Super Speed Razors: The Post World War II Shaving Culture in America to 1955

Allen and Adam; It is Monday, so in honor of that, I did indulge using my 1955 A2 Blue Tip Super Speed. Nothing fancy-Neutrogena Shave Cream for Sensitive Skin, followed by their Aftershave Baum for Sensitive Skin. I am reminded just how forgiving a Blue tip is-predictable and consistent. Too bad it is often mistaken as a less desirable option among other Super Speed razors.

Adam; The Red Tip was my third in line as far as acquiring the various mainstream Super Speed razors is concerned. It is of course more aggressive, and carries some heft and girth. Quite a different experience in comparison the Blue Tip. It is my sentimental favorite. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Here's my lineup of SuperSpeeds....a NDC and a trio of 1956's.




Love the Redtip. Try to break it out at least once a month.

Great read! Very interesting. Thanks!

Heysi; you are a man after my own heart as the resurrector of the infamous RUST BOY! I restore British cars from the 1960's, and am currently working on a rare as rocking hose manure period Remco Accessories valve cover from around 1960. Like Super Speeds- it is made to be passed down to the next generation; the thickness of the aluminum walls is about a half inch! That is a beautiful collection of Super Speeds! I take it that 1956 is your birth year...


Thank you useless shaver! I am hoping to post another installment tonight, with more razor fodder to be photographed this weekend. Thank you-I hope it continues to be informative and enjoyable. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbrown

Thank you for a very cool and informative thread. Now that I now the red tip is also fatter and heavier, not just a bigger blade gap I want one even more.

Thank you Shave Mix! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Enjoyed the thread nice read, my 48-49 speed razor is one of my favorite razors.

Thank you Troy! Gillette Red Tip Super Speeds weigh in at 64 to 66 grams-a full ten grams heavier than the original 40's style Super Speed. The exception to this generalization would be found in a small sample of 1952 X4 razors that were continuations of this style, when Gillette discontinued Black Tip Super Speed production at the end of the X3 quarter. They reduced their left-over inventory of steel heads made during the height of governmental brass demands for military use, which roughly corresponded to the period of that model's manufacturing run. Of course, not every razor made during the fourth quarter of 1952 was an amalgamation of steel and brass parts, but the ones that were made with steel heads certainly weighed more than their brass-headed counterparts. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

I'll keep looking Hawk! Many folks who enjoy Super Speeds claim that the un-notched 1947 razor was the best of the series, and call it "The King of Super Speeds." Those made in 1949 are quite plentiful, as are the cases in good nick. The red and clear early styrene case, like the un-notched Super Speed, was revised with a larger dispenser bay in which a 20 blade, Blue Blade dispenser could reside between uses. In the third quarter of 1950, Gillette began date coding production. The V designation was used, initially appearing to the left on the diamond-shaped, handle surround on the bottom of the razor head. A number appeared in the same location on the right side of the elongated and raised handle surround, indicating the quarter of production. Manufacture of V designated razors was limited, as the date code was standardized in the first quarter of 1951 to appear with an X for 1951, found in the upper left quadrant of the razor head underside, and the quarter of production in the corresponding right upper corner. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Tony, where does my 54 tv special fit into all of this?

Tony, this thread has evolved into a great read. Thank you very much for all the work you put into it. And God Bless You as well.

Keen Dog; Your 1954 Z4 Super Speed is a TV Special, as all of the 1940's style Super Speeds made during the third and forth quarter are designated TV Specials. It was the last hurrah, if you will, for that particular style of Super Speed, as Gillette was phasing out production to concentrate on the Flare Tip design of Super Speeds, introduced in the first quarter of 1954 or Z1 through the remainder of the year. The Flare Tip would undergo a razor head design change for the medium growth segment of the market in 1955. Head size, profile, and blade gap would be similar to the previous 1940's styles prior to the Korean War's intensification, which corresponds to the Black Tip Super Speed production run. The number of razors made by Gillette in this style was limited, so these are very desirable. This was the first of the TV Specials-you have the second as well, a 1958. Both were advertised on Gillette's CALVALCADE of SPORTS as a promotional razor, and both TV Special issues were mailed inside a smaller, blue-bottomed styrene case and clear lid with "TV" molded into the lid; a six blade, Blue Blade dispenser that was cellophane wrapped with instructions, designed to nestle under the razor handle when placed inside the case, was also a part of the promotion. The 1958 TV Special had distinct knurling on the handle, easily differentiating it from the standard production Flare Tip. The case used the same clear styrene lid, but with a red bottom. I have included a photograph of a 1954 Z1 Flare Tip and case for comparison purposes-please note the overall difference in size between the point-of-purchase case and the mailed TV Special case. I hope this answers your question! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Thank you Alan; you are far more knowledgeable than I. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Wow, lovely Red Tip Tony!

My Red Tip is also a 1955 A2. Pretty cool. Yours is way nicer, though. Mine's just a shaver-grade job without the box or accessories. It could use some polishing and a paint job on the tip (some of the red paint has rubbed off since I took these pics). But I get the impression these razors were made to be workhorses, not showhorses, and that's just what mine is. I love it.

mgbbrown said:

I take it that 1956 is your birth year...

Click to expand...

Nope. All 3 of these razors were celebrating their 12th birthday before I came into this world. When I picked up my Red and sliver flair tips, they both ended up being 1956. So when I went looking for my blue tip, I focused on finding a 1956. Makes it, sort of, like a mini collection.

Its been fun reading about the history of these beauties. Thanks for posting all of this great info.

Oh, and RustBoy says "Hi".

Thank you Tanker John-I use mine too, but once a week in rotation. I can easily see why my father choose one, as it is a purposeful tool indeed. The right tool for the right job as they say, gets the best results too I might add, and that is certainly the case with a Red Tip Super Speed. Not only is it nostalgic as using a razor that once chosen by my dad-it is a true testimony of the craftsmanship that made Gillette famous. I am thinking that it was viewed as their top of the line if you will, in period. Paint loss on the tip is not at all a sign of misuse though. The lacquer paint was not primed, nor the surface etched prior to painting. I doubt that Gillette baked the paint to harden it, as that would be an additional step and prolong the assembly process, as would etching. The original paint on the razors that survive, has usually been harden for sixty years by heat in an attic or tucked away in a box or its case in an unvented closet. Usually if you look inside the TTO aperture down towards the nut-it remains unpainted. These were airbrushed with an industrial grade air gun and the paint thinned enough for it to lay uniformly inside of the grooves along the tip's outer surface. The apex of the flare is the area of wear, and it does not take much to remove small amount of paint in that area, even more so when the razor was new. Most signs of wear would have come from laying the razor down on a surface with the blade silo doors closed and it moving enough to abrade the plate. This was the most common type of storage, perhaps placed inside a glass or on a medicine cabinet shelf upside down. I wash my razors following use with a toothbrush and a hand dishwashing detergent, rinse it well, shake it hard to remove water from the hollow handle, then I blow dry it as our water is very hard here in the northern North Carolina Piedmont. I lightly polish it with a cotton make-up round or a tee-shirt, and use a Q-Tip to swab out the interior of the TTO knob. This does not remove plating, and keeps the razors looking sharp. It sounds like a lengthy process, but it only takes four minutes or so. Besides, my time shaving is MY time, away from my hectic work life, and I enjoy the entire process, even the clean-up. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Tony says "hi" back at you, Rust Boy! I must admit, that I had the Fat Boy cravings for a first year razor and case. It is one reason I stopped my Super Speed acquisitions at 1955 as a cut-off date, not just the fact that I was born in 1955. I am fortunate that anentire series of Super Speeds was introduced that year by Gillette. Another more palpable reason is my wife would absolutely faint (that is Southern for being mad as Hades if I bought one) if she knew how much they routinely go for at auction in excellent condition with its case that is also un-crazed, but she was with me when I found my Art Deco Ever-Ready shaving brush in an antique shop in South Boston, Virginia. She knows that it was a nice find, as she too loves the thrill of the hunt. This leaves the 1958 TV special off of the list, but I certainly enjoyed passing mine forward to Keen Dog a while back. I'm saving the lid on the 1958 case to mate onto a 1954 TV special case base, should one show up in the future. That has been one of the nicer things about restoring my MGB as I have done-all of the vintage rally gear and period 1960's items inside the cockpit simply did not show up on our front porch one morning. Finding them was just as much fun as restoring them, I assure you. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Shaving Mugs, Lathering Bowls, Coffee Mugs and Used Razor Blade Banks

Shaving peripherals were as much a part of the emerging post war shaving experience as the razors themselves. A third release, Old Spice shaving mug, dating from 1944 to the early 1950’s, is one of my selections as a representative shaving mug relative to the time period of the early post-war Super Speed razors. These were quite popular then, and can be found easily for fewer than ten dollars today. Dating is by the Old Spice hallmark, found stamped into the concave base which was designed to reduce heat transfer to the surface on which the mug was placed- in the case of the third edition Hull mug, OLD SPICE appears across the central rope circle, and the words EARLY AMERICAN appear within a ring along the inside of the unglazed foot rim, which was wax coated to prevent glaze from adhering to the rim when the piece was kiln fired. However, since the third release remained in production much longer than the previous versions, the Old Spice hallmark is almost illegible. This in part was due to stamp wear, but production demands on the glazing lines at Hull allowed no time to drain off any excess glaze from the mug. Features of the hallmark design are the same as the second release, and the details of the Shulton Old Spice hallmark, in this case, cannot be easily seen and provides a clue to its relative age, along with an often thickly applied glaze and smearing of the glaze stenciling on the side of the mug. If purchasing to collect, look for an absenceof glaze crazing or smears in the glaze stenciling- quite common for a shaving mug produced in such large quantities for Shulton by the Hull Pottery of Crooksville, Ohio. The overall condition of the underside is also important, but can be easily restored to as new condition using a citrus based cleaner to remove accumulated grime from the unglazed foot rim, followed by applying bleach to the cleaned undersurface. Ohio clays were famous for producing a light tan colored ware, similar in looks to porcelain. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown