Gillette DE Detour

I’m moving into this whole straight razor thing a little slow, I’ll admit. However, that’s what this blog is all about – my path (as opposed to any kind of direct path) to classic straight-edge shaving. In my research on razors and shaving, I’ve become enamored with double-edge safety razor shaving. That may be a stop on the journey.

I had to take my lovely wife Lisa to the airport this morning, and I stopped to poke around in some antique stores on the way home. Indeed, I discovered an old Gillette double-edge while spelunking. I don’t know the model – I don’t know that much about them yet, but it’s in great shape and was only $5.00 [since identified as a 1960's era Gillette Super Speed - see Country Joe's Collectible Stuff, a very handy site for DE razor identification]. I saw an identical one in another case, plus a Schick, each marked $8.50, but figured I didn’t need two, let alone three at this point. If I really get the bug, I know where they are.

I found a related item in another store – a neat stainless steel case with the word ‘RAZOR’ embossed on it. At $5, it was too cool to pass up. It’s a simple clamshell case, about the size of a regular bar of bath soap. The Gillette fits perfectly.

I brought razor and case home, cleaned them up with alcohol, and boiled them for five minutes. I loaded the razor with a Wilkinson Sword blade from the pack I picked up the other day. Tomorrow I’ll have my first-ever classic double-edge razor shave in forty years of scraping hair off my face – and I’ll try not to cut my nose, lip, or ear while doing it.