Wow, just realized that my D2 Gillette flair tip is a TV special razor.

I reported the acquisition of this razor in the November Aquisitions thread is not just a run of the mill flair tip but is actually a 1958 TV Special razor! I used the razor last night and while shaving it hit me that this handle doesn't look like a regular flair tip handle. And sure enough it is the TV Special.



Sorry for for the upside down pictures.

Wow, that's one anti-gravity TV special Gillette!

tonich said:

Wow, that's one anti-gravity TV special Gillette!

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No that's one old guy who forgets which way to hold the ipad for taking pictures.

Congrats. Your photos gave me a good excuse to do some headstands!

Congrats, thanks for sharing!

Ill try to get a couple of better picts this afternoon. Using my phone

dionesius3 said:

No that's one old guy who forgets which way to hold the ipad for taking pictures.

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Lol that made me chuckle for quite awhile!

OK here are a few better pics of my razor. By the way this was a five dollar antique store find in pretty gross condition mind you, but it cleaned up pretty good I think.

Very nice find and great job of cleaning it up.

BTW, was their any difference between the TV and the regular Super Speed other than the vertical band on the knurling of the TV? If not why bother with such a minor change to create another model? What was the TV designator - an advertisement of sorts on Television?

New guy here learning more every day!

jcs266 said:

Very nice find and great job of cleaning it up.

BTW, was their any difference between the TV and the regular Super Speed other than the vertical band on the knurling of the TV? If not why bother with such a minor change to create another model? What was the TV designator - an advertisement of sorts on Television?

New guy here learning more every day!

Click to expand...

OK here you go:

Gillette TV

1954 Gillette TV Superspeed

Note: This first group of photos is for the 1954 TV Special, which appears in all respects to look like a standard 40's Gillette Superspeed

The Gillette TV superspeed was ONLY made during the year 1954, and 1958 . The 1954 TV Special razor had a Gillette 1940's style Super Speed design, it was a special limited edition re-release promoting the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports . The 1958 version can be discerned from the 60's superspeed
by the lack of banding on the handle.

Manufacturer: Gillette

Dates in Production: 1954 Date Code Z3 and Z4 ONLY

Type: DE, TTO

Weight:

Description:

Photos:

1958 Gillette TV Superspeed

Manufacturer: Gillette

Dates in Production: 1958

Type: DE, TTO

Weight: Varies by design

Description:

Notes of Interest: There is also a 1958
BritishTV Super-Speed Rhodium plated handle
Pat. 694.093 II
Made in England ( the only rhodium plated SuperSpeed)


Photos:

jcs266 said:

Very nice find and great job of cleaning it up.

BTW, was their any difference between the TV and the regular Super Speed other than the vertical band on the knurling of the TV? If not why bother with such a minor change to create another model? What was the TV designator - an advertisement of sorts on Television?

New guy here learning more every day!

Click to expand...

Well the difference is seemingly just the knurling pattern. These were heavily advertised on the Cavalcade of Sports show and they came with a Sports record booklet. They also had various sports stars doing commercials talking about the TV special razors.
i now own two of these and two regular Flair Tips from the same time and I can't tell very much difference in how they shave. I prefer the looks of the TV special and it feels slightly more comfortable in my hand but that's likely just a personal preference.

The razors were just a simple marketing ploy in my opinion, but it worked and sold lots of razors, so in the end it was sucessful and created lots of razors for us to find today.

Pick one up and give it a try they are great shavers.

i also have the 1954 Z4 TV special, wow I forgot that one!

So I have three TV Special razors and two regular Flair Tips.

jcs266 said:

Very nice find and great job of cleaning it up.

BTW, was their any difference between the TV and the regular Super Speed other than the vertical band on the knurling of the TV? If not why bother with such a minor change to create another model? What was the TV designator - an advertisement of sorts on Television?

New guy here learning more every day!

Click to expand...

Gillette never made any razors geared towards any particular or special request by advertisers, the Gillette design, research and manufacturing teams made the razors and the ad/promotions departments would allocate a razor to a particular ad campaign as needed, many times Gillette would use outdated razors and parts too such as the 1954/Super Speed TV special that was a SS 1940's design razor.

Fun to see this thread, as I just shaved this morning with my first ever vintage razor, which is also a 1958 Gillette "TV Special" Super Speed. Mine is also in great condition! The shave was a bit mild for my taste, but it's certainly a good razor. I love the knurling.