What is your favorite Gillette NEW?

I've been shaving with a Merkur long-handle for the past few months but wanted to try a shorter handle. After looking at replacement handles I decided to give Gillette's NEW razor a try. Yesterday I received the pair that I purchased on eBay. One appears to be nearly unused, (except for a small crack in the handle) and the other is a bit tarnished. I decided to clean the tarnished one for use.

This morning I loaded it with a new Astra SP blade and gave it a try. I am very impressed with the razor. At first it felt like it wasn't cutting at all, but resulted in the closest shave of my life, (although I received a couple minor weepers). This razor will see daily use.

Could anyone tell me when these were manufactured?

Tarnished razor (the one I am currently using):
Marked "Made in USA" with diamond Gillette logo with arrow through letters.
Pat. no. 1815745
Pat. no. 1858316
Reissue Pat. No. 17567

Untarnished razor: only marked "Made in USA" with diamond Gillette logo with arrow through letters.

This first photo was posted by the seller in the auction, the second is of my morning shave setup.

View attachment 550893

NEW LC with bar handle.
Ball end handles just don't feel right to me.

Nightcap said:

Could anyone tell me when these were manufactured?

Tarnished razor (the one I am currently using):
Marked "Made in USA" with diamond Gillette logo with arrow through letters.
Pat. no. 1815745
Pat. no. 1858316
Reissue Pat. No. 17567

Untarnished razor: only marked "Made in USA" with diamond Gillette logo with arrow through letters.

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The last patent was issued in May 1932, so you can say the razors that have all 3 patents couldn't have been produced before that. Pre patent razors were most likely produced between 1929-'32 or '33.

nuclearblast said:

The last patent was issued in May 1932, so you can say the razors that have all 3 patents couldn't have been produced before that. Pre patent razors were most likely produced between 1929-'32 or '33.

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Thank you for sharing. There is something very pleasing in shaving with a well maintained 80+ year old razor.

fordfather said:

Gillette used brass made with Unicorn tears!

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I wondered why http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/445472-Manufacture-of-Safety-Razors-and-Blades-(1938) said it was "approximately 66/33 composition". Now I suppose the secret is out: 66% copper, 33% zinc, 1% unicorn.

And that 1% makes all the difference!

mblakele said:

I wondered why http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/445472-Manufacture-of-Safety-Razors-and-Blades-(1938) said it was "approximately 66/33 composition". Now I suppose the secret is out: 66% copper, 33% zinc, 1% unicorn.

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That approximation might mean it is naval brass (C46400) with about 1% tin.

Yes, could be. They might have specified a little lead for machinability too.

The only problem is that 66/33 (yellow brass) is pretty specific. But, I am guessing the 1% is most likely tin.

Or there were some percentages of less than 1, or it was not exactly 66/33: the article said "approximately". From context I took it that Gillette considered the exact composition to be a trade secret.

After all they would not want the public to find out about the unicorns.

Not sure. I only have the LC and SC right now

.

Can one of our experts tell me which NEW head/base plate is this. I think its a 7 o clock. Ignore the handle, its a bamboo ikon.

Zed, I'm having issues with my x-ray vision at the moment, or maybe it's because the handle doesn't let me see the brand. [emoji38]

It can be Gillette branded too, in fact Gillettes are more common I think. There's a few different brands, but the brand is the only difference. It's still a Flat Bottom NEW.

Sorry Edgar. It has a Gillette case and says Gillette where the handle is blocking. No 7 o'clock or anything else. Was curious of the make. What's the difference between flat bottom and raised flat bottom?

Thanks again friend!

No, no worries. It's just that there's a few brands under which those were sold, but the razors are all the same. If it says Gillette then it's a Gillette. [emoji6]

The baseplate of that razor is completely flat, and you can see the alignment pins.

The RFB design is different, the center of the baseplate is "raised" and you can't see the alignment pins.

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/The NEW/1934 NEW No44.JPG

We should start calling them a dropped flat bottom

fordfather said:

We should start calling them a dropped flat bottom

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We try not to use the word "dropped" when talking about OC razors ...

DrAwkward said:

We try not to use the word "dropped" when talking about OC razors ...

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Yup ... don't even want to think about it.

[emoji27]

Here is another picture Edgar, I swore I could see the Gillette logo, haha.

zed117 said:

Sorry Edgar. It has a Gillette case and says Gillette where the handle is blocking. No 7 o'clock or anything else. Was curious of the make. What's the difference between flat bottom and raised flat bottom?

Thanks again friend!

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Since you're asking that question, it's obvious that you NEED an RFB now......