What did people really think of New Gillette Safety Razors (Back Then)

[KQY61]

Hi,

My dad won a 1-5 gold toggle back when it was a brand new thing. I found it decades later when I first started shaving. He told me it was junk from Day One. Opened too easily while shaving. So, he took it and smashed it with a hammer.

So, I would say he saw it as a gimmick all right.

Stan

 

[Billski]

He smashed it with a hammer!

It must have been junk!

 

[Saxonbowman]

My Dad shaved with a slim adjustable and that's what he got me when I started shaving.

 

[bakerbarber]

I like to think that they were regarded by most men about the same way that I think about my toothbrush.

Not really much at all other than to try not to drop it in the toilet.

 

[TobyC]

I like to think that they were regarded by most men about the same way that I think about my toothbrush.

Not really much at all other than to try not to drop it in the toilet.

+1

They were normal everyday bathroom items, they were everywhere and everyone had them. They were no more special than a pair of socks.

New stuff with bells and whistles were always seen as gimmicks, teenage boys probably thought they were cool.

 

[jruschme]

I can only guess at my father's thoughts, but I do know that he shaved with a pre-War Tech (which would have been new when he was in his mid-20's) until the late 60's when he replaced it with a Techmatic. The only indication of him possibly using another razor was a disused Blue Tip SS that I found, although I can't rule out that that one was actually my mother's.

My father was definitely a person who embraced technology as they had the first TV in their building. This can also be seen in his choice of the Techmatic. OTOH, I think it can be safely said that he was pragmatic about shaving shown by his choice to stay with the Tech.

 

[Highspeedlane]

I like to think that they were regarded by most men about the same way that I think about my toothbrush.

Not really much at all other than to try not to drop it in the toilet.

+1

They were tools. Some were priced higher than others and I'm sure the majority of shavers bought what was most economical to their budget at the time.

When I was a lad into my early 20's, DE's were still fairly common and available in stores but one day they began disappearing and were replaced by "new and improved" twin blade razors. I had no choice but to buy what was there (and never gave it any thought either to be honest).

 

[michiganlover]

+1

They were normal everyday bathroom items, they were everywhere and everyone had them. They were no more special than a pair of socks.

New stuff with bells and whistles were always seen as gimmicks, teenage boys probably thought they were cool.

+1 If you frequent this board, it's easy to assume men of the past must have cared about shaving, and the tools they used to shave. I simply don't think that was the case. A razor was a tool, that did a job most men dreaded. If it worked reasonably well, then the average man continued to use it, until it broke. Then he bought another, likely whatever was cheapest.

I really think the response to newly released razors was probably "Eh, who needs it. What I have works fine."

 

[TADIII]

I was still three months shy of 13 in December of 1958 and almost two years away from having to shave, but I wanted, NEEDED, a Gillette Adjustable razor! So I guess the advertising worked on me. My parents refused to cave in, though, and when I finally did need to shave they bought me a Schick Injector, similar to my father's. In my sophomore year in college, I finally bought a Gillette Adjustable. It was my daily shaver for more than 47 years. During the summer of 2013 I stumbled into B&B and discovered my adjustable was a Slim and NOT the Fatboy of my Middle School dreams! And for the second time in my life I HAD to have a 1958 Adjustable! Thanks, B&B!


Tom

 

[12345Michael54321]

"Did people back in 1960 think the new Gillette adjustable or Toggle as we call it today, was just a gimmick to sell more razors? Kind of like how we think of Flexball?

Well, did the Gillette adjustable go on to dominate the razor marketplace within a few short years? did adjustable razors prove so popular with consumers that non-adjustable razors were rendered all but extinct?

No. These things didn't happen.

And there's your answer. The Gillette adjustable did not utterly change the game. Consumers did not flock to it in droves, forsaking all alternatives.

In short, some undoubtedly thought it a gimmick. Others likely regarded it as being sort of clever, but hardly a "must have" feature. Most, apparently, ignored it.

And as has been correctly noted, the average man didn't really devote much attention to his choice of safety razor in the first place. It was rather like toothpaste, today. Shaving was a nuisance chore (still is for most people), just as most people today regard brushing their teeth. Yeah, you've got to do it, but very few consumers really care whether Colgate introduces a new toothpaste with "anti-bacterial breath-freshening nano-particles." No, they just buy whatever's reasonably familiar and not priced particularly high, and use it without any additional thought.

 

[Lord Greystoke]

The first razors I bought when I was a teenager living on Okinawa in the 1960s were a Gillette adjustable TTO DE and a Schick injector (Krona?) that I picked up at the Fort Buckner Post Exchange (PX). That's all there was, plus the usual assortment of canned aerosol lathers. I'm sure the adjustable feature on the Gillette had an impact on my purchase decision. So did the convenience factor of the Schick injector. But all I really know for sure is that I had begun sprouting facial hair that I needed to scrape off every couple of days.

 

[JOYCEfromNS]

I was still three months shy of 13 in December of 1958 and almost two years away from having to shave, but I wanted, NEEDED, a Gillette Adjustable razor! So I guess the advertising worked on me. My parents refused to cave in, though, and when I finally did need to shave they bought me a Schick Injector, similar to my father's. In my sophomore year in college, I finally bought a Gillette Adjustable. It was my daily shaver for more than 47 years. During the summer of 2013 I stumbled into B&B and discovered my adjustable was a Slim and NOT the Fatboy of my Middle School dreams! And for the second time in my life I HAD to have a 1958 Adjustable! Thanks, B&B!


Tom

Nice story!!

 

[TADIII]

Nice story!!

Thank you. After a brief, bright fever of acquisition, I am now down to two 1958 Fatboys - The upper razor is a D3 and the lower one is a D4. The D4 would have been the one after which I lusted in December of 1958. In a misguided homage to the Gillette President, I got the handle plated in Rhodium while the butterfly doors remain in their original nickel.

 

[jruschme]

And as has been correctly noted, the average man didn't really devote much attention to his choice of safety razor in the first place. It was rather like toothpaste, today. Shaving was a nuisance chore (still is for most people), just as most people today regard brushing their teeth. Yeah, you've got to do it, but very few consumers really care whether Colgate introduces a new toothpaste with "anti-bacterial breath-freshening nano-particles." No, they just buy whatever's reasonably familiar and not priced particularly high, and use it without any additional thought.

By way of contrast, how does one pick a razor or, rather, a shaving system today?

In 1959, an average consumer would have been faced with three major shaving technologies: DE, Gem SE, and Injector. Each of which had varying degrees of available razors and blades but complete interoperability within a technology family.

Today, the consumer is faced with a myriad of choices: disposable vs. non, Gillette vs. Schick vs. Dorco/Harry's/DSC/etc., as well as blade counts from 2 to 7. And this is without taking vintage systems such as DE and Injector into account. Moreover, many of these choices are technology lock-ins (i.e., back in 1959, if you bought a Gillette DE razor you could always use Schick DE blades; now you basically make a marriage commitment to a shaving system.)

If you were suddenly rescued from a desert island or woke from a long coma, where would you even start at making a choice.

 

[12345Michael54321]

If you were suddenly rescued from a desert island or woke from a long coma, where would you even start at making a choice.

First, you'd choose Gillette. Simply because Gillette commands nearly 70% of the world's razor market. That's more than twice as much as everyone else combined. Even suggesting that the likes of Dorco, Harry's, or DSC, are serious rivals to this market dominance is laughable.

Next, you'd choose either the Mach 3, or whatever Gillette's latest and greatest system happens to be.

You'd pick the Mach 3 if you simply wanted to buy a razor, go home, and scrape the whiskers off your face.

You'd pick the latest and greatest if you were either unusually influenced by marketing hype (although how much marketing are you really going to have been exposed to, on your trip from desert island/coma ward to CVS?), or if you were a hard-core technophile (although you'd think a technophile would opt for an electric shaver).

More to the point - and I can't emphasize this enough - most men rescued from desert islands or awakened from long comas simply do not care much about razors. They'll shave with whatever razor their rescuers or the good folks at the hospital provide, and not give the matter much thought. When shopping for their own razor, they'll buy based largely on familiarity and price. Oh, and they'll use shaving cream from a can, without giving it a second thought. Because for most men, shaving is not a hobby. It's a chore to get done. A minor annoyance. It's not a matter meriting any great thought, research, or passion.

 

[TobyC]

If you were suddenly rescued from a desert island or woke from a long coma, where would you even start at making a choice.

Obviously you would look for the same thing you had before, or the closest thing to it that is currently available. Then find a girl!

 

[mgbbrown]

A razor was a tool in my father's day. After the War, he went to school on the GI Bill, followed by medical school at UNC until the money simply ran out. He and his family were dirt poor-he was one of 14 and one of two in the herd that made it that far. Razors were probably borrowed from his father or one of his brothers to get the job done- in the Navy he used his issued contract three piece. During his college days, I am sure that he purchased his own razor, and in 1947- a new Super Speed for a buck was quite a deal, especially for a student who needed to look his best on a date with my mom.

Besides- the Can Do generation was birthed during the Great Depression. For many, shaving soap was the same bar used for a bath- many actually enjoyed shaving with Lifebuoy because it was made using carbolic acid. All told though, shaving was nothing more than a pragmatic affair- one razor, one brush, one mug, and if one went into town that Saturday with the family- perhaps a fresh razor blade. My father shaved with his B4 Red Tip Super Speed until 1972, when he succumbed to Gillette's offer for a free Trac II trial. It was a Trac II that he shaved with until his death in 1998. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

 

[John Rose]

Two practical benefits of the Toggle that I can think of:

1. The TTO razors get harder to close for that last 1/4 turn. The toggles (which I've never seen in real life) would appear to snap into place, so you'd know that it was truly closed. (Not so much for the one that Stan's dad demolished, apparently.)
2. With the toggle being oval in cross-section, you could tell blindfolded which way the head was oriented. An advantage if you're shaving your neck without a mirror.

 

[Locobadger]

Judging by my late grandparents attitude, I suspect that the consumable culture of today was not as prevalent with the experienced shavers of the day. Things were made to last, and goods were repaired rather than replaced. Moving up to the latest model generally only happened when something was worn out or beyond repair. Judging by the amount of vintage razors about today that are still in usable condition. I suspect that not many people would 'upgrade' and it was more of a new razor for a new generation of shavers.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Back when, one usually picked their shaving items from what Dad said would be good to use. And, the entire point would be to scrape the ugly hair off of one's face. As long as that happened, it really didn't matter what was used. And, what Dad used was dependent on what the local drug store carried. That usually meant DE or SE, which meant Gillette, Schick and Gem.

In time, that also included cartridge systems from Gillette, Schick and Personna. Personna even had a double edge, double bladed cart system that looked exactly like a typical DE razor. As time marched on, the cart offerings grew in number and pushed the older stuff off the shelf.

The only constant was that fathers did not introduce sons to straight razors for a long while, even when the fathers used one themselves.

Stan