Grandfathers Gillette

Just got this from my sister who found it in a box of stuff. I believe this is my Grandfathers first and perhaps only razor. By serial number it's 1921 vintage. Tried it and man, it requires a light touch to avoid filleting my face.

Nice! Congrats on the heirloom.

Those thin cap Single Rings are great shavers.

Congratulations on the heirloom razor! I Imagine it's a great feeling to shave with a razor your Grandfather used back in the day. Enjoy!

Yes it is very cool to use this nearly 100 year old razor. I've examined it and it looks to be in top-notch shape. I'm just going to keep it as is and keep using it.

I have the same razor, 1916 vintage. Very decent shaver, does take a light touch and good angle.

Clean that puppy up and it will shine. Mix 1 Tablespoon baking soda per one cup boiling water, line a glass bowl with aluminum foil, lay the pieces on the foil and pour in the hot water. Soak about 30 minutes and the tarnish will be gone. Repeat if necessary.

Mine was black when I found it in a shop last month. One pass through the above and here is what it looks like now. I would like to kick whoever used sandpaper on the head at some time...

Your grandfather had good taste. Enjoy!

bberg100 said:

I have the same razor, 1916 vintage. Very decent shaver, does take a light touch and good angle.

Clean that puppy up and it will shine. Mix 1 Tablespoon baking soda per one cup boiling water, line a glass bowl with aluminum foil, lay the pieces on the foil and pour in the hot water. Soak about 30 minutes and the tarnish will be gone. Repeat if necessary.

Mine was black when I found it in a shop last month. One pass through the above and here is what it looks like now. I would like to kick whoever used sandpaper on the head at some time...

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Tried the baking soda trick and it works great. Thanks

bberg100 said:

I have the same razor, 1916 vintage. Very decent shaver, does take a light touch and good angle.

Clean that puppy up and it will shine. Mix 1 Tablespoon baking soda per one cup boiling water, line a glass bowl with aluminum foil, lay the pieces on the foil and pour in the hot water. Soak about 30 minutes and the tarnish will be gone. Repeat if necessary.

Mine was black when I found it in a shop last month. One pass through the above and here is what it looks like now. I would like to kick whoever used sandpaper on the head at some time...

View attachment 573285

View attachment 573286

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It's cool how well they can clean up. Still kicking myself for selling a Fatboy I bought as part of a lot. It was very dirty and had rust marks (from blades being left in it). I didn't know how well it could clean up and sold it. I did manage to get hold of a Slim which is also a nice shaver.
Sandpaper? Maybe someone just had a very tough beard

Those are both beautiful razors. (heads back to ebay)

Very cool! And special to have one that belonged to your Grandfather like that.

What model is that? It's got me wanting to look at those.

Very nice, those are the special ones. It shows the quality of Gillette razors, when America use to make awesome stuff.

Enjoy it and cherish it

That's one mighty razor right there!
And a heirloom too!
Enjoy!

jcs266 said:

Very cool! And special to have one that belonged to your Grandfather like that.

What model is that? It's got me wanting to look at those.

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Looking at the Wiki I figure it is a Gillette old type, single ring, thin cap. That Wiki has a ton of info in it, even serial numbers by year. That's how I figured out it was made around 1921 which is also about the time my Grandfather would have started shaving on a regular basis.

Very cool. Great heirloom. Congrats.

Hi,

Very nice and very, very wonderful!

I invite you to join us:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/396818-Heirloom-Users-Club

A place for those of us who are so very lucky.

Stan

I've had several old types but no longer have one. They require a light touch, to be sure.
If you can get a great shave with an old type you know your technique is pretty good.

I find this to be surprising, I have two OLDs, a thin cap and a thick cap, and I find them to be very mild forgiving razors. Am I missing something?

Congratulations.

Enjoy.

TobyC said:

I find this to be surprising, I have two OLDs, a thin cap and a thick cap, and I find them to be very mild forgiving razors. Am I missing something?

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Mild like a Tech?

IMHO, the Old Type is not overly aggressive, perhaps a 7 on a 1-10 scale? Definitely not as aggressive as the R41 for example, but more aggressive than pretty much all other razors produced by Gillette. YMMV.

Millions of men learned how to shave with Old Types, so they're no monsters, but in the early 1900s men were used to shave with straights, not with fancy Fusions and Flexballs.

No razor is for everyone, but sometimes experimenting with the shaving angle does the trick. Quite a few members here struggled with Old Types, but once they got the angle right, their shaves improved dramatically.

Definitely not as mild as a tech!