Question about buying a Gillette new.

**Fletch** · 10-05-2010, 09:57 PM

So I've heard lots of good about this and I seem to have located one that may work from a member here. I wanted to ask you fine gents about getting one, the one I'm considering has the head basically all brassed with the handle still sitting with a fair amount of gold on it. I'm really more partial to chrome ones and since I'm not sure were the New's made in chrome or were they only done in gold?

Mechanically everything is said to be good and the teeth on it are in great shape. Since I own no razors that have any speakable plating loss I basically wanted to know if using a razor with no plating on it has any real problems? Also let's assume I were to get it re plated at some point can it be done in chrome and does anyone know what that might run and who does it? Can it be done at like a jewelrs or is there a specialty place it needs to be sent?

**Loric** · 10-05-2010, 10:01 PM

They do come in chrome thought they seem to sell for much more than the gold ones, so I assume they are rare. The plateless head on a New is not uncommon, and wont affect the shave if it is in good shape otherwise.

**CB_DoubleEdge** · 10-06-2010, 06:29 AM

I picked one up for $5 at an antique mall over the weekend. Perfect mechanical condition but the head has complete plate loss. The rest of the razor still has pretty good plating though.

Shaved fine for me, though I only used it once before moving on to another one.

Might take it on vacation with me so I'm forced to used it for a week. That was my first time to ever use an open comb. Definitely a little bleeding because I'm used to much more mild razors.

**kingfisher** · 10-06-2010, 06:42 AM

Some jewelers can do replating work.

We have a member here, onotoman, who does beautiful razor replating. You might want to send him a PM.

**Sledgehammer39** · 10-06-2010, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by Fletch

Also let's assume I were to get it re plated at some point can it be done in chrome and does anyone know what that might run and who does it? Can it be done at like a jewelrs or is there a specialty place it needs to be sent?

I am expecting a razor which was gold colored to come back to me re-plated in nickel. So as far as I know once a razor is stripped to the bare metal it can be re-plated in any finish.

**Go West Young Man** · 10-06-2010, 12:26 PM

Plating is strictly a cosmetic issue, it won't affect the shave one way or another.

**cnnc97** · 10-06-2010, 01:55 PM

I recently got a New and the head was missing most of the plating and looked like crap. I took the rest of the plating off and polished the brass and it looks much better if you don't mind the head being a different color than the handle.

**Judge Kemp** · 10-06-2010, 07:17 PM

Here is a good example of what a New Standard can look like with complete plating loss (but flawless finish, teeth, etc.). I think it looks awesome, but always have the option of replating if I decided to.

**Fletch** · 10-06-2010, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by Judge Kemp

Here is a good example of what a New Standard can look like with complete plating loss (but flawless finish, teeth, etc.). I think it looks awesome, but always have the option of replating if I decided to.

Actually that looks pretty cool. Well I pulled the trigger on it. This is the one I'm getting. Is there any way to date these things? Apparently there is no date code according to the wiki, so you just say it's somewhere from the 30's usually?

**xillion** · 10-06-2010, 10:58 PM

Here is a Long Comb New in nickle and a stripped and polished New Deluxe in brass.

**Judge Kemp** · 10-06-2010, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by Fletch

Actually that looks pretty cool. Well I pulled the trigger on it. This is the one I'm getting. Is there any way to date these things? Apparently there is no date code according to the wiki, so you just say it's somewhere from the 30's usually?

I was able to date mine as a red/black 1934--but that is only because I have the original box. As far as I can tell, there isn't much of a way to date this style.

Check Mr-razor.com, though. I was able to verify my New's identity through the weight. He has all the weights out there in grams. I used my kitchen scale for verification.

**Shavely Manden** · 10-07-2010, 12:57 AM

Originally Posted by Judge Kemp

Here is a good example of what a New Standard can look like with complete plating loss (but flawless finish, teeth, etc.). I think it looks awesome, but always have the option of replating if I decided to.

Just a nitpick, but that's not a NEW Standard, just a fat-handled NEW (with pretty awful plating loss). The NEW Standard was identical to the NEW Improved and the Bostonian, the difference being in the case it came in -- if that were a NEW Standard, it'd have Old-Type-style pins protruding downwards.

ED: Congrats on the purchase! I love my NEWs (I've got three at the moment -- a fat-handled short comb, a beat-up ball-end long comb, and a fat-handled long comb whose plating is a tiny bit too good to risk), and I think that's going to make a wonderful shaver for you for years to come.

**Fletch** · 10-07-2010, 08:23 AM

Can anyone tell me by looking at the one I bought what kind it is? Since a_a just rattled off 3 different kinds I'm wondering if there is a specific name for mine? There is a chance I may get it re plated at some point, and not like I'm a big collector or expecting this thing to one day yield me tens of thousands of dollars.... Does re plating it make a difference one way or another in terms of any value on the razor?

**cnnc97** · 10-07-2010, 08:35 AM

It's a Bar Handle New. Check out Mr-razor's website to see the differences. The New Standard or New Improved is from the 20's. The New is from the 30's. The heads are quite different. I picked up a New exactly like yours last week and it shaves quite well, you should be happy with it.

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/Gil...20Rasierer.htm

**cnnc97** · 10-07-2010, 08:44 AM

You can polish the brass head with pretty much anything, but be careful what you use on the handle if there is any gold left. I used Brasso on the head of mine to take off the remaining plating since there was very little left. It came right off in about 10 seconds, so you wouldn't want to use it on the handle unless you want to take it down to the brass. Check out some of the cleaning and polishing threads in the Safety Razor forum for more info on polishing it.

There are some threads out there about re-plating as well. I asked about it and was referred to B&B member Ontonoman and also Reliable Electroplating in Massachussetts. Roughly $35-$45 depending on the condition and what you want it plated with based on my digging. Some people seem to prefer original condition, some are ok with re-plating. If you were to have it done and ever sell it you would definitely want to disclose that up front.

**Fletch** · 10-07-2010, 08:51 AM

Great info thanks a lot everyone. So essentially there isn't really any exact dating, it's just from the 30's.

**Saltchuck** · 10-07-2010, 09:01 AM

My favorite Long Comb New was pretty ugly when I got it, from loss of the gold plating. I sent it to B&B member Buddydog and had him nickel plate it for me. Looks great now! "Before" and "after" pictures are in messages #27 and #37 of this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...09#post2120209

Buddydog is in New Mexico. I believe Onotoman is in the UK.

As for dates, the late 1930's is the most likely period.

**Judge Kemp** · 10-07-2010, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by aristos_achaion

Just a nitpick, but that's not a NEW Standard, just a fat-handled NEW (with pretty awful plating loss). The NEW Standard was identical to the NEW Improved and the Bostonian, the difference being in the case it came in -- if that were a NEW Standard, it'd have Old-Type-style pins protruding downwards.

ED: Congrats on the purchase! I love my NEWs (I've got three at the moment -- a fat-handled short comb, a beat-up ball-end long comb, and a fat-handled long comb whose plating is a tiny bit too good to risk), and I think that's going to make a wonderful shaver for you for years to come.

You're right. It is just called the Red/Black "New" from 1934 on mr-razor.com. I guess I add the "standard" because there was an identical, but slightly heavier "New Deluxe" that came in the same case in 1934. I wasn't actually aware of anything officially called the "New Standard" I just thought that was a colloquial way of distinguishing from the "DeLuxe" News. Thanks for the clarification.

And it isn't "pretty awful plating loss"--it is 100% plating loss. The whole thing is stripped down to copper and brass. There isn't a lick of plating left on it.

**zameus** · 10-07-2010, 01:04 PM

The stripped look is amazing. I would think there would be oxidizing issues though yes?

**Judge Kemp** · 10-07-2010, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by zameus

The stripped look is amazing. I would think there would be oxidizing issues though yes?

In another thread on the safety razor forum, they told me it would shave the same, but would require more upkeep than if it were plated. I haven't had any issues with it since it has been like this, but assume long-term it takes more maintenance.