to a Old Spice mug and soap, using an Everready 350 brush.
Some time in the early 80's, my mug got broken, but Gillette had come out with their shaving-cream cartridge and brush system. I really liked that and used it up to when it disappeared, (rats). I changed to the gels and Mach 3 when it appeared but kept using Old Spice.
Some time in the late '90's, I started getting irritation from the triple bladed gizmos. I then switched to electric razors, I used them mostly, with occasional attempts to shave with carts. However, in early 2014 I got fed up with constant irritation from the 3+ bladed carts and the electrics just didn't cut it anymore. I searched on Amazon and discovered DE's again. Then I discovered B&B. Then RAD set in and I discovered not only DE's, but found out that now my 72+ year-old face enjoys Schick Injectors.
So what do I use now you may ask. I have 3 Schick injectors, a 64 Slim and a Schick Krona DE that I float between. I tend to use the injectors more than the DE's now. But I use exclusively Haslinger soaps, a Omega S-Brush, and Thayer's Unscented Witch Hazel.
(I do like to travel and if I fly then I will use Barbasol foam, a two-bladed cart [I find the Dollar General brand (Dorco) work very well for me] and some Thayer's. This keeps TSA happey.)
When I came back from Vietnam, I was assigned to the Old Guard in Washington, D.C. This absolutely required a close shave on a daily basis as we had to look pretty. At this time the carts started appearing. I, stupidly, ditched my Slim for a Wilkinson Bonded Blade cart. That provided a very nice shave, close and comfortable, but, unfortunately, it disappeared quickly once the Trac II came out. I was still using the canned stuff; in the military it was just easier and faster.
Once I left the military in '73 I continued to use canned foam, and Old Spice, but upgraded my razors from the Trac II to the Atra and then the Sensor and their ilk. They gave decent close, comfortable shaves, the standard of the time. In the late 70's I switched to a Old Spice mug and soap, using an Everready 350 brush.
Some time in the early 80's, my mug got broken, but Gillette had come out with their shaving-cream cartridge and brush system. I really liked that and used it up to when it disappeared, (rats). I changed to the gels and Mach 3 when it appeared but kept using Old Spice.
Some time in the late '90's, I started getting irritation from the triple bladed gizmos. I then switched to electric razors, I used them mostly, with occasional attempts to shave with carts. However, in early 2014 I got fed up with constant irritation from the 3+ bladed carts and the electrics just didn't cut it anymore. I searched on Amazon and discovered DE's again. Then I discovered B&B. Then RAD set in and I discovered not only DE's, but found out that now my 72+ year-old face enjoys Schick Injectors.
So what do I use now you may ask. I have 3 Schick injectors, a 64 Slim and a Schick Krona DE that I float between. I tend to use the injectors more than the DE's now. But I use exclusively Haslinger soaps, a Omega S-Brush, and Thayer's Unscented Witch Hazel.
(I do like to travel and if I fly then I will use Barbasol foam, a two-bladed cart [I find the Dollar General brand (Dorco) work very well for me] and some Thayer's. This keeps TSA happey.)
- Thread starter
- #57
I am sorry I stepped away after starting this discussion. I am waxing nostalgic reading your stories. I especially lile hearing about memories of fathers and others. My memories...
I am 59 so I guess I started shaving sometime in the early 1970's. I do remember when I was a little boy my Dad letting me "shave" with an empty Super Speed and canned shaving foam. It felt great and I thought I was a man! I think I started learning how to shave with my Dad's Gillette and whatever dull crusty blade he had in it. But I never stayed with the DE and soon I was shaving with a Trac-II and canned shaving cream. Later in the 80's and 90's I used a variety of cartridge razors and disposables. I did pick up a vintage milk glass shaving mug, Colgate or Williams soap, and an unknown brush many years ago which I used off and on. Some time about 10-15 years ago my wife gave me a Van der Hagen set with soap, bowl, and boar brush. Then in November 2011 when I accidentally stumbled upon a Gillette Super Speed for $5.00 at an antique store... That started the return to classic shaving!
I am 59 so I guess I started shaving sometime in the early 1970's. I do remember when I was a little boy my Dad letting me "shave" with an empty Super Speed and canned shaving foam. It felt great and I thought I was a man! I think I started learning how to shave with my Dad's Gillette and whatever dull crusty blade he had in it. But I never stayed with the DE and soon I was shaving with a Trac-II and canned shaving cream. Later in the 80's and 90's I used a variety of cartridge razors and disposables. I did pick up a vintage milk glass shaving mug, Colgate or Williams soap, and an unknown brush many years ago which I used off and on. Some time about 10-15 years ago my wife gave me a Van der Hagen set with soap, bowl, and boar brush. Then in November 2011 when I accidentally stumbled upon a Gillette Super Speed for $5.00 at an antique store... That started the return to classic shaving!
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- Thread starter
- #58
Now, something about my father's experience...
My Dad was born in 1922 so he probably was shaving since the late 1930's but he couldn't remember much about razors, blades, brushes, etc. To him, it was just shaving. I got the impression people shared razors with brothers and fathers living together. Some specific memories he had was about the old carbon steal blades that rusted all the time. I asked him once how long he used a blade before tossing it and he said, "I guess a week or two". He recalled when Wilkinson Sword came out with stainless blades and how great they were.
A few years ago I sent my Dad a Pre-war Tech, some blades, soap, and my VDH brush and he started using it. He said he forgot how nice and close a DE shave was! My Dad passed away last August at 94 years old and I had the privilege of giving him a nice shave in the hospital before he passed. I sure miss him but glad we shared some shaving talk and experiences.
My Dad was born in 1922 so he probably was shaving since the late 1930's but he couldn't remember much about razors, blades, brushes, etc. To him, it was just shaving. I got the impression people shared razors with brothers and fathers living together. Some specific memories he had was about the old carbon steal blades that rusted all the time. I asked him once how long he used a blade before tossing it and he said, "I guess a week or two". He recalled when Wilkinson Sword came out with stainless blades and how great they were.
A few years ago I sent my Dad a Pre-war Tech, some blades, soap, and my VDH brush and he started using it. He said he forgot how nice and close a DE shave was! My Dad passed away last August at 94 years old and I had the privilege of giving him a nice shave in the hospital before he passed. I sure miss him but glad we shared some shaving talk and experiences.
I see what you did there.I remember the '60s. There were a couple of years with a beard in the early '70s that are a little fuzzy
I am 75 years old and began DE shaving when I was 14. My first razor was a Tech my father gave me. I used that for a few years and then bought a Fat Boy as the first razor I purchased. About a year later I bought a Slim. By the time I was 16 by beard was almost as thick and wiry as it is today.
I had a no-name brush. Quite honestly I can't say what it was made of. The soap I used was something my father gave me. He had a huge stash of what looked like soap flakes. I would take some flakes put them in a mug, add water and whip it up By using hot water, the lather was warm. I also used Mennen and Colgate creams. When I used up all of the soap flakes I bought some soaps made by Colgate and Williams and creams by Noxema. My after shave was always witch hazel. The blades I used were Gillette Blues - until Wilkinson came out with its stainless steel blades. Those blades changed the shave by being sharper and smoother. Unlike a previous poster, I thought the Blues did not give me a good shave. They dulled quite fast and if you were not careful they would rust.
Back then you could get all of your supplies in drug stores. You could buy brushes, razors, blades, creams, and soaps in most pharmacies.
The variety in shaving goodies was somewhat limited. You could buy SE and injectors but I did not see the older vintage razors.
When I went to college and law school in Manhattan and discovered some stores that sold their own and other razors and better quality brushes. Also, the drug stores were larger than what we had in the suburbs and offered more of a variety of soaps and creams. For the first time, I tried some premium soaps and creams.
I was influenced by ads and tried canned shaving cream, electric razors, carts, etc. but always returned to my roots.
I had a no-name brush. Quite honestly I can't say what it was made of. The soap I used was something my father gave me. He had a huge stash of what looked like soap flakes. I would take some flakes put them in a mug, add water and whip it up By using hot water, the lather was warm. I also used Mennen and Colgate creams. When I used up all of the soap flakes I bought some soaps made by Colgate and Williams and creams by Noxema. My after shave was always witch hazel. The blades I used were Gillette Blues - until Wilkinson came out with its stainless steel blades. Those blades changed the shave by being sharper and smoother. Unlike a previous poster, I thought the Blues did not give me a good shave. They dulled quite fast and if you were not careful they would rust.
Back then you could get all of your supplies in drug stores. You could buy brushes, razors, blades, creams, and soaps in most pharmacies.
The variety in shaving goodies was somewhat limited. You could buy SE and injectors but I did not see the older vintage razors.
When I went to college and law school in Manhattan and discovered some stores that sold their own and other razors and better quality brushes. Also, the drug stores were larger than what we had in the suburbs and offered more of a variety of soaps and creams. For the first time, I tried some premium soaps and creams.
I was influenced by ads and tried canned shaving cream, electric razors, carts, etc. but always returned to my roots.
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