Super Speed Razors: The Post World War II Shaving Culture in America to 1955

[KeenDogg]

With some very helpful information from Tony Brown I now have a shiny home for my Super Speed.

Before:View attachment 796519

After:View attachment 796520

The one scratch you see on the left side is on the inside and I just couldn't reach it. Anyway the rest of the case came looking great in person.

A big thanks to Tony for taking the time to put together the information he sent me.

Wonderful job! It's good to know him!

 

[mgbbrown]

Back at you Sir! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[Roderick]

A trip down memory lane this morning, taking the 55 Red Tip out for a spin. She was fueled up with a Vintage Gillette, and really broke loose on the slickness created by the Rubberset Silvertip and Ghost Town Barber (my this is great soap). I finished the trip with some English Leather. A Tepco vintage china coffee mug hung out with us this morning as well. Have a blessed day gentlemen.

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: Gillette Red Tip A2
Blade: Gillette White Dispenser
Brush: Rubberset Vintage Silvertip
Lather: Chiseled Face Ghost Town Barber
Aftershave: English Leather Vintage
Additional Care:
Forever Gentleman's Pride AS & Skin Conditioner

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[mgbbrown]

Wonderful photograph Roderick! I also pulled my Red Tip out this week, as there has been much discussion about its efficiency on the site as of late. I too had a wonderful shave, as it also reminds me of my father and his B4 Red Tip Super Speed. It is nice to look back to a quieter time in our lives through our razors.

It is also nice to see your TEPCO China mug. I can only imagine just how bustling a place that was in WWII, as their contract production was staggering for all branches of the service. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[Roderick]

Thanks Tony. I have so enjoyed your history lessons from the era of the superspeeds. I really liked how a simple item as a china coffee mug played a role during the war and in the years after. I had thought that if I included the mug you would know something about the company. There are not a whole lot of those cups out there in the wild. Thank you for your knowledge, and that is a fine Red Tip you have there.

 

[mgbbrown]

Thank you Roderick! The Red Tip Super Speed in the photograph belonged to my father, who used it daily from its purchase in 1956-1957 (the razor itself is date coded B4) until the advent of the Trac II in 1972. It was his only razor for over two decades, and I never remember seeing a nick from a shaving accident, although I did find a small bottle of Sani-Styp when we were cleaning out the house to sell after my mother passed away last September. My personal Red Tip is an A2, and is a wonderful shaver.

El Cerrito, where TEPCO was situated within the San Francisco Bay area, was part of a central staging point for the war in the Pacific. UCLA Berkley's Physic's Department isolated Plutonium chemically in February of 1941, and we know the outcome of course and how that incident changed our lives altogether. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Received a NOS 6 blade dispenser w/instructions today. So my question is, does this make my TV Special period correct?

 

[mgbbrown]

Alpha Frank; Yes indeed Sir! Beautiful TV Special too! Gillette began placing six blade, Blue Blade dispensers in razor cases in 1955, corresponding with the introduction of the Blue Tip for light beard growth; the Flare Tip for moderate beard growth, and the Red Tip Super Speed for thick beard growth. By limiting the number of blades to six, the initial purchase of Blue Blades hopefully would occur sooner with a ten blade or twenty blade purchase. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[robertj298]

Very interesting read after finding this NOS B4 Super Speed. I think I'll just keep it in the box for show.

 

[mgbbrown]

Thank you Robert! It is not every day that one comes across an unused early Gillette Flare Tip- sixty-one years after it was manufactured in Boston! In your thread on asking folks what they would do with this razor- I was in the camp to use it carefully once or twice for the experience. You have decided to preserve it, and that is also a good decision and I applaud you for that. Gillette made millions of these, and despite the numbers, they will remain collectable in such pristine condition. The paper insert which says REGULAR was designed to attach to the TTO knob opening. This denotes that the Flare Tip was the razor in the series designed for moderate, or regular beard growth. Because this razor design captured the vast majority of the shaving market, Gillette produced the Flare Tip in vast numbers, eclipsing many other models from 1954- 1966. If your beard is a medium growth one, locating a nice Flare Tip would be worthwhile, and nice examples can be had for not much geld. The head is smaller on the 1954 version, and for my smaller under-nose area, suits my face and beard type well. The early version identical to your razor, dating from 1955 to 1959, has quite a following, and has excellent user reviews. You will not be disappointed Sir! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[KeenDogg]

Bump for posterity.

 

[mgbbrown]

Thank you Adam! As things continue to settle down at the Brown house- much more can be added to the thread. It remains useful as a compendium of early Super Speeds, and interesting for their historical significance to many here on the site. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Whether or not it gets put back as a sticky, there's more than enough interest in this thread to keep it at or near the top of the DE razor list. Long Live the Gillette Super Speed!

 

[mgbbrown]

Thank you Alha Frank! Those are indeed kind words Sir! God Bless! Tony Brown mgbbrown

 

[ColonelHogan]

This thread is one of the best ever on this site. It is entertaining, and the level of research and contextualization of these razors to the time period ia as good as a lot of things that pass for academic scholarship. It should be pinned if for no other reason than that it serves as a model for future efforts of a similar nature.

 

[mgbbrown]

Thank you Colonel Hogan! You Sir are the gentleman and scholar, as I have yet learned to type well, and have no excuse, not even cataracts... The proof is just a reply away, and my apologies Alpha Frank! As with any cultural period- there were cultural drivers. The early Super Speed period was indeed complex, and its exploration is a window to what was to occur in America during the tumultuous 1960's. Americans were proud of their wares, and Gillette carried that tradition of excellence forward. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[Esetter]

I, too, while never posting in this thread till now, refer often as I'm quite taken with the Super Speed in all of it's variations over the years. Thanks to Tony and all the contributors, it remains a source of enlightenment and entertainment.

 

[mgbbrown]

Thank you Esetter and thank you for posting! I am glad that this thread has been a source of razor enlightenment as well as entertaining! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[eustace28]

Fascinating thread MGB Brown. I just finished reading through the whole thread last night and thought I would post my experience with these razors as I just recently found them.



I switched to a DE razor about a year and a half ago, started out with a Merkur 34c and while the razor worked great for me I wanted something with some history. I have ended up purchasing several Gillette’s looking for one that could replace my Merkur and it was quite the trip. Ended up first finding a Gillette slim and later a Gillette new improved but neither of these worked well enough for me to unseat the Merkur as my daily razor. Then tried a pre war heavy handle tech and we were getting closer but not quite there yet.



Then Monday I broke out a 1948-1950 no date code super speed that I had found in an antique store several weeks ago. What an amazing shave that was, couldn’t have been happier with it and I had found a vintage razor that was perfect for me. Later on during the day I happened to stop at an antique store and what do they have but what I assume is a 1948-1950 no date code aristocrat. Well that of course had to come home with me.



The aristocrat seems to need an adjustment or something. I soaked it in soapy water for a day but the twist to open seems to still be a bit stiff. I’m not sure if the doors are lining up perfectly, when fully open one seems to be loose. The shave however was also wonderful, so I will need to figure out how to get the razor sorted out.



I don’t think the case or the blade cases that came with the super speed are correct, and the aristocrat was purchased without a case.



Now to get this back on track for the thread. I found the information and stories fascinating, which was made even more so as my father was born in 1953. I think I am going to have to work on tracking down some Y1 razors. From what I can tell it looks like I am going to be looking for a super speed, milord, and president. My father has used electric razors for years, and doesn’t have any of my grandfather’s razors so I’m out of luck on the family heirloom razor. But I figure getting the birth year and possibly quarter razor will take me back in time and would be a nice homage to my father. As he recently retired I attempted to get him into a DE razor, but he expressed no interest. Thank you again for all the effort you put into this thread.

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[mgbbrown]

Thank you so much for posting your experiences with Super Speeds Eustace! Beautiful razors too! I know that your father would truly appreciate a birth year Gillette Super Speed from you! If you post a photograph of your no date code Super Speed showing the inside of the head with the blade silo doors open- we can ball-park the date for you. My guess is it is a 1949, which will have a flat head rivet and PAT NOS on PACKAGE. The case pictured with your razor is for a 1954 Flare Tip. Do save the dispensers- they appear to have been used as razor blade banks. The six blade dispenser was part of a razor and case package.

Again, thank you for posting. My hopes are that this thread will not lay dormant now that it is no longer stickied. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown