New British Patent Single Ring Acquisition

I received this beauty in this morning’s mail, all the way from Istanbul.




The serial number stamped around the bottom of the handle is F206586. The Gillette Diamond Trade mark with the Known the World Over is stamped on top of the blade guard and under the head plate and is sewn into the case lid. There is a G in a square under the blade guard. I can’t see a Patent anywhere, but I’ll use my jeweller’s loupe tonight.

There were seven unopened 3 hole blades included. I opened one and the serial number dates the blade to mid 1912.

Given the condition of the razor and the case I feel confident that the case is the one in which the razor was sold. Before I opened the blade wrapper I was thinking, due to the Diamond Trademark Logo being sewn into the case lid, of a date around 1908. The date of the blade puts that date into question.

All comments and date estimates gratefully received.

Well that's rather stunning. Nice find! Are you going to shave with it?

Foyle said:

Well that's rather stunning. Nice find! Are you going to shave with it?

Click to expand...

I'll shave with it at least once. I have 3 other Single Rings with the 102 head, and another that I won from the same vendor and arrived today in the same parcel. My other single rings are the main part of my rotation (with my R41/2011), but they are not quite in this condition. So this one may end up being a paraphrase of your signature from Lone Watie: It's not fer use-in', it's fer lookin' at.

Wow, that is just lovely!! I wouldn't discount the date of the box as 1908 just because there are 1912 blades enclosed. They could have had an inventory of boxes on hand at the time the razor and blades were packaged. No matter, it is a wonderful find. Enjoy it!

Amazing, look's like NOS, That case is in amazing shape )

I've just been having a closer look at the blades. There are two distinctly different outer wrappers.



There are five of the first wrapper numbered 228, 233, 238, and 240 which appear to have been used, and one numbered 228 still in its wax paper.

The 2 in the other type of wrapper are both in their waxpaper and are numbered 249 and 326. The number 326 is close to, and resembles the blade shown on the Mr Razor site and designated "Made in France?".



The only difference I can see is that the Mr Razor example has Reg France and my example has BTE France.

I guess one has to end up wondering what may have happened to the owner of this razor. Was it bought around 1912 and most of the blades supplied with it used, then new blades bought in France, two of which remaining unused. Did the owner fall in battle on the western front and the razor stored by his family until no-one was left that remembered? I find this sort of speculation to be part of the pleasure of owning a 100+ year old razor.

Beautiful razor/package, congrats! Amazing to consider it traveled from Istanbul to Australia, 16000+ km. That would have been a looong voyage the year it was made!

Congrats! Beautiful razor!

She is just a beauty ! Congratulations !

Thanks for all the congratulations guys.

I checked last night with a jeweller's loupe and there's no patent number that I can find anywhere on the razor.

These British razors are proving a mystery. I am correlating the razors on the Wiki with the cases in which they were found. Not reliable, I realise due to the ease of mis-match, but never the less I am finding many boxes that would normally come from later years with early serial numbered razors and Script boxes with late numbered razors.

It's almost like the Brits decided to exercise their unique sense of humour by numbering each series backwards.

Wow. Congrats on the score and thanks for sharing it with us all. I really love seeing these old razors and makes me wonder where all its been over the past 100+ years.