Questions about my new razors

[cpool222]

Since I'm just starting to recently acquire some DE & SE razors, I decided to bid on this lot of razors and an old travel set on eBay. I could tell that some of the razors looked dirty, but it looks to me that they cleaned up pretty good. I'll put what I think they are, and you experts can tell me what they really are :) Thanks

This has the entire lot:
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This is the old travel set, ladies Kewtie razor & blades and 2 boxes of blades:
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These are marked EverReady (one on left is made in England, other in NY):
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Three GEMs (one G Bar and 2 Micromatics?)
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Are these SuperSpeeds?
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It looks like I can't put any more pictures on this post, so I'll do a part II ... hope that's ok

[cfriend]

I'm no GEMologist, but the two are definitely micromatics, the one next to them looks like a "fancy handle" 1912. The last two are indeed superspeeds, a 50s Style Super Speed on the left, 60s Style Super Speed on the right. Nice find!

[cpool222]

On the left is an AutoStrop that cleaned up really well(I've read that they don't make blades for them, but can anyone tell me how you would load a blade into this-looks really confusing to me); I think the other two are Gillette Techs? -middle one is thicker and appears to be made of brass?
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Better pic of Ladies' Kewtie razor & blades and 2 boxes of Gillette Blue Blades (these blades appear unopened and I was hoping you guys could tell me about the wisdom of using these old blades or not).
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Better pic of the old travel kit with an EverReady 100 brush (anyone have any idea of how old these travel sets are?
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Pic of travel set closed:
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Sorry to take up so much space with these, but I was hoping you guys could shed some wisdom on me about them. After cleaning them up, I was pretty pleased to get them so cheap. Thanks for any help you give me on these.

[cfriend]

The auto Strop is a neat machine, blades are no longer made but you can alter modern blades to fit. Dave, our resident GEM expert, has a video on just such a topic: How to modify a blade for a Valet Auto Strop Razor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Bq0nLygEg)

The two Gillette's appear to be NEWs, the left being a common bar handle NEW and the right being a ball end NEW. I *think* both are the long-toothed variations, which are the more common than their short-toothed kin. Nice!

edit: I wouldn't use the blades. Modern blades are sharper, and the Blue blades are nice to look at :)

[T Rick]

The two Ever Readys are 1912 models (not made in 1912, that is the model designation based on the patent date).

The 1912 was made by a few different companys (Ever Ready, GEM, Star and I think others), and was produced in to the 1950's. Different handle types through the years. These are wonderful shavers, taking the single edge GEM blade (I buy the ten pack of GEM blades at Walgreen's for around $5.50, though the Ted Pella blades available in quantity on line are maybe more popular and quite a bit less expensive per blade).

The three GEMs, on the left is also a 1912 (this one has what is commonly called the ornate handle, as does the one Ever Ready). The other two are open comb versions of the Micromatic (same SE blades). This is a very good razor but with a fairly unforgiving reputation. Best left to reasonably experienced hands.

The two open comb Gillettes are as cfriend said. Also right about the blades for an Autostrop, though there were two types, the modified blade only works for one type AFAIK. Unsure which yours is.

The two Super Speeds are as cfriend said also. You can find the year and quarter of their manufacture by date codes on the underside of the head (single letter on left for year, number 1-4 on right for quarter). Match the letter up with the letters in the Wiki's Gillette Dating Guide (http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/US_Gillette_Dating_Information). For lots more Super Speed ident info, see AsylumGuido's Super Speed Identification Thread (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=732565#post732565).

ETA: The Blue Blades are great left unopened for collecting. Some have used them as a novelty and still gotten good shaves (they rust easily, don't leave them in). I'd wait until running into an opened pack to try them, but it's your call.

[Oldguy]

On the left is an AutoStrop that cleaned up really well(I've read that they don't make blades for them, but can anyone tell me how you would load a blade into this-looks really confusing to me)

The blade drops onto the cap and the restraining strip snaps it tight.

I don't know if your razor is complete though.

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Len

[Oldguy]

[QUOTE=Oldguy;1622760]The blade drops onto the cap and the restraining strip snaps it tight.

You can still get NOS blades on ebay. They're about 50 years old and probably dull and need honing/stroping.

75042

Len

[amishmotorboat]

Nice razors, all.

Don't be too scared of the micromatics. Just read up on proper angle and tread carefully. It's my favorite SE razor. The hardest part of it for me is getting under the nose with that large razor head, and if your avatar is your picture then you probably don't have to worry about that.

[cfriend]

Nice razors, all.

Don't be too scared of the micromatics. Just read up on proper angle and tread carefully. It's my favorite SE razor. The hardest part of it for me is getting under the nose with that large razor head, and if your avatar is your picture then you probably don't have to worry about that.

I was thinking "why, is his upper lip huge?" then scrolled up and checked the avatar :001_tongu