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

Cap finished ultrasonically cleaning my blue tip and detailed the head and handle today. It was given a coat of Zip Wax and does look sharp. After all, one does want to Look Sharp, Be Sharp, and Feel Sharp just as the Gillette March says. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown View attachment 674915View attachment 674916View attachment 674918

Beautiful Razor Tony!
Fit in every way to execute the Gillette March in style!
Are you able to join us for Blue Tip Mondays?

mgbbrown said:

A Series I, Wheaton Glass Old Spice bottle that was never used has found its way to the Brown house for little geld. Series I bottles contain an open script P characteristic of the earlier Hull Pottery earthenware bottles. By 1946, Hull was unable to keep up with the demand for Shulton's Old Spice After Shave and Talcum Powder. Bottles were poorly sealed, and the glaze often contained drips or runs in the stenciled ship logo, script, or contents label. Wheaton Glass solved the problem with uniformly cast bottles that sealed well and had excellent graphics. Stoppers were plastic and of the same style as the metal hull stoppers. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown View attachment 675423View attachment 675424View attachment 675425

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That looks way better than in the other photos! Sweet!

Once it is back, Ozark Kedger- I'll have to power it up on Mondays. The razor was little used when I found it, but a Blue Tip Super Speed case soon followed, something that I felt would take more time to locate than it actually did and enamored me all the more to this particular Super Speed variant. Work demands, mowing three acres, and my elderly mom's health are occupying a good bit of time. I may need to call Sundays by default my Blue Tip Mondays- I generally get up early enough for a more leisurely go at it as the British say before heading off to church, making my time spent with this often overlooked Super Speed more appreciated on my part for being the incredibly mild shaver that it is.

Perhaps Cap will see this and post on his overall experiences with Blue Tip restorations. He thinks that they are particularly susceptible to degradation by catalytic reactions inside the handle, perhaps in part to the fact that the handle is cast and could easily be an alloy of aluminum or zinc that manufacturers use to make inexpensive parts, and therefore more reactive than the spun aluminum handles used during the Black Tip Super Speed production a couple of years earlier at the height of our involvement in Korea. I am sure that Gillette realized that this was a problem, as they anodized the ferrule to lessen the opportunity at that contact point. The spotting, or cloudiness found on the surface of my Blue Tip Super Speed's ferrule, has begun to show the typical break-down characteristic of some anodized surfaces.

Adam; The bottle is truly remarkable-filled completely with circa 1946-1948 Old Spice after shave; the graphics are not faded from UV exposure and are completely intact. There are no dints in the metal aperture used to seal the bottle. Wheaton used a four-piece molding process in which to manufacture the glass- base or bottom casting, two sides, and a circular lid. Not to mention how it smells-wonderful! Below is a more accurate photograph of the reverse side of the bottle. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Tony, you are quite welcome. It is your friendship and kindness that has kept me on the hunt! I can't wait till you get it! Thanks for the nod and know that none is needed. I am just humbled to be a part of it all. You have taught every reader of this thread something of history they didn't know, I'm sure. It is very inspiring.

Adam

Awesome addition Tony!


Have you used the Ranger Tech yet?

If so tell us your impressions.

And I love that Senator box!

Dion; Hopefully I will be able to muster a more detailed response in the next few days, as I am currently assisting various caregivers in the return home of my mom from the hospital in Raleigh. Being able to reply allows me a chance to rest a moment and at least peck out s few words on my relatively new iPhone 6s, as I remain a Luddite at heart.

The Senator box photograph illustrates the similarities between it and the 1947 box. The Senator box Dion, from 1938, compares perhaps better to those sold with Gillette Tech razors, in which the graphics are lithographed onto the lid and not foil embossed and lithographed- the 1947 box is quite elaborate in comparison. The Gillette Senator box pictured is not mine, but does illustrate anticedents if you will. Hopefully the platform onto which the 1947 razor rests will clean up to an acceptable level. Shout Wipes may do the trick there. Note the differences in the die-cut razor handle holder between 1947 and 1948. The 1948 version has an added rest onto which the enclosed Speed Pak dispenser is angled for presentation purposes. The 1947 box appears to have served more of a utilitarian purpose rather than one for display.

I have not used, nor do I own, a Ranger Tech- but I suspect it to have a tendency to shave aggressively, if my early 1947 Super Speed which uses a Ranger Tech blade bed is an indication.

Good to hear from you Dion! Keep those eyes peeled for a tan 1947 Speed Pak please! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

dionesius3 said:

Awesome addition Tony!


Have you used the Ranger Tech yet?

If so tell us your impressions.

And I love that Senator box!

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mgbbrown said:

Dion; Hopefully I will be able to muster a more detailed response in the next few days, as I am currently assisting various caregivers in the return home of my mom from the hospital in Raleigh. Being able to reply allows me a chance to rest a moment and at least peck out s few words on my relatively new iPhone 6s, as I remain a Luddite at heart.

The Senator box photograph illustrates the similarities between it and the 1947 box. The Senator box Dion, from 1938, compares perhaps better to those sold with Gillette Tech razors, in which the graphics are lithographed onto the lid and not foil embossed and lithographed- the 1947 box is quite elaborate in comparison. The Gillette Senator box pictured is not mine, but does illustrate anticedents if you will. Hopefully the platform onto which the 1947 razor rests will clean up to an acceptable level. Shout Wipes may do the trick there. Note the differences in the die-cut razor handle holder between 1947 and 1948. The 1948 version has an added rest onto which the enclosed Speed Pak dispenser is angled for presentation purposes. The 1947 box appears to have served more of a utilitarian purpose rather than one for display.

I have not used, nor do I own, a Ranger Tech- but I suspect it to have a tendency to shave aggressively, if my early 1947 Super Speed which uses a Ranger Tech blade bed is an indication.

Good to hear from you Dion! Keep those eyes peeled for a tan 1947 Speed Pak please! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

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I would like my '41 ranger tech shave to my '65 Red tip SS. More aggressive than the 40's SS's.

I will be trying it out in about 10 minutes Brent! Thanks for the post Sir! God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Tony, that looks amazing!!! It's the cream of the crop! Man, did that clean up nicely! Congrats.

Adam; I worked on it some last evening following my initial shave, in preparation for sending it to Cap for inspection and ultrasonic cleaning. The plating appears completely intact, including the handle and blade bed, and the doors are perfectly aligned too. I see only minimal and careful use when it was first purchased in 1947. Because this is the first of the Super Speed Line and an extremely early transitional Ranger Tech example- my plans are to stabilize the nickel plating and use it as inclined until I can no longer shave myself. Hopefully that is another twenty years of use in rotation with my other Super Speed razors. It is in remarkable shape, even for a sixty-nine year-old razor. Gillette was having to rectify some quality control problems on the assembly lines during the 1946-1947 early post-war production period, and I do think that some of the irregularities in the blade bed that can be seen in that particular photograph above, illustrate the need to have hired Joseph Juran and his team of quality control experts to improve their production techniques, which appear to be a part of the workforce culture at Gillette during that time in their history.

The box also restored well. I may touch-up a corner that is soiled on the underside in hopes of removing a stain, but that certainly is no distraction at this point. Should I locate the correct tan Speed Pak dispenser, I will insert the three S4 Blue Blades to make my joy complete as the Good Book says.

Brent; I did indeed shave with the 1947 Super Speed razor- unlike my initial impressions, I found it to be a mild and well-behaved shaver, delivering quite an enjoyable experience. I plan to shave with it for a couple of weeks exclusively to form a lasting opinion before sending it to Cap. I truly see why the 1940's version has been called the king of the Super Speeds. It certainly has the potential to confirm that reputation. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Although I have much to remember my father by- it is from World War II and during the early Super Speed days, up to my twin and my birth in 1955, that that I find fascinating. I did not know him then of course, and there is still much to learn. My father and mother had a wonderful marriage, and my mother has saved many mementoes from those early days and their courtship. Aside from his B4 1956 Red Tip Super Speed razor and his shipboard dog tags- I have found a Wearever mechanical pencil with definite Art Deco styling cues, perhaps used for his distance and approach speed calculations as a radar operator, or balancing chemistry equations as a graduate student. It is missing its eraser cover, but otherwise intact. I also have his Acme Thunderer nickel plated whistle that he used to coach his championship basketball team at Wheat Swamp High School where he and my mother both taught. If anything, they ooze discipline- something that I treasure even more as that characteristic defined him as a man, a Scout leader, and a father. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown

Wonderful Tony, just wonderful. Very eloquently said.

Thank you Adam! If he taught me anything- it was discipline. It has certainly defined my career path as it did his. God Bless! Tony Brown RN mgbbrown