Fat handle Tech in a Star box. This is the second Gillette I've gotten recently in a sliding top bakelite Star case.
Not sure what that tiny extra compartment is for, maybe just a barrier for the handle to stay put.
Fits nicely in there.
Safety Razor Acquisition Thread.
- Thread starter BigFoot
- Start date
Fits nicely in there.
timwcic
"Look what I found"
This was in the mail yesterday and opened today. It was a B.S.T. on another forum. 1905 Double Ring in not to shabby shape. Some plate loss on the cap, case and blade holders in good condition.
Damn, sweet razor and presentation box ... not too shabby is right.
timwcic
"Look what I found"
Thank You Sir
Very nice!
timwcic
"Look what I found"
Finally got my Gillette red tip via my sister in law from Chicago. It's a B4 in a good everyday condition, normal wear with some light plate loss under the head, very tiny water mark on the doors, and little spots of plating loss on the handle. Will serve me for a long time.
Haven't tried it yet, but I will tomorrow morning. So excited to compare it to it's sibling that I've used now for a while
Edit: and I also got two bowl of Catie’s Bubbles. Tomorrow morning will be awesome!
Haven't tried it yet, but I will tomorrow morning. So excited to compare it to it's sibling that I've used now for a while
Edit: and I also got two bowl of Catie’s Bubbles. Tomorrow morning will be awesome!
Attachments
Battled it out for this one on a hunch. The seller said there were no markings anywhere on the razor and I asked him two times to take it apart and check carefully. There is no serial number but it has PAT APL'D FOR upside down on the bottom of the tube, very imperfect, looks like each letter was individually stamped. I added the blade cases since the ones that came with it weren't even close.
I'm digging into the history behind the name on the ribbon. Very interesting. Everette Ames was a big shot businessman who moved to Portland in 1903.
Btw, this box came with 20 blades, not 12 as I'm used to seeing on the bottom. When did they stop including 20?
I'm digging into the history behind the name on the ribbon. Very interesting. Everette Ames was a big shot businessman who moved to Portland in 1903.
Btw, this box came with 20 blades, not 12 as I'm used to seeing on the bottom. When did they stop including 20?
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She's a beaut! Big congrats on that score.
They don't come better than that one.
R
romsitsa
It changed from 20 to 12 blades in 1904. Interesting is the length of the knurled part.
Adam
Adam
Wow, Tim. Stunning.
Excellent!Finally got my Gillette red tip via my sister in law from Chicago. It's a B4 in a good everyday condition, normal wear with some light plate loss under the head, very tiny water mark on the doors, and little spots of plating loss on the handle. Will serve me for a long time.
Haven't tried it yet, but I will tomorrow morning. So excited to compare it to it's sibling that I've used now for a while
Edit: and I also got two bowl of Catie’s Bubbles. Tomorrow morning will be awesome!
View attachment 806824
Whoa! That is awesome.
You guys are killin' me!!! 
Yes the length of the knurling puzzled me too. In the sale pics it looked like the tube had been cut down. I was prepared to be disappointed when it arrived.
The knurling has imperfections in several areas, you can only see them in side light. A seam is visible at one end, not a crack. The whole razor is slightly rough looking, not dinged, just imperfect. I believe this was one of the first made and they hadn't gotten the process fine tuned yet. Pic shows one of the longitudinal optical illusions from the imperfections in the knurling. Looks like a crack but isn't, turned a bit the lines disappear.
I read that all 1904 versions had a serial number and either PAT APL'D FOR or PAT NOV 15, 04 on the tube depending on whether it was made before October of 1904 or after. Problem is at least one account says the first 100 were sold in tin cases and only 51 were sold in 1903. How does that jive with this set?
Curious as to whether this one was ordered for personal use or to give to existing or potential business partners. The ribbon was made of the same material as the one underneath so it was installed in Chicago before shipment to Portland.
Below is a link to Everett Ames history in Portland where he moved from California in 1902. G. E. Ames was a member of the COC in Portland in 1903 so it is probably the same man. Everett Ames' brother, dad, and other family members used both first and middle names. I'm still looking for info on what the G stands for and if this is indeed the man on the ribbon. So far looks like it is.
History of Oregon
I found one other set like this one in a 5 year old post. More perfected, nicer font on the ribbon. Perhaps Mr. Ames ordered a replacement for the first one or ordered another to be given to biz partners. The one in the link below looks to be a bit improved version of the one I received.
"No Patent Date" Double Ring Help Needed
Still researching. Would be cool to find a connection between Gillette and Ames. Ames may have been an early investor in Gillette. Anyone have any extra info?
1903: First Teddy Bear, Ford builds first Model T car for the everyman, first flight by the Wright brothers at Kittyhawk. My how time flies as well. How the heck this razor set survived is beyond me.
ps. Sorry to be so long winded, but I get excited about historical items and their journey through time.
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R
romsitsa
Off topic:
Hello Sledge,
Gillette contracted Townsend and Hunt in July 1903 to market Gillette razors in the US. This became the Gillette Sales Co. (Chicago). They agreed to ship 50.000 razors to the sales house in 15 months.
Now the tricky part:
According to Nickerson (who wrote about the story of the company in the Gillette Blade) the first batch (he could recall) of 50 razors for SALE was shipped to the sales company on 1st of January 1914. He also mentions they shipped a "good many razors and blades" in 1913, but these were for "trials and other purposes".
Don't missunderstand me, but your razor looks a bit rough, so my guess is, it was part of the 1913 deliveries.
Adam
Hello Sledge,
Gillette contracted Townsend and Hunt in July 1903 to market Gillette razors in the US. This became the Gillette Sales Co. (Chicago). They agreed to ship 50.000 razors to the sales house in 15 months.
Now the tricky part:
According to Nickerson (who wrote about the story of the company in the Gillette Blade) the first batch (he could recall) of 50 razors for SALE was shipped to the sales company on 1st of January 1914. He also mentions they shipped a "good many razors and blades" in 1913, but these were for "trials and other purposes".
Don't missunderstand me, but your razor looks a bit rough, so my guess is, it was part of the 1913 deliveries.
Adam
1913? You mean 1903? So this razor and others were sent to potential bigshot investor/manufacturers like Everett Ames as initial workups to be tested and in this case possibly manufactured in Portland? From the other post it looks like the process/product was being refined as these were being shipped out. If so that would make this one very rare indeed, an early pre-sales 1903 sample. Thanks for the details Adam. More please.
Would love to see more examples of these early ones. Anyone?
R
romsitsa
Yep, typo, should be 1903 and 1904. I'd rather say it was sent to Ames by the Sales Co. as a prototype for a later sales contract.
Adam
Adam
Hoffritz slant
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