Aristocrat Junior Question

My favourite "daily driver" would probably be the British made Aristocrat Junior. What a great model this is. The craftsmanship is vast superior to the Rockets IMHO. Perfect balance and pretty aggressive.
From what I know Gillette put out three versions:

• The #48 (without end caps)- the earliest one- from around 1948.
• The #53- from around 1949-1952

Both razors got pat. 430.030 and both have flat base plates. Pretty heavy pieces that weights in at 72g.

• The last one that British Gillette put out is from 1953-1954 and have a rocket styled head and are stamped patent pending.

Well- are there three versions altogether? Am I correct that there are only three models that DO differ in characteristics?

I believe there was an aluminum model (which I am hunting and not finding). Don't know the years of manufacture or anything else. Achim has one in his collection, I believe.

I absolutely love my Jr. I may be biased, because it was my grandfathers only razor; he used it until the bitter end.

bythbook said:

I believe there was an aluminum model (which I am hunting and not finding). Don't know the years of manufacture or anything else. Achim has one in his collection, I believe.

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There is an aluminium one it comes in at 35g heres mine.

I have been lucky enough to find both of the heavier Aristocrat Jrs. mentioned here. Mine are both uncased user grade in nice condition.
The one with end caps is my favorite at almost 72g and the one without end caps only weighs around 62g. It has the flat base plate / un-notched center bar head but also has a hollow TTO knob. (Photos by Leon)

missingskin said:

There is an aluminium one it comes in at 35g heres mine.

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yes! THIS ONE!

a beautiful razor - should you ever come across another one that you'd be willing to pass along, please let me know....

Copierguy said:

I have been lucky enough to find both of the heavier Aristocrat Jrs. mentioned here. Mine are both uncased user grade in nice condition.
The one with end caps is my favorite at almost 72g and the one without end caps only weighs around 62g. It has the flat base plate / un-notched center bar head but also has a hollow TTO knob. (Photos by Leon)

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I also have one each of the heavyweights - was the hollow-handled, no-end-cap razor sold as an Aristocrat Jr.? Mine is in a white plastic case, reportedly for the Australian market (there was one sold in a blue case, for England...?).

I also have a flat-base, solid handle Aristo Jr. that apparently was sold in a Canadian Rocket case. (Also a typical Rocket and a gold Rocket in Canadian cases.)

bythbook said:

I also have one each of the heavyweights - was the hollow-handled, no-end-cap razor sold as an Aristocrat Jr.? Mine is in a white plastic case, reportedly for the Australian market (there was one sold in a blue case, for England...?).

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Yes that is consistent with mr-razor's site and reports from down under.

bythbook said:

I also have a flat-base, solid handle Aristo Jr. that apparently was sold in a Canadian Rocket case. (Also a typical Rocket and a gold Rocket in Canadian cases.)

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Seems like a lot of models are found in Rocket cases north of the boarder.

Thanks fellows. I got to say that the #48 sure got the looks. Only 62g? Is this razor more aggressive (to me=better) than the later flat based one? Please answer no

bythbook said:

I also have one each of the heavyweights - was the hollow-handled, no-end-cap razor sold as an Aristocrat Jr.? Mine is in a white plastic case, reportedly for the Australian market (there was one sold in a blue case, for England...?).

I also have a flat-base, solid handle Aristo Jr. that apparently was sold in a Canadian Rocket case. (Also a typical Rocket and a gold Rocket in Canadian cases.)

Click to expand...

Yes your right, I have the Blue case, White Case, and Red cased Aristocrat Jr in Rocket case made in Canada.

Henrik said:

Thanks fellows. I got to say that the #48 sure got the looks. Only 62g? Is this razor more aggressive (to me=better) than the later flat based one? Please answer no

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Yeah that #48 is a looker for sure, but I got a smoother more comfortable shave with the heavier #53 like you pictured. Seems like for me anyway razors in the 70-100g range work better (for me).

I prefer the #48 to the heaver Aristo Jr./Canadian Rocker as a shaver; I'm aching to latch on to the aluminum version Jr.! I have aluminum HD Rockets (incl. the anodized gold - lightest TTO ever, I think!), an aluminum #66, and #58.... I believe an aluminum Jr. will close out the lightweight English TTOs. And they really do shave well for me.

I missed a #48 last night but I have the same as Henrik and thats a great razor. More aggressive compared to my beautiful #58 that I bought from Henrik! Thank you my cyberfriend!

I have an #53. I absolutely love it. My neighbour gave it to me one day when I was helping her out with her yard sale. It was her deceased husband's razor. It was dirty and grimy but I managed to clean it up nicely.

larzone said:

I missed a #48 last night but I have the same as Henrik and thats a great razor. More aggressive compared to my beautiful #58 that I bought from Henrik! Thank you my cyberfriend!

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Pleasure my friend

Nate1976 said:

I have an #53. I absolutely love it. My neighbour gave it to me one day when I was helping her out with her yard sale. It was her deceased husband's razor. It was dirty and grimy but I managed to clean it up nicely.

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I got to admit that it indeed was some time since I last used the #53 (I have played with SEs for quite some time) so I had a go this morning. Yep- it is still on my very top. The #53 seems immune as when it comes to blades. No matter what I throw in- I always get a efficient and smooth shave.

Thanks for the info about the #48 fellows. I don´t think I will bother to hunt down one after all. Oh- yes rather amusing. My two #53 have different weights (70g and 72g). A little odd. First time I encountered that two razors within the same model actually differ.

I have a #53 that has been my favorite piece since the day i got it. Smooth shave every time. I'd like to pick up the different versions of these guys some day, but at the same time that #53 makes me think i could switch to a minimalist with one razor!

Henrik said:

My favourite "daily driver" would probably be the British made Aristocrat Junior. What a great model this is. The craftsmanship is vast superior to the Rockets IMHO. Perfect balance and pretty aggressive.
From what I know Gillette put out three versions:

• The #48 (without end caps)- the earliest one- from around 1948.
• The #53- from around 1949-1952

Both razors got pat. 430.030 and both have flat base plates. Pretty heavy pieces that weights in at 72g.

• The last one that British Gillette put out is from 1953-1954 and have a rocket styled head and are stamped patent pending.

Well- are there three versions altogether? Am I correct that there are only three models that DO differ in characteristics?

Click to expand...

that´s the only Ad that I know, for a Aristocrat Jr. with the rocket style head:

Apparently I got the #s wrong. Based on Achims ad and a look on the his site (perhaps for the 1000 time)
So is this correct then Achim?

- Flat based= #51
- Diamond plate= #53
- No end caps=#48
- Aluminium= no suggestion yet..

Henrik said:

Apparently I got the #s wrong. Based on Achims ad and a look on the his site (perhaps for the 1000 time)
So is this correct then Achim?

- Flat based= #51
- Diamond plate= #53
- No end caps=#48
- Aluminium= no suggestion yet..

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the #51 comes with both razors
the #53 comes with both razors too

mr-razor said:

the #51 comes with both razors
the #53 comes with both razors too

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LOL! Gillette sure did not know what trouble they would cause decades later. Thanks all the same. I have been pondering the numbering system for the Aristo Jrs for quite some time.