- Thread starter
- #141
I wonder, has anyone attempted to contact Gillette and inquire as to the possibility of snooping around in their archives? Wouldn't there be records that would answer the question?
Mike
Mike
tan tipped SS- real or imagined?
- Thread starter MotoMike
- Start date
they will probobly just send you some information about their current products and a fusion razor, theres probobly a few high end gillette collectors out there that can speak on that razors behalf,
Would appreciate a photo of those with the baseball booklets, if possible, thanks!
OK, understand that all I have is the crummy cell phone camera. Here's three pics; Plan view of the case/razor, plan view of the book, and a shot of the open case. Color balance is waaaay off.
View attachment $1214072116.jpg
View attachment 14234
View attachment 14235
-- John Gehman
Very nice.
Thank you! This is awesome!
Achim I thought you had one of those. Didn't you post a photo some time back asking about it and we came to the conclusion it was a long handle Aristocrat? Can't find the thread of course.
Mark, I´ve never seen him before, but he is very beautiful! It is unbelievable, but still so many pieces in my collection are missing to me
Here's another "one-of-a-kind" that I recently obtained, I believe was the same source as Jimmys long Aristocrat. This is a 1913 set by the stamped code (C372965). Gold plated. Notice the lower handle piece, very different from the standard. The strucure of the inner shaft (identical with any of its peers) and how the pieces perfectly fit together make me think it was not a post-production modification. Anyone seen this before?
Arik, I have a feeling that long ago King Gillette was way ahead of his time in that he would produce special handles in a short run for things like hollidays or other gift giving times of the year that were extravagant in the same way as the crystal or solid gold Trac II handles are. Later they were produced by third parties but early on Gillette could have made them themselves.
Or they could have been produced for employees or as salesman's gifts. There are quite a few examples of those out and about. Of course since it is from 1913 there were few records kept about why there would be a different handle in a known set. They would have made them, given them out and then forgotten to document it for future collectors
On one of the other boards there was a current Gillette employee who said that at the headquarters there was a display of some of the old razors and marketing pieces. It was not in a public area so if you just popped in you wouldn't see it. I did ask a few times to get some pics but he felt he was getting flamed because he kept touting the newest Gillette products and that the old DE's and soap/creams should be in museums not in use. He did try a 70's Style SS and some Fusion Gel and said he thought the shave was rather harsh and couldn't understand what all the DE fuss was about. He also insisted on using the Gillette blades that came in the SS pack so that didn't help. He wouldn't think of buying Wilks or Derbys or IPs. That went against his Gillette company man attitude.
Long story but I just meant that Gillette HQ has never really cared about preserving or archiving the past except to create business models and promotional history, of which they do very well at.
Or they could have been produced for employees or as salesman's gifts. There are quite a few examples of those out and about. Of course since it is from 1913 there were few records kept about why there would be a different handle in a known set. They would have made them, given them out and then forgotten to document it for future collectors
On one of the other boards there was a current Gillette employee who said that at the headquarters there was a display of some of the old razors and marketing pieces. It was not in a public area so if you just popped in you wouldn't see it. I did ask a few times to get some pics but he felt he was getting flamed because he kept touting the newest Gillette products and that the old DE's and soap/creams should be in museums not in use. He did try a 70's Style SS and some Fusion Gel and said he thought the shave was rather harsh and couldn't understand what all the DE fuss was about. He also insisted on using the Gillette blades that came in the SS pack so that didn't help. He wouldn't think of buying Wilks or Derbys or IPs. That went against his Gillette company man attitude.
Long story but I just meant that Gillette HQ has never really cared about preserving or archiving the past except to create business models and promotional history, of which they do very well at.
OTOH, hypothetically speaking, of course, perhaps the author is simply mistaken. Or maybe a little hesitant to admit the oversight of printing "facts" without verifying them.
The odds, thousands of SS photos without the tan paint, suggest it's a myth.
CJB
I wouldn't be too hasty to dismiss Mr. Krumholz's work. He has been researching Gillette history for many, many years. If he says it's out there, I believe him. Now if I could just find one, mint in the case, for five bucks . . .
Norm
I wouldn't be too hasty to dismiss Mr. Krumholz's work. He has been researching Gillette history for many, many years. If he says it's out there, I believe him. Now if I could just find one, mint in the case, for five bucks . . .
Norm
Oh, he knows infinitely more on the subject than I do. That's for sure. I simply play the odds. That's all. No disrespect to the author or his work.
And if you find one for five bucks, I'll buy it for ten! (Maybe even twelve if you twist my arm.)
Christopher
- Thread starter
- #152
OH Boy............?? 
Awe.............. Every time I see this thread get a bump, I hope to dial in and see the holy grail.... Not today, I guess.
Mike
My sense is that there's a better chance of seeing a fat man in a red suit riding a sleigh pulled Rudolph next week than there is of seeing a tan tip...
Is that a "never ending story" ? I love this forum.Well then the odds are very good because I just saw him last week! Of course the sled was on a parade float but yep that sure was a fat man in a red suit riding a sleigh pulled by Rudolph and 8 other reindeer!
Ok smarty pants - were the reindeer actually pulling the sled or was there some form of mechanized transport involved - if there was, its not the same guy
Coming soon: "Indiana Jones and the tan-coloured Superspeed"
- Thread starter
- #158
When I first heard of this mythical razor, my first thought was: "I can see why they are rare, that is a right homely combination."
I thought that if they made them, production would be short because no one would want them. But as I have seen too many times to count here in these threads, everyone sees it differently.
So was I wrong? Tan tip on chrome.... Ugly or not?
Mike
I thought that if they made them, production would be short because no one would want them. But as I have seen too many times to count here in these threads, everyone sees it differently.
So was I wrong? Tan tip on chrome.... Ugly or not?
Mike
Mike,
You are so very right. My first reaction was also quite similar. Something along the lines of, "good thing it came in plain silver too." Because I can't figure anyone wanting a razor to have a tan colored painted tip. Honestly, that is one of the reasons I don't believe it exists as a production razor. Gillette just isn't usually that lacking in marketing savvy.
-Mo
You are so very right. My first reaction was also quite similar. Something along the lines of, "good thing it came in plain silver too." Because I can't figure anyone wanting a razor to have a tan colored painted tip. Honestly, that is one of the reasons I don't believe it exists as a production razor. Gillette just isn't usually that lacking in marketing savvy.
-Mo
I think that it would look quite ugly too, so it is ok for me not to own one. Especially because of the price one would fetch if it truly existed.
The other coloured tips are red and blue. Would it not be more natural to choose a different colour -say green- for another tip than tan?
The other coloured tips are red and blue. Would it not be more natural to choose a different colour -say green- for another tip than tan?
