Just wondering if anybody can help identify the brand of this handle. Was given to me from a friend of the family after a death in their family with no info, they didn't want it and knew I was "into" shaving. Thanks for looking and any help!
Trac II handle?
- Thread starter cseverhart77
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Purely a very wild guess, but possibly a 70's Avon maybe?
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I have researched what I can and have found at least 3 different brands that look exactly like it, one a colonel clonk, a generic every day razor, and possibly a merkur which I doubt. There are no markings
These were produced in Taiwan by Evernice, there are Avon, Old Spice and Franklin Toiletry versions among others. Evernice still produce the Colonel Conk handles but they do not manufacture the Merkur's. They are a different design.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/464009-Heaviest-trac-2-handle
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/464009-Heaviest-trac-2-handle
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Thanks, I did search and missed that post somehow. Do you know how to tell which is which, or they all the same just sold by different companies?
There are German made Merkur's and then there are made in Taiwan Evernice handles for every other brand. There were gold plated and solid brass versions. Your's looks like an Old Spice model:
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Thanks for the info!
The Old Spice handles had the logo stamped in the lower left side during the casting phase if I remember correctly. That looks like a Franklin Toiletry handle to me.
I thought the Franklin Toiletry/Barbershop handles were in Gold Plate or Chrome only? That doesn't look like Gold to me, I have a Gold Franklin handle...
I had one that looked almost identical from Avon (I think I got it around 1978). I used it for years, but eventually the finish wore off and the metal corroded to the point it wouldn't hold the cartridge anymore. That's when I bought my first 3 blade razor (a mach 3), probably about 10 years ago. I went back to the DE just under 5 years ago.
I could be wrong, but as I recall the Taiwanese manufacturer of the Franklin Toiletry products made several types of similar models for several companies through the mid 70's to late 80's using whatever material specified by the contracting company. Generally brass was used in lower value sets at it was cheaper to produce. Check the "Bay" and you will see loads of un-named handles of the same design or sets with a brush and various types of stands. These sets were generally sold in box stores like Sears. FYI, in case you were unaware, Franklin Toiletries nor Shulton actual produced their own razor. They were produced in Taiwan. I don't recall their name.
In a way, you are correct. The Franklin Toiletry handles were gold or chrome, and the one pictured is brass. However, as I said, they didn't actually produce it. I over simplified my original response by saying it looked like a Franklin Toiletry handle instead of going into a long explanation. I should have said it looked like the type produced for Franklin Toiletry.
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Evernice still makes shaving accessories. For example, there is now a generic razor-and-brush stand going around under several names. Col Conk calls it the Model 775 and it is made by Evernice. WCS and others sell similar looking models, whether by Evernice or some other overseas manufacturer. If you acquired such a stand at a garage sale 40 years down the road, it would be hard knowing what name or brand it originally sold under.
What happened in the 1970s was the Trac II all but took over shaving. Men who previously had fancy DE gift sets were suddenly in the market for Trac II replacements. Just as the DE design was the standard for as long as anyone previously remembered, so too would be the Trac II. Aftermarket participants like Evernice were only too happy to cash in on the revolution. No one had any clue that the Trac II, which by then was considered the compatible shaving handle, would in turn be made "obsolete" by the Atra, which used a pincher design, only to be leapfrogged again by the Sensor, Mach III, and Fusion. The Fusion Proglide was an exception in that it continues to be compatible with pre-existing Fusion cartridges. Maybe Gillette got the warning that they can no longer sucker the masses into whole changes of shaving systems every 10 years.
What happened in the 1970s was the Trac II all but took over shaving. Men who previously had fancy DE gift sets were suddenly in the market for Trac II replacements. Just as the DE design was the standard for as long as anyone previously remembered, so too would be the Trac II. Aftermarket participants like Evernice were only too happy to cash in on the revolution. No one had any clue that the Trac II, which by then was considered the compatible shaving handle, would in turn be made "obsolete" by the Atra, which used a pincher design, only to be leapfrogged again by the Sensor, Mach III, and Fusion. The Fusion Proglide was an exception in that it continues to be compatible with pre-existing Fusion cartridges. Maybe Gillette got the warning that they can no longer sucker the masses into whole changes of shaving systems every 10 years.
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The ProGlide, FlexBall and ProShield are iterations just as the Atra Plus, Sensor Excel, Sensor3, Mach3 Turbo, M3 Power, Mach3 Sensitive were to their original releases. The longest flagship product span has been 13 years with the Atra 1977 to 1990. So from it's release in 2005 the Fusion still has time to be replaced, or be promoted the longest serving flagship product.
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