"TV Special"

[Just looking]

Hello Folks,

I was lucky enough to snag what I believe to be a NOS, TV Special. The case says, "Made in the USA". The razor itself says "Made in England" and the instructions say "Made in Canada". Here's where my question comes in. I'm a little confused as to weather or not this would be considered a Rocket. Can any of you confirm this for me? I have searched the forums and end up being more confused I am unsure because it seems to be different than the Rocket that I use for my daily shave. It's a little lighter and the head seems a little different.

Any info would be great. If it would help, I'll see if I can post some pictures later on.

Thanks,
Wayne

 

[redbike]

A picture of this razor would almost certainly lead to its identification by a member here.

Looking forward to seeing it.

jim

 

[Just looking]

OK. This is the first time that I have posted a photo. It took about 40 pictures to get something that is reasonable. I guess I will need some more practice. The serial number for this one is 694093. There is also a letter stamped on the underside of the head of O, I think.

 

[Just looking]

Not sure what happened there. Lets try again

[/IMG]

Hooray

That only took me 23 minutes to figure out.

Wayne

 

[jeffb]

It looks like a Rocket to me.

 

[DustBow]

+1

 

[redbike]

Wayne,

Well I don't believe that's a TV razor. Here's a link to a sale of three of these razors in the B/S/T forum here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=24917

You can see that your razor is quite different. Someone else will have to identify it .

Nice looking though. Have you shaved with it?

jim

 

[paydepst]

Wayne, what you have is a very nice English Rocket probably manufactured in the early fifties. They are fine shavers. It is in a mismatched case. That is a 1958 TV SuperSpeed case. How those Canadian instructions ended up with it is beyond me. Are they instructions for the TV SuperSpeed or just a Gillette razor in general as I fancy they were stuck in there by the seller for the sake of completion.
That being said the British market did receive a Rocket version of the 1958 TV SuperSpeed but it was not called a TV SuperSpeed in Britain doubtless because the British feared they might have to buy a licence for it too!
Anyway here's a picture of mine in the original case-

 

[Taz]

Wayne, what you have is a very nice English Rocket probably manufactured in the early fifties. They are fine shavers. It is in a mismatched case. That is a 1958 TV SuperSpeed case. How those Canadian instructions ended up with it is beyond me. Are they instructions for the TV SuperSpeed or just a Gillette razor in general as I fancy they were stuck in there by the seller for the sake of completion.
That being said the British market did receive a Rocket version of the 1958 TV SuperSpeed but it was not called a TV SuperSpeed in Britain doubtless because the British feared they might have to buy a licence for it too!
Anyway here's a picture of mine in the original case-

Show off

 

[Exapno]

That being said the British market did receive a Rocket version of the 1958 TV SuperSpeed but it was not called a TV SuperSpeed in Britain doubtless because the British feared they might have to buy a licence for it too!

Laughed out loud at that one

 

[Gatorade]

Can you post a pic of the bottom of the blade pack? The blades look sealed and sometimes they had instructions in the pack as well. Also I believe the Rockets were available in Canada so that would explain the instructions. I have never seen that razor in that case.

There is another TV razor, the one in the blue case. Discussion here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27140

 

[VR6ofpain]

OMG! How rare is that "TV Rocket" you have? That is the first I have seen of that. How cool!

 

[Just looking]

Thanks for the information. Here are a couple more pictures to add. The one with the box is a little hard to read. Here's what it says.

GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR CO.
MONTREAL
A DIVISION OF
GILLETTE OF CANADA LIMITED
PATENTED 1954

Nice looking though. Have you shaved with it?

Iv'e been able to hold back trying it. I'm lucky enough to have another one that I use for daily shaving It is my favorite razor. If the handle was a little thicker, it would be darn near perfect. It's also heavier by about 20g's than the one pictured. Are there different types of Rockets?

Looks like a generic set of instructions.

Thanks again,

Wayne

 

[Finnigan]

I have a superspeed that came in a white case like that. how do I know if it is a "TV Superspeed?"

 

[VR6ofpain]

The difference between a Super-Speed and a TV is the handle. The normal one had a "checkered board" sort of handle, whereas the TV has straight lines only.

Here are two photos to help.

Super-Speed:

TV Special:

(on right side):

 

[Finnigan]

Ah! Thanks! I'll have to take a look tonight.

 

[Just looking]

The difference between a Super-Speed and a TV is the handle. The normal one had a "checkered board" sort of handle, whereas the TV has straight lines only.

Here are two photos to help.

Super-Speed:

TV Special:

(on right side):

Hi Gabe,

Where is the case made for the razor on the right?
As noted above in my photo, the case says "Made In Canada". Are you aware of a TV Superspeed made for the Canadian market?
I sent Gillette an email to see if they can confirm this for me. Hopefully I'll get a response.

My set up looks like the razor on the left in the box on the right.

 

[paydepst]

The photo that Gabe posted there is one I took of my 1954 TV SuperSpeed and my 1958 TV SuperSpeed. It's doubtful that you will get a helpful reply from Gillette as they aren't the least bit interested in the history of their DE razors. Their focus is on hawking the latest Fusion.
You have an English Rocket from the early to mid fifties in a 1958 TV SuperSpeed case with a set of Canadian instructions for the razor. I believe Charlie is correct in that the Rockets were manufactured for the Canadian market so those instructions may be original to the razor. As far as I know no TV SSs were sold to the Canadian market. Regardless, do keep us posted in the event Gillette does respond.

 

[Just looking]

The photo that Gabe posted there is one I took of my 1954 TV SuperSpeed and my 1958 TV SuperSpeed. It's doubtful that you will get a helpful reply from Gillette as they aren't the least bit interested in the history of their DE razors. Their focus is on hawking the latest Fusion.
You have an English Rocket from the early to mid fifties in a 1958 TV SuperSpeed case with a set of Canadian instructions for the razor. I believe Charlie is correct in that the Rockets were manufactured for the Canadian market so those instructions may be original to the razor. As far as I know no TV SSs were sold to the Canadian market. Regardless, do keep us posted in the event Gillette does respond.
__________________

Thanks. I didn't hold much hope of receiving a response. Worth a shot though, I guess.

I don't mean to keep flogging a dead horse here. I guess the thing that is confusing me is that the case says "TV" and has the info on it that I noted above, in the second set of pictures. It appears that this case was produced for the Canadian market. I assume that there would be a matching razor.

 

[paydepst]

Thanks. I didn't hold much hope of receiving a response. Worth a shot though, I guess.

I don't mean to keep flogging a dead horse here. I guess the thing that is confusing me is that the case says "TV" and has the info on it that I noted above, in the second set of pictures. It appears that this case was produced for the Canadian market. I assume that there would be a matching razor.

Well I didn't see what the bottom of that case said. Hmmm! I can see why you were perplexed now. Well maybe Gillette did market a TV in Canada-using a Rocket. It looks like you may have a Canadian SuperSpeed after all or at least the case for one. Beyond that I really can't be of much help. Maybe some of the other gurus might want to weigh in on this.