More Old Stuff

Found these in a local antique store yesterday. First up, a bakelite handled Gillette Tech. It's in fairly nice condition, except for one chip in the base of the handle. It would make a pretty good daily shaver.



The same trip also yielded this nice old shaving mug. Nothing fancy, just a good solid mug about 100 years old, give or take.

Old Style Safety Razor

Had a close brush with a relapse of Acquisition Disorder yesterday. Lisa and I decided to run into the antiquing district of the suburb where she grew up. We just wanted to do a little quick shopping - to see what was fresh in the shops there.

We stumbled on one shop just off the main street that's been there for about six years. We'd never seen it before! At least we had never recognized it for what it was. I asked the guy if he had any shaving gear and he was able to dig up an old Gillette Old Style Safety Razor.



In an act that was generosity itself, he GAVE it to me!

Unfortunately, the handle is pretty badly split, as you can see in the photo above. The handle is so loose it falls off from its own weight. And there's a smaller split on the other side, coming up from the base end of the handle tube.

Not very usable in this condition.

I'll clean it up anyway, and test shave with it, using a handle from a spare Tech that I have. If it shaves well, I'll see about fixing it. I'll either glue the handle or check with my machinist buddy Nick about machining a new handle.

If it ends up being a good shaver, it'd be fun to have a nice fat handle that's easy to grip. I have visions of beautiful, high profile barber pole knurling.

Shave of the Day - Late December

I've been slowly working my way thru a bundle of blades a friend sent me about a year ago.

Slowly because I only shave once or twice a week (blasphemous of course, but SWMBO likes the stubble), and I alternate between my 1961 Super Speed and a 1940's Tech.

Well, I've gone thru Wilkinsons, Derbys, 7 O'clocks, and... well... I was feeling a little like I had a two digit IQ or something. I could never really tell the difference between blade brands - although thankfully I could distiguish between the two razors loaded with the same brand of blade.

Finishing up a brace of 7 O'Clocks, I reached into backstock for the next candidate.

"What came to the top of the pile?" you ask?

Ya, yoo-betcha... the Feathers.

Loaded one in each razor and had at it with the SS.

"Holy SHIT, Batman!!!"

I had weepers galore, even though I'd been careful to use zero pressure. Overall, the shave was terrifically irregular - caused mostly by the shock of the operator, I'm sure.

Most of all, I felt a strong regret that I hadn't chosen the milder Tech for the first test drive.

More New Stuff or, "I'm Buying and I Can't Stop!"

Gold Rush Days in Oronoco, MN last weekend. This is a huge flea market / antique fair, and there's a sister show that's similar just down the road in Rochester the same weekend.

Sure enough, my Acquisition Disorder kicked in again.

In Oronoco on Friday I made off with three DE razors (1960s Super Speed with case, 1960s Adjustable with case, and a Thick Handle Tech), an Old Spice mug, and a reference book of 1000 straight razors priced and illustrated. Total spend - $19.00.

Saturday in Rochester I did even better: three razors - a nickel plated Ball-end Tech (appears new & unused, with thick paper insert showing where the blade goes, but has some pitting), a Fat Boy Adjustable, and an older gold tone Ball-end Tech in Bakelite case. Total spend - $7.00.

All razors except the 1960s Super Speed will require some clean-up. That particular razor looks to be new-in-the-case. Even has a metal pack of blades still sealed in cellophane.

Better pix to follow!

Shave of the Day - Aug. 16

This load of Derbys is reaching the end of its life. I have one in both the Tech (which I used for this shave) and the Super Speed.

I've lost count of how many shaves I've gotten out of them - probably ten apiece.

I keep lovin' the Arko. I'm craving the fragrance!

Shave of the Day - Jan. 24

The ShaveMyFace.com resident blade connoisseur, Squire, sent me a stick of Arko Shave Soap a couple of weeks ago (along with a nice sampling of blades and a couple of vials of cologne - see below. Many thanks, Squire!). Due to circumstances I only got to trying it this morning.

I followed his advice and chopped and mushed it up and pressed it into a mug. I have to say, using the trusty Tweezerman brush, I was able to whip up a MUCH better lather than I have with the Williams I've been using up to this point. Went on my face nice & thick, and stayed. There was enough lather left in the mug for a second pass, and even a third, even though I don't do three. The lather remained nice & thick all the way through my second pass as well, another plus. Having the lather thin out or collapse during my second pass has been an issue with the Williams.

All in all, a nice close shave with my Gillette Gold Tech loaded with a Wilkinson blade, and the Arko.

Even more to my delight, the Arko did this at a time when I all of a sudden realized my water softener was out of salt and we've been bathing with a fine clear limestone dust instead of actual liquid H2O. Can't wait to shave again when the water goes soft in a day or two.

One last thing - this stuff is about $1.33 per stick when purchased in bulk (15 sticks) from Amazon.com.

Shave of the Day - Jan. 1

I used the NOS Gillette Gold Tech again this morning, but I was in a hurry. I therefore did not get nearly as good a shave as I usually do. Not nearly as close, even though it was a two-pass shave, and several small nicks - totally my fault, not the razor's.

A new acquaintance on one of the shaving forums is generously sending me a small sampling of blades to try. I'll try these in both the Tech and the SS.

I've also learned a few details about refurbishing a brush with a new hair knot. So that's one more thing to be watching for in the antique stores - old brushes with neat handles. It seems to be a fairly inexpensive proposition to re-knot these things.

New Goodies

Lisa and I took the day yesterday and sent spelunking in our favorite antique haunt, Stillwater, MN. I came home with some new-old goodies - a Gillette Tech razor and a silverplate shaving cup/ scuttle.

The gold tone Tech seems to be unused and in near pristine condition. There are just a few minor marks that seem to be from handling, certainly not from shaving use. I don't know a lot about these, and always thought they predated the butterfly safety razors, however, a quick check of the internet indicated that it could be a vintage as recent as the 1970's.

Here are a couple of photos for your viewing pleasure:

The shaving cup/ scuttle is another story. I don't know much about scuttles and thus, I don't know for sure how function follows form in this instance. It's two-piece, with a main cup and a shallow bowl insert that I assume is for a cake of shaving soap. Comments are welcome here, in case anyone has more info on origin or usage.

The halmark on the bottom indicates the cup was manufactured by the Eureka Silver Co. (I haven't researched it yet) and is quadruple plated. The number 260 is also stamped on the bottom near the halmark - perhaps a production run number?

Also, the initials JFY or JYF are engraved on the cup, obviously by hand as there is a slight tilt to the engraving orientation. I apologize for the slight glare in the photo.

Here are some photos:

Let me know what you think!