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Toggle lovers Club/TLC. Post all things Toggles here+ pics and tips

I would imagine one of two reasons. Either they were less expensive to make, or the Fatboy design proved to be more durable. My guess would have to be the former. The Red Dot Fatboy was a combination of the two, but for whatever reason, Gillette only released a handful of them. My best hypothesis is that the Red Dot Fatboy was more durable than the standard Fatboy, but much more expensive to product. Just conjecture, though.
 
You'll never believe what my Dad gave me...


Hi, Mike here... I've been DE shaving for 2 months, And already I have had RAD... Started with a Merkur 23C, picked up a slim adjustable on eBay which I have had some troubles with, and just bought a Jagger DE89L...

My Dad has an old Blue Tip (turns out it is from 1956) that he uses to have Mom shave his neck with (he is basically a Sasquatch...;-) ). I asked if I could borrow it to try it out. He somewhat grudgingly acceded, and then said, "You know, I have an old gold razor somewhere in the basement; I want the Blue Tip back but you can have the gold one..." I had no idea what to expect. Low and behold... He gives me a D1 Toggle!! In very good condition! Holy smokes! I whipped out the smartphone to check eBay, I told him what it was worth... And he said, "Yea. OK. It's yours now!"

I am trying it out tomorrow...

i'll post pics of it tomorrow...

2 questions... When you adjust it, should you loosen it to the rinse position, like with the Fat Boy or Slim turning the TTO a quarter turn? And the adjustment mechanism is offering a fair bit of resistance... Mineral oil bath?

thanks, Mike
 
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2 questions... When you adjust it, should you loosen it to the rinse position, like with the Fat Boy or Slim turning the TTO a quarter turn? And the adjustment mechanism is offering a fair bit of resistance... Mineral oil bath?
Yes, to both of your questions.

After half a century in the basement, its not surprising that the mechanism would be a little stiff. I'm sure a good cleaning is in order. Don't over-do it, though. A good soak in dish soap or Simple Green should be all it needs, a little scrubbing with a toothbrush and a good rinse. I'm not sure if Barbicide is harmful to a golf finish, but I wouldn't risk it. A few minutes in Isopropyl Acholhol should kill any germs, and then you're good to go.

That's an incredible score. Not only do you get one of the rarest, most desirable vintage Gillettes, but its a Family Heirloom to boot!

Congrats!
 
Thanks! Here are some pics... please excuse the soap scum on my holder... she is locked and loaded for tomorrow! $20140701_233953.jpg
$20140701_234423.jpg
 
^^^^Mike that's awesome! Yaaay for dad! Love stories like this. Go easy on the cleaning as others have said. Also a cleaning tip. Take a Q-tip cut in half. Then with the toggle in the open position under the base plate you'll see that space and use the Q-tip to clean in between that opening and the bottom base plate. Sometimes even my ultra sonic doesn't get the gunk out of there. Enjoy!
 
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Does anyone know why Gillette abandoned the toggle-switch design after one model?

It seems like a good idea, and easier to identify whether your blade is securely locked down than with the quarter-turn lock on models like the Fatboy and those that follow.

There must be a reason why they chose to switch designs, but I can't figure out what it is.

The Toggle would get stuck to the point of it being useless. This happened to me when i first got my Toggle 5 years ago, i was about to toss it thinking that it was damaged or defective. So i took it apart and realized that the mechanism would get stuck, but with a few twists it was easy to get unstuck.

I think that Gillette may have had many complaints about this and abandoned the design.
 
I would imagine one of two reasons. Either they were less expensive to make, or the Fatboy design proved to be more durable. My guess would have to be the former. The Red Dot Fatboy was a combination of the two, but for whatever reason, Gillette only released a handful of them. My best hypothesis is that the Red Dot Fatboy was more durable than the standard Fatboy, but much more expensive to product. Just conjecture, though.
The Toggles would get stuck and many users thought it was a damaged or defective razor.
 
Mike here... Have had 2 shaves with the D1 Toggle... Wednesday morning tried it at 3 and then dropped to 2 on the mustache area... Did OK, but not quite close enough. Upped it to 4 on Thursday, and got a BBS above the jawline and a DFS below... So much so that 10 hours later I almost still felt freshly shaved! A good birthday shave if I say so myself. Did chew up the area just above the left corner of my upper lip a bit though...that is still a bit tender after I totally chewed it up with my 62 Slim 3 weeks ago, and re-aggravated it with the DE89 last week.
i think tomorrow I will use 4 above the jawline, 5 below, and 3 or 2 on the mustache area... I don't have a mustache, just below the nose above the lip area.
 
And here my Dad fishes one out of the basement for me... Hang in there, and good luck! If I see any for less than $250 I will let you know!

Mike
 
Shaves with the toggle...

I LOVE the D1 toggle my Dad retrieved from deep storage in the basement for me! I shaved today using 4 WTG and XTG, then 6 ATG... Simply amazing!!!! Closest shave I have ever had... Except for the mustache area... Still working on that... Used 4 then 3 then 2 there. Did cut myself a bit above the left upper lip, below my center lower lip, and on my lower neck...
 
Shaves with the toggle...

I LOVE the D1 toggle my Dad retrieved from deep storage in the basement for me! I shaved today using 4 WTG and XTG, then 6 ATG... Simply amazing!!!! Closest shave I have ever had... Except for the mustache area... Still working on that... Used 4 then 3 then 2 there. Did cut myself a bit above the left upper lip, below my center lower lip, and on my lower neck...
:lol:
 
Somebody needs to get this thread going again! My current holy grail, is the Gillette Toggle! How can I get my hands on one of these for a fair price?
 
Oh boy! You could shave with a handful of Aristocrats for that !!! ;-) Theres gotta be a reason! Its gotta be one of the most beautiful things i have ever laid my eyes on!!
 
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