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A gillette tto with a thicker handle than a Regular super speed, I know it was not a red tip. It was from the early or mid 1960’s. Changed to trac ii when ever it came out.If you are over 60, it is a fair guess that your first razor was a double-edged job. If so, can you remember what it was and if and how you converted to a twin-blade cartridge offering? Mine was a Gillette Slim Twist with a white or ivory handle. I never quarreled with it, but never really developed any great affection for it either. I must have had it for quite some time, before a girlfriend replaced it with the inevitable piece of modern trash.
Very nice story, the best being your grand father’s straightI started shaving around 1970. My dad had to shave for work but he wasn’t very good at it. He used a Schick injector and always emerged with half a dozen bits of TP stuck to his face. With that as an example, I didn’t want a Schick injector.
Dad gave me a few bucks and told me to go to the store and get a razor, blades, brush and soap. I picked a black Gillette adjustable Super Speed. As a teen trying to be a man, I figured that shaving with the razor full open was the only way a real man would shave - that was a mistake. In retrospect, had I gone with one of the non-adjustable razors, I would have had a much better experience.
It didn’t take me long to convert to disposables, then carts as they became available. I got a more comfortable shave with those, but only because I wasn’t using the DE properly. When I went to college, I switched from a brush & soap to canned goo. I migrated through the cart ranks as they came out for a few decades. I had the occasional foray into a Norelco when my wife would get the idea that because Santa rode one in the ads, I needed one for Christmas. Mostly, electrics were a novelty that I hated, but would endure for a few months.
When I hit my early 50s, Gillette abandon the cart system I was using so I went to grab a new kit with a 12 pack of blades and looked at the price. They had finally hit a price point where I just said enough is enough. I had been at the mall a few days earlier and I saw the new Art of Shaving (AOS) store which got me thinking about wet shaving again. I looked online to see what I could find.
I found a Mercur razor and some blades at a reasonable price, I ordered them. My wife wanted to go to the mall, so I tagged along and spent some time in the AOS store. I grabbed a brush and a kit with soap, balm, etc. The brush was a pathetic excuse for a brush, no backbone. The soap was ok, but clearly not worth the price. Half of the balm is sitting unused in my closet. After getting started, I found this web site and have been wet shaving ever since. Despite having a nice collection of mostly vintage razors, DE, SE & straight, my favorite razors are the 1934 Aristocrat with Persona blue blades, a 1912 SE with GEM SS blades & the Feather Artist Club SS with Feather AC Pro blades.
My only family razor is my grandfather’s straight, which i occasionally use.
Gillette's advertising & manufacturing strategy must have been a brilliant ploy, because almost everyone fell for it.A gillette tto with a thicker handle than a Regular super speed, I know it was not a red tip. It was from the early or mid 1960’s. Changed to trac ii when ever it came out.
The trac ii was quicker than the de, Ease and Convenience was what gillette was counting on. It worked.Gillette's advertising & manufacturing strategy must have been a brilliant ploy, because almost everyone fell for it.
Women played a massive role too. They thought cartridge razors were safer to use on their legs. The thing that annoyed me most was that they invariably denied it. Men really do know when someone has used their razor.The trac ii was quicker than the de, Ease and Convenience was what gillette was counting on. It worked.
You got that right, would always find it in the shower. Now she won’t touch my DE, that problem was solvedWomen played a massive role too. They thought cartridge razors were safer to use on their legs. The thing that annoyed me most was that they invariably denied it. Men really do know when someone has used their razor.