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Some questions on Vtg soap, TracII, and Hones

I have some questions on some recent (over the weekend) purchases, and thought I would lump them all together here. First of Vintage Williams - I have acquired 3 cakes of vintage Williams (a glastonbury pre 60's, '75 era, and a 2002) and one puck of Old Spice. Which one would you start on first? Will the Williams pretty much be that same, they are all "tallow" first. Second I ran into a "Barbershop" brand TracII/Atra handle. I have seen Barbershop soap and mugs but never a razor. I picked it up for 5 bucks and was just wanting some information. At the same place I got a Lee's favorite hone for the same price as the razor. I don't use straights but was wondering if a Barbers hone could be bad and unusable? My dad was with me and when I picked it up he said he had 2 in his garage from his dad that I could have. One more is about vintage brushes. I won this lot on the bay. the straight looks unusable but really wanted the vintage/modern williams and brush. Is there a way to tell if the brush is usable or should I just look into re-knotting it? Thanks for any help.

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I have the same Barbershop brush, as well as a matching mug and soap. Mine appeared to have never been used, and I really like the brush just as it is. I've been watching for one of the razors to complete the set, congratulations that's a nice haul.
 
I have some questions on some recent (over the weekend) purchases, and thought I would lump them all together here. First of Vintage Williams - I have acquired 3 cakes of vintage Williams (a glastonbury pre 60's, '75 era, and a 2002) and one puck of Old Spice.

I would try the Old Spice first, just because it is so heavily raved about, and heavily prized.

As for the Vintage Williams, I would try them in the order of age. While they might all be tallow first, I suspect you will find the 2002 puck doesn't lather quite as well as the other two. The 2002 is still, however, significantly better than the current version (which is tallow second).

By the way, the razor itself looks like it only takes Trac II style blades, unless there is some sort of slide on adapter that would allow it to fit the pivoting Atra blades.

Also, the Weck straight uses a hair shaper blade readily found at barber suppliers like Sally Beauty. You can shave with it, but use great care.
 
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Thanks Michigan Lover, I was hoping you would chime in (thought about PM'ing you) about the vintage Williams. You are correct about the Atra blades, my mistake. I went back and read the card and it said it will accept Gillette, Schick, and Wilkinson Sword TracII blades.

Thanks HoosierTrooper, I haven't used it (or any tracII) yet but plan on it. If I decide to part with it, I will get a hold of you first. Is there much history to the Barbershop brand? The card that came with the razor says "this razor will accept Gillette, Schick, and Wilkinson Sword Track II blades. In 1980, we will be introducing the BARBERSHOP Track II, which will be a consistently sharp, long lasting blade....."
 
Thanks HoosierTrooper, I haven't used it (or any tracII) yet but plan on it. If I decide to part with it, I will get a hold of you first. Is there much history to the Barbershop brand? The card that came with the razor says "this razor will accept Gillette, Schick, and Wilkinson Sword Track II blades. In 1980, we will be introducing the BARBERSHOP Track II, which will be a consistently sharp, long lasting blade....."

Thanks. The Barbershop shave equipment was made by Franklin Toiletries from New York. Best I can find out is they were around in the 70's and 80's and were sold at places like JC Penney.

I'm currently using a puck of Williams from the Glastonbury plant and it is fabulous. I've also been using some Old Spice soap. It's also very good, and I'm glad I have it but I won't go out of my way to get anymore unless I find some real cheap. I'm up to five pucks of the vintage Williams and I will never quick searching for more of it.
 
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