any info on this army razor? (and afew others)

[lxzndr]

Hi there,

New member, and new to DE razors - though been wet shaving for almost 10 years (col. conk products). I ordered a new Merkur HD with some Merkur blades when I ordered more shave soaps - razor was back ordered and should be arriving in a couple days.

Last week I picked up a razor that my grandfather had (3 piece pictured), and outside of knowing it was from the army, I don't know much about it. It has property of US army on the bottom of the comb piece, "H 32163" on the top (under the blade). I've been using it with the new Merkur blades for a week now, and have been pretty pleased with the results.

I've picked up a lot of good info from the forums here and hope to make good use of it as I continue to learn the art of DE shaving.

I also 'won' a few other DE razors from e-bay as well, the sellers didn't offer much info beyond the pictures. they are the group picture, I haven't cleaned any of them yet, though I did find some cleaning suggestions here already.

What I know about them (from left to right) - all Gillette
3 piece gold: Gillette imprinted on the top, no apparent date code
TTO black knob: date code "W 3" (W left of Reg US, 3 right of pat off)
Red case, TTO: date code Z 3
Blue case, TTO: date code Y 2
The blue case has a metal 6 blade dispenser, some had been used - are in the used section, and looks like 3 still unused (I know... they aren't to be used) it also had the Gillette thin blade wrapped blades.

I received my sampler pack of blades today (from razorandbrush.com) and will begin sampling them this week.

Thanks for any information you can give me, and thanks for the wonderful information I've already gleaned from the forums here.

-Mike

[copperhead]

The three piece in the first image is a Gillette Tech razor and seems to be an open comb. In the second image the gold razor is a Gold Tech, the next is a black tip Super Speed, the one in the red box is a Flare tip and the blue box is a Super Speed. As for the date codes check this site http://www.geocities.com/safetyrazors/gil_ser2.htm For example your Y2 super speed in the blue case would be 1953 second quarter of that year. Smooth shavers all of them and welcome to B&B Mike.

[Prince]

Man that's great to have an old razor that was your grandfather's. Both of mine used a cheap disposable the last years of their lives. I do remember one of them using a brush and soap though.

[lxzndr]

Thanks for the info on the razors. I hope to clean them up soon, and we will see how they compare to each other and the new Merkur HD.

I don't know how much he ever used the DE, I always remembered hearing the electric, though I do remember having seen a shaving bush in a cabinet, so when I had decided to try a DE, and the new one was on back order, I ask my grandmother if I could check for one, and if i could have it. There was a note in the box it was sitting in, that he had it in the army, and then switched to the electric.

-Mike

[2Sharp]

Welcome lxzndr. You have a great start on your razors. I have two out of those three and like to shave with them both. Keep on shaving.

bj

[AlbertAnthrax]

The razor has U.S. Army markings on it? I am looking for a razor like that.. Do you have a pic of it so I know what to look for when scouring the flea markets and such..

[lxzndr]

Yes, it does have a property of us army stamped on it. the razor is the single razor pictured. It is visible when assembled, on the underside of the blade guard piece. I will try and post another picture or two in the next couple days.

It has no brand markings anywhere I can find.

[AlbertAnthrax]

I just read about how Gillette was smart enough to strike a deal with the U.S. Army. They provided a ton of issued razors to the troops.