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Using that shave stick container (Vintage Shave Stick Ads)

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
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I know the subject was discussed quite a bit over time on a cheap alternative to a shave stick container.

La Toja Shaving Stick comes with a container of it's own. Useful, simple, works well. The Lea Shaving Stick is the same (has a container supplied with the stick). Other products such as Wilkinson Sword Shave Stick have a piece of plastic to hold the bottom of the stick and that's all...

Most shave sticks, like the Palmolive European version shave stick are wrapped in foil and that's it.

Some would re-use an old shave stick container or buy a new one such as the ones that West Coast Shaving sells or Mama Bear has.

You could use an empty glue container or one of those funky icicle containers. The empty deodorant tube seems to be mentioned here and there... The Pill bottle seems to be a very popular choice also... If you can get some empty containers...

Finally, some would get one of those vintage Colgate shave stick containers (also available in Williams and more) where it's usually a little metallic tube where you would store the stick between uses.

Mike (mblakele) found an interesting picture not too long ago and it got me thinking...
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Are we supposed to use the cap/lid of the container (in those old vintage one) as the handle for the stick? The model in the picture seems to be a twist-up container which I don't think I ever saw on eBay...

I love the idea of putting the old piece of soap on top of the new piece so you wouldn't loose anything... I guess the purpose of this post is to regroup most of the ideas that were mentioned in the past. I would love to see more pictures of those containers (vintage/current) as they mostly get mentions...
 
Luc, the "cap as handle" seems to have been a marketing innovation by Williams that never really took off. I suspect that frugal consumers simply bought the refill sticks without a holder. The introduction of cheap glassmaking and even cheaper materials like bakelite, catalin, and modern plastics probably played a role here too. In any case, after a while the manufacturers stopped offering reusable holders.

That Colgate ad was for the "Handy Grip", which I gather was a relatively expensive stick and container system. The soap itself was threaded to match the metal base, and refill sticks were available to defray the initial cost of the Handy Grip. But since the whole system looked pricey, Colgate had to stress its overall economy. Note the claim of 50 shaves in the last half-inch, too. In other ads they claimed over 300 and over 500 shaves per stick. That might seem a little more reasonable if we consider a one-pass or two-pass shave with a small travel brush, but it is still too much for me to swallow.



They also offered economy packs with a Handy Grip container and two refill sticks. But judging by the scarcity of Handy Grips in the vintage market, I think this product was relatively short-lived. Probably most consumers preferred to buy something with cheaper packaging - a lesson which Colgate-Palmolive have taken to heart for their modern sticks.

One version of the Williams container was the "Holder Top". Here's an ad from 1912, touting the holder top alongside the "familiar hinged-cover" version.



These ideas are rather similar. The Williams Holder Top seems to show up in ads from about 1911-1929, and Colgate Handy Grip from about 1917-1922. Ads don't necessarily reflect product availability, but it looks like Colgate was emulating Williams. But possibly the original Holder Top was meant to be used just once, and the "refill stick" was a Colgate innovation.

Later on, Williams also introduced the Doublecap stick. This had a ring around the middle, instead of a cap at one end. I think this was introduced around 1922, but wasn't heavily advertised in print. I don't think the ring was intended to be reusable, though it would be interesting to try one on a modern stick.

 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
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Very cool information as always! Thanks Mike!
 
Very cool indeed.
I've been wanting to find one of those old colgate tubes. But I didn't realise there were so many diffrent varaties out there. I'll have to keep my eye out after the holidays.
 

Luc

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According to this ad that I found on eBay, the shave stick would be stuck in the lid. That's how I thought it would work...

EDIT: adding a few more ads... I didn't know about the powdered product from Colgate...
 

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Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I got a few mores that I found (not very difficult to find at the moment)...

It seems that the shave powder thing was still "popular" as if was advertised up until 1944 (according to the ad). I'm guessing it's grated soap or something like it... Anywho, back to the stick container. There seem to be a small tube that the user need to twist in place in the lid of the container...

Colgate marketed the device as "Handy Grip" where others (Williams/Palmolive) seem to have a similar but yet different container... Those are not the best image quality but that's all I could find... Interesting advertisement I think!

1914 - Williams Holder Top Shaving Stick Container - Companies should do more sample packs like those!
Convenient when you first use the stick...
More convenient when the stick is nearly used up.
Send 4 Cents in stamps for a miniature trial package of either Williams' shaving stick, powder or cream, or 10 cents for Assortment no. 1, containing all three articles.
$1914 Williams Top holder Shave Stick.JPG

1921 - Colgate Handy Grip Refill Shave Stick
Your First Shave

Begin shaving with a Colgate's "Handy Grip" of your own. Father will tell you this is the right soap to make smooth, creamy, soothing lather and help you to a comfortable shave without any after-smarting.

Make your own "Handy Grip" Shaving Stick your constant shaving companion. You, too, will like the "Handy Grip."

The Shaving Stick is the economical way to make a satisfactory lather. We can give you this impartial advice because we make Shaving Sticks, Powder and Cream.

Sold everywhere -- or send 4 cents for trial size -- Stick, Powder or Cream.
$1921 Colgate Handy Grip Refill Shave stick.JPG

1922 - Colgate Refill Shave Stick - This is the Ad that I was referring to... If you look at the shave stick on the centre-top-left, there seems to be a thread where you would insert the stick in the lid...
$1922 Colgate Refill Shave stick.JPG

1924 - Colgate Refill Shave Stick - The foil or tube between the lid and stick is clearly visible in this one (with the Colgate & Co. Stamp). I'm wondering if it's a piece of foil or if most vintage sticks are missing a piece to insert the stick. Logic says that it would be foil otherwise you wouldn't be able to use a full stick in there... For 35 cents, I would get one of those sticks in a nickel container!
Colgate's Shaving Stick "Handy Grip" and refill"

For Comfort, Convenience and Economy

When we say to you that the Shaving Stick has important advantages over shaving preparations in any other form, we can do so without bias, for we manufacture shaving sticks, powder and cream.

In its attractive nickel box, our "Handy Grip" Shaving Stick is most convenient for traveling. It will not crush when packed, and it makes a wonderful lather for easy shaving.

It is not uncommon for a Colgate Shaving Stick to last more than a year in daily use.

The famous "Handy Grip", with a trial-size shaving stick in nickel box, sent for 10 cents. When the trial stick is gone, buy Colgate "Refills" for the price of the soap alone, 25 cents.

Colgate & Co. Dept. 66, 199 Fulton St. NEW YORK
$1924 Colgate Refill Shave stick.JPG

1944 - Colgate Shave Stick, Powder, Cream - The Powder format was still made in 1944 so it's not too long ago that it was discontinued...
$1944 Colgate Shave stick soap powder.JPG
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I believe this is the patent for the Colgate Handy Grip: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/1238744.pdf. A later patent, http://www.freepatentsonline.com/1654693.pdf, looks even more interesting: it seems to use the whole container as a handle, sort of like a cross between a twist-up stick and a turnback brush. But perhaps it was too expensive to manufacture.

Cool link!

So the first one has what I thought, a small cap that you would fix in the big cap that is used to close the container.

The second one works the same way, except there's another set of thread on the outside of the cap so you can fix it to the container and use the container as a handle...

If they were selling those for 10 cents, no wonder they stopped making them. I'm guessing they were cheap so people would buy them and stick with the Colgate brand!
 

Luc

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I found a few more ads that I thought were interesting... I can't insert the pictures in the right spot at the moment but here they are

1888 William Shave Stick

1893 Buttermilk shave stick

1895 Williams Shave stick

1908 Williams shave stick

1920 Colgate Refill stick
 

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I'll try to get more pics when I have a chance. But for now here are a few of my Shave stick Holders. None of mine, even the one labeled "Handy Grip" seem to have any way to attach the stick to the cap...

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Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Nice Mark! According to the Ads, this would be the first patent that Colgate had as you don't attach the tube to the cap to use the stick. Are you using them by putting the stick in the cap?
 
The standard Colgate tube (like in Mark's first pic, the bottom of the three) I found in an antique store has thin cardstock in the end of the cap and the end of the tube, plus a piece rolled up lining the tube. I assume it's how it was originally sold to cushion the stick and keep it from rattling around. I left it in and my Speick stick (sans base) slides right in and seems happy. Nestles it nicely. Probably will keep it from getting stuck in there.
 
Antique store near me has one of the Williams Double Cap Sticks with the soap. I would have already bought it but he wants, iirc, $25-30! Probably what its worth, but I am cheap. I will have to wait until the seller posts a sale flyer.

Jay
 

Luc

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Staff member
Got another Ad, this one in French for Gibbs Savon à Barbe (1930)...
 

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Luc

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Staff member
Okay, got another ad today that I think is very interesting. It's a 1918 Colgate refill ad. I also found another ad that was showing the super kit where you would get the Handy Refill container and 3 shave sticks for 80 cents (bargain!).

I find that this 1918 ad shows exactly what Mike had in his picture that I posted in post #1 where you would take the bottom bit and re-stick it on the top bit of the stick. I love the idea of not wasting any bits.
 

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