I have 2 old Gillette razors . A 1920 Pocket Edition and a 1930 New De Luxe that could pass for new. I often think when I shave with them, where have they been, how many people have owned them, has anyone famous used them and what were things like when they were brand new? Anyone else?
Vintage Gillettes .You ever think about it?
- Thread starter robertj298
- Start date
lasta
Blade Biter
Not really, a razor is a razor, and I appreciate it for what it is.
Fun to read up on history and its production/distribution/marketing. But, having asked a similar question in the past, providence is not something I would be interested in. Unless of-course, a certain B.M New Improved Deluxe Set floating around (hint hint @Dyllern) actually once belonged to Mussolini.
I've had a service issue English Tech that looks like it had been tortured. I Also bid on Techs sold by a Vietnamese. Sometimes I'd rather not know.
Fun to read up on history and its production/distribution/marketing. But, having asked a similar question in the past, providence is not something I would be interested in. Unless of-course, a certain B.M New Improved Deluxe Set floating around (hint hint @Dyllern) actually once belonged to Mussolini.
I've had a service issue English Tech that looks like it had been tortured. I Also bid on Techs sold by a Vietnamese. Sometimes I'd rather not know.
I have many vintage razors and only one modern one. The former owners of centennial razors are long gone. Horror! Well, okay about the sad. I am attracted by the rustle of a bygone era that reaches for a razor. Although the imagination rarely draws something. Occasionally there were vintage cars and openings of Egyptian tombs. And now WW2, since I myself have had a war in the country for almost a year.
You might be interested...
www.badgerandblade.com
Archeology
Hello, I would like to know if anyone has found archaeological finds in the form of razors? For example, a Valet, similar to the 1910-1913 model, and the rarest double Gillette ring on the planet were found near the Titanic. Also, my friends at the regional historical forum found razors in the...
www.badgerandblade.com
I think about that every single day when I look at my razor collection and when I use one of them for my shave. I have been very fortunate so I own razors directly from Gillette's museum, NOS specimens and multiple sets with initials. Most of the razors' past owners will forever be unknown to me, but it will always be interesting to think about how they managed to survive all these years.
Of course some of the more expensive sets and especially the heavy engraved ones makes you wonder about which wealthy men owned these back in the day. But to me it's just as interesting that a person 70-80 years ago who used eg. a Fat handle 'Tech' had a razor which we in 2022 pretty much can't beat. It's a bit sad but on the other hand fantastic just as many other aspects of this hobby
Of course some of the more expensive sets and especially the heavy engraved ones makes you wonder about which wealthy men owned these back in the day. But to me it's just as interesting that a person 70-80 years ago who used eg. a Fat handle 'Tech' had a razor which we in 2022 pretty much can't beat. It's a bit sad but on the other hand fantastic just as many other aspects of this hobby
Unfortunately, vintage and antique hobbies are associated with death. It's really sad to think about an unknown person and his fate while holding his thing in his hands. Someday, our things will also go to collections. From razors to cars. Like our nicknames and avatars on the forums, after many many years they will look at the visitor with an unblinking look like statues in tombs. And the inscription last user activity 80 or 100 years ago. It's better not to think about it.
All vintage brands, not just Gillette!
I think about the era, the music that was played, the apartment -- not the man, whenever I use a DPR (Dead Person's Razor).
I sometimes wonder about how mine managed to survive, especially nice pre-war sets.
I think about the era, the music that was played, the apartment -- not the man, whenever I use a DPR (Dead Person's Razor).
I sometimes wonder about how mine managed to survive, especially nice pre-war sets.
Glory and best wishes to the brave people of Ukraine!
Thank you. May the Force be with us.
While it is sad, on the other hand I think that person would be happy to know that their previous possession is used, loved, and taken care of instead of rotting away at the bottom of a landfill. The same could be said for almost any antique. I saved my great great grandmother's treadle sewing machine from the dumpster when my grandpa was cleaning his house.
I do wonder sometimes if my older razors had more than one previous owner, if they sat in the back of a drawer for decades, if it may have been a Christmas gift... things like that.
I often ponder who the previous owners were.
I have only one vintage razor I can positively id as having been sent to a customer by Gillette during his first attempts to raise interest and money. G.E. Ames of the Portland Chamber of Commerce was sent at least 2 patent applied for double ring sets in 1904. The ribbon in the case is overlaid with a custom ribbon with his name and position. I managed to snag one of them. Not sure where the other one is but it is out there somewhere. I looked Ames up. He was a mover and shaker in the growing port city of Portland. A perfect candidate to receive and promote the first Gillette razors.
The other razor in my collection I wonder about most is a 1932 Tuckaway set. The case bears my initials (all 3) factory engraved by Gillette almost a century ago. My eyes popped when I saw it. I wonder who the owner was? Was he like me? From the placement of the initials I can tell he was left handed like I am. I get a strange connected across time feeling every time I use it.
Since I found those I wonder about every set I own now.
I have only one vintage razor I can positively id as having been sent to a customer by Gillette during his first attempts to raise interest and money. G.E. Ames of the Portland Chamber of Commerce was sent at least 2 patent applied for double ring sets in 1904. The ribbon in the case is overlaid with a custom ribbon with his name and position. I managed to snag one of them. Not sure where the other one is but it is out there somewhere. I looked Ames up. He was a mover and shaker in the growing port city of Portland. A perfect candidate to receive and promote the first Gillette razors.
The other razor in my collection I wonder about most is a 1932 Tuckaway set. The case bears my initials (all 3) factory engraved by Gillette almost a century ago. My eyes popped when I saw it. I wonder who the owner was? Was he like me? From the placement of the initials I can tell he was left handed like I am. I get a strange connected across time feeling every time I use it.
Since I found those I wonder about every set I own now.
My friend..... I will bet you even money that YOU are a time traveler!
That ABC that you gave me is a favorite, even though my initials are not ABC. Incredible shave every time.
I have similar thoughts when I pick stone arrowheads out of cornfields.
They tend to be thousands of years old.
Now that is a cool connection. I imagine the owner was busy trying to bag some game, meanwhile we are sitting on the couch in front of the TV waiting for the microwave to ding. When they find artifacts from our time I wonder what they will tell about us? Is our current state of evolution represented by anything that will last long enough and be worth digging up in a thousand years? Methinks our mark on the planet will be plastic garbage.
I have a well worn Gillette late model fatboy, shaves great.
But sometimes when I look at it I can picture a short dumpy guy shaving with it in front of an old sink and cracked mirror while listening to Howard Cosell give play by play football coverage on an old AM radio siting on the vanity next to the sink.
But sometimes when I look at it I can picture a short dumpy guy shaving with it in front of an old sink and cracked mirror while listening to Howard Cosell give play by play football coverage on an old AM radio siting on the vanity next to the sink.
I like to imagine that my Old Type started its life in a WWI soldier's dopp kit. So in honor of that I got this little beauty...
Spearhead Safety Razor Case
Manufacturers of the Spearhead Safety Razor Case - a modern reproduction of a wet shaving classic. Inspired by History. Built to last. Made in the USA.
spearheadshaving.com
-Z
I have two that were single owner before me. My grandfather's.
The rest of mine I know were owned by the Duke, Elvis, James Dean, Grant, Gable, Bogart, etc. Unfortunately I lost the paperwork...
The rest of mine I know were owned by the Duke, Elvis, James Dean, Grant, Gable, Bogart, etc. Unfortunately I lost the paperwork...
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