Safety Razor Acquisition Thread.

[ShaverAZ]

I got this New Short Comb cheap earlier this year, primarly for the handle. The cap was stripped down to the red brass & it was pretty cruddy. Before parting it out, I decided to shave with it & was impressed with the close, smooth, quality shave, so I jumped it ahead in the rotation. The more I used it, the more I liked it. It came close to equaling my fave 1917 Old Type. The plan changed, and I decided to send it out to Backroads Gold to replate. Turnaround time was a week, & the quality workmanship is the usual impeccable.
A raggedy Milord will be next to send out, whoever, Backroads Gold has closed up shop. They sold their AZ home and are moving to Wyoming to set up shop. Further work is on hold until August.

 

[Timeclo]

I got this New Short Comb cheap earlier this year, primarly for the handle. The cap was stripped down to the red brass & it was pretty cruddy. Before parting it out, I decided to shave with it & was impressed with the close, smooth, quality shave, so I jumped it ahead in the rotation. The more I used it, the more I liked it. It came close to equaling my fave 1917 Old Type. The plan changed, and I decided to send it out to Backroads Gold to replate. Turnaround time was a week, & the quality workmanship is the usual impeccable.
A raggedy Milord will be next to send out, whoever, Backroads Gold has closed up shop. They sold their AZ home and are moving to Wyoming to set up shop. Further work is on hold until August.
View attachment 1119824

Wow. Beautifully done. I shaved with my short comb today and had a fantastic shave.

 

[Whiterook]

I am enjoying my Old Types so much that I decided to try a New type long comb. I think I will leave the patina on this one.

 

[Northstonehill]

Nice scores of late gentlemen

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

I am enjoying my Old Types so much that I decided to try a New type long comb. I think I will leave the patina on this one.
View attachment 1119897

A NEW LC is on my to find list

 

[Northstonehill]

Very cool leather case travel set by Danish safety razor maker Ginge, lovely little set in good shape. Got it locally for a bottle of red wine

 

[JimmyCB]

I am enjoying my Old Types so much that I decided to try a New type long comb. I think I will leave the patina on this one.
View attachment 1119897

Nice photo of great shaving razor. I bought one last year and decided to keep the patina. If I had polished off the patina, it would take 75 years to get the patina back.

 

[fmueller]

Gillette Vest Pocket Set, Made in England, 1920s, with 4-piece Old type razor.

Apparently these were gadgets even back in the day, and often given as presents, including customized advertising presents. This one must have been made for the Dutch light-bulb manufacturer Condor, to be given to good customers and business associates. Condor was later bought by Philips, but used to have a manufacturing plant in Sydney, Australia. This goes a long way in explaining why I found this razor set in New Zealand.

 

[mr-razor]

nice set, but not Gillette Vest Pocket set. Handle and case are not Gillette. All Vest Pocket sets that I know, comes with an Old Type Made in USA

 

[fmueller]

nice set, but not Gillette Vest Pocket set. Handle and case are not Gillette. All Vest Pocket sets that I know, comes with an Old Type Made in USA

Hallo Achim,

ich hab den frei nach deiner Seite identifiziert. Ich dachte der Griff sieht wie der hier aus, aber bei naeherem hinschauen vielleicht doch nicht.

In Neuseeland bekommt man oft interessante Sachen, da das Land gerne als Testmarkt verwendet wurde - oder wir kriegen halt den Rest, der noch auf Lager ist.

Viele Gruesse

 

[romsitsa]

Very cool leather case travel set by Danish safety razor maker Ginge, lovely little set in good shape. Got it locally for a bottle of red wine

View attachment 1120271

Nice, chrome or super shiny nickel? Also a fair trade.

Adam

 

[pellidon]

These two came from that auction site. $18 for the pair. One is a 1960 Q3 (F-3) and one is a 1961 Q1 (G-1) Almost the same as me (Q-2). Of course the seller had no way to tell from that original condition.

Preliminary clean up done. I think they came out well considering.

 

[fmueller]

nice set, but not Gillette Vest Pocket set. Handle and case are not Gillette. All Vest Pocket sets that I know, comes with an Old Type Made in USA

The set does not seem to be a one off. I found at least one other person who owns the same set - Old type head, made in England, same handle, same box but without the Condor logo.

There is also a 2010 B&B thread about a Made in England 'Vest Pocket Set'. The few details given match my set. Unfortunately the photos are no missing.

Gillette Vest Pocket Made in England

Thought I'd post this here following the discussion on the Vest Pocket models in the acquisitions thread. I picked it up a few months back. It seems as well as the Made in USA ones and ones stamped simply Made in Germany, there was also a Made in England version. The case was lined with...

www.badgerandblade.com

The owner of the other set told me he heard that Gillette purchased a German razor company. The heads are made in England and the rest in Germany.

If Gillette bought the company, one would assume the set was sold by Gillette, even though not all parts were made by Gillette. Of course that's all hearsay at this stage, and if Achim says it's not appropriate to call it Vest Pocket Set, that's probably the most authoritative answer one can get.

 

[romsitsa]

The set does not seem to be a one off. I found at least one other person who owns the same set - Old type head, made in England, same handle, same box but without the Condor logo.

View attachment 1120867


There is also a 2010 B&B thread about a Made in England 'Vest Pocket Set'. The few details given match my set. Unfortunately the photos are no missing.

Gillette Vest Pocket Made in England

Thought I'd post this here following the discussion on the Vest Pocket models in the acquisitions thread. I picked it up a few months back. It seems as well as the Made in USA ones and ones stamped simply Made in Germany, there was also a Made in England version. The case was lined with...

www.badgerandblade.com

The owner of the other set told me he heard that Gillette purchased a German razor company. The heads are made in England and the rest in Germany.

If Gillette bought the company, one would assume the set was sold by Gillette, even though not all parts were made by Gillette. Of course that's all hearsay at this stage, and if Achim says it's not appropriate to call it Vest Pocket Set, that's probably the most authoritative answer one can get.

Hello, the problem with the pocket sets is that only 2 Gillette models are supported by ads, the Vienna and Genuine vest pocket, both exclusives of M. E. Mayer of Austria. These are marked as Gillette items on the boxes and come with a specific ball end or tubular handle.
Confusion starts when we add that M.E. Mayer had an (I think earlier) unbranded set, similar to the Vienna and this had the same handle as the Gillette Vienna, so it could be, that Gillette only supplied the heads (boxes?) and the rest was locally made.
Also this tiny pocket razor design was really popular in Europe, so many factories produced them under their own names or as white lables for other companies, often as advertisers.
So your set is unlikely to be a complete Gillette item. The head could be a later addition by the owner, or a company, selling pocket sets, bought parts from Gillette, as it happened sometimes (for eg. no-name grooming sets with Gillette razors).

Adam

 

[fmueller]

Hello, the problem with the pocket sets is that only 2 Gillette models are supported by ads, the Vienna and Genuine vest pocket, both exclusives of M. E. Mayer of Austria. These are marked as Gillette items on the boxes and come with a specific ball end or tubular handle.
Confusion starts when we add that M.E. Mayer had an (I think earlier) unbranded set, similar to the Vienna and this had the same handle as the Gillette Vienna, so it could be, that Gillette only supplied the heads (boxes?) and the rest was locally made.
Also this tiny pocket razor design was really popular in Europe, so many factories produced them under their own names or as white lables for other companies, often as advertisers.
So your set is unlikely to be a complete Gillette item. The head could be a later addition by the owner, or a company, selling pocket sets, bought parts from Gillette, as it happened sometimes (for eg. no-name grooming sets with Gillette razors).

Adam

Thanks for the info. The likelihood that the head was added later by an owner is low if it needs only one day for me to find another identical head and handle that were sold together. The likelihood that they were later put together by a company is low if both razors came in the same box, one with a company logo and one without. To me this suggests that you could buy the set new - with the option of having the box customized.

That's my story and I am sticking with it until someone proves me wrong!

 

[romsitsa]

The two sets are not identical. Your case has a reccess for a stamped tounge piece, the other one has tounge with a hole, which will fit into the round recess of the lid. The handles are also different.
On a broader scope there are no Gillette cases without a Gillette marking, sold by Gillette. The only Gillette cases not stating "Gillette" anywhere are the ones sold to other companies.

Adam

 

[fmueller]

The two sets are not identical. Your case has a reccess for a stamped tounge piece, the other one has tounge with a hole, which will fit into the round recess of the lid. The handles are also different.
On a broader scope there are no Gillette cases without a Gillette marking, sold by Gillette. The only Gillette cases not stating "Gillette" anywhere are the ones sold to other companies.

Adam

It seems like I am lacking your eye for detail. Better stay away from collecting and stick to using!

 

[romsitsa]

It seems like I am lacking your eye for detail. Better stay away from collecting and stick to using!

Imho, this is part of the fun. Took me years to realise that the elusive US pocket set, I was missing, is most likely a missmatched old type head in a German pocket case.

Adam

 

[Screeby]

Poking around a flea market today and saw this. Gillette Razor is an "L1" which would be 1966. That is a believable date. The top cap and baseplate still have the paper between them. While probably not worth much it was cool enough I had to pick it up.

KM

 

[dmshaver]

My best razor, IMHO, is my President. It provides incredibly smooth & efficient shaves every time. My deepest thanks to @Hannah's Dad, who contacted me to see if I would like a second President. "I most certainly do" was my answer. I purchased this beautiful razor & it arrived today. Absolutely gorgeous, Dan, thank you sir!

It shaves even better than it looks.