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Safety Razor Of the Week, 9/21-9/27 The Gillette Diplomat

The Gillette Diplomat


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This week I would like to take a look at and discuss the Gillette Diplomat.
I was not able to find much in the way of information about these razor but I can say it is one of my favorite razors to shave with and it is very easy on the eyes.



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The Diplomat is know as a TTO (Turn to Open) razor and was produced between 1953 and 1955. This razor came with a 24 ct Gold plating with a topcoat of lacquer to protect the gold, as it is a rather soft material.
One way to identify this beauty is the handle, which is thicker than the Super Speed, is fluted and completely knurled the interior length from neck to knob unlike the Aristocrat of the same years which had a smooth band just above the knob.
The Diplomat does have a silver counterpart, which we all know to be the President.

The Diplomat is 3.25” in overall length and weighs in at 70 grams. The blade gap of this razor is .64mm, which is the same as the Gillette New and the Merkur HD/38C.
One other thing to note is that this razor come with the notched center bar to accept the use of the Blue blade dispenser packs produced at the time.

The Diplomat came in a very handsome leather clad case that was embossed with the Gillette crest in 24 ct Gold Leaf as seen below.


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(1953 Gillette Diplomat, Photo Courtesy of mr-razor, Thank you Achim)



As I stated above, this is one of my favorite, if not the favorite razor in my collection to shave with. I get a fantastic shave from this razor, very comfortable and clean and yes a BBS shave.
There is just something about shaving with a Gold razor that just seems to make the shave that much more luxurious. If you every have the opportunity to try out a Gillette Diplomat, I highly recommend you jump on it.

Any and all information about this razor is more than welcomed.

Back to Safety Razor of the Week.
 
I am glad you waited to post this until this week. :wink: I couldn't have afforded more for the one I just bought. :lol: I will get my first shave with it tomorrow, but if it is anything like my President, I already love it.
 
Fine write up Ray. A week or two back you mentioned that it was in heavy rotation, so I got mine out and loaded it up. Though I had decided several months earlier that it was on the aggressive side, I used it again. Seems that even a few months have improved my technique. Had a great week of shaves before switching it out. I have a nice clean 55/4 but hanker for one of those sweet boxes.
 
One thing that I was surprised by with mine was that the case is not as similar to the President case as I had assumed. I thought they were identical except for the colors, but this is not true.
 
One thing that I was surprised by with mine was that the case is not as similar to the President case as I had assumed. I thought they were identical except for the colors, but this is not true.

So Rodd, Why don't you share with us the differences please?
 
So Rodd, Why don't you share with us the differences please?

The President had green felt lining and a very simplistic green "Gillette" lettering inside the lid. I found this very box this weekend with a 50's style Super Speed in it. Although, the flair tip of the SS fit so perfectly into the impression in the box that it may have been the original resident. As we all know, Gillette commonly used excess cases from one model with razors of another.

Of course, the one I found is quite a bit nastier. I'm going to have to do some work on it to make it presentable.

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I will try to get pictures today after work, but here are some basic differences I noticed, and remember off hand:

The corners of the Diplomat case come to pretty sharp corners, while the President case has more rounded corners.

The President case has a ridge to hold the blades in place, the Diplomat does not.

The President case upper lining has a plastic protective coating, the Diplomat does not. (at least mine doesn't)

My President case opens to an obtuse angle, my Diplomat opens to an acute angle. *both pretty close to 90 degrees, but side by side you can definitely tell.

I will take some pictures side by side as soon as I get a chance.


edit: I just looked at some pictures of #66 sets, and they seem to follow the same cases. The Rhodium one has the same case shape as the President, and the gold the same shape as the Diplomat.
 
As I stated above, this is one of my favorite, if not the favorite razor in my collection to shave with. I get a fantastic shave from this razor, very comfortable and clean and yes a BBS shave.

+1 a very nice shave, although I like my '40s Aristocrat a bit better...
 
I'll have to give my Diplomat another try. It and my President are two of my least aggressive Gillette razors, compared to a '40's SS, and a 50's Aristocrat. I finally was able to get a good shave with the President using a Feather blade, so I'll try that with the Diplomat.

jim
 
The President had green felt lining and a very simplistic green "Gillette" lettering inside the lid. I found this very box this weekend with a 50's style Super Speed in it. Although, the flair tip of the SS fit so perfectly into the impression in the box that it may have been the original resident. As we all know, Gillette commonly used excess cases from one model with razors of another.

Thank you Rodd...:biggrin:
 
The President had green felt lining and a very simplistic green "Gillette" lettering inside the lid. I found this very box this weekend with a 50's style Super Speed in it. Although, the flair tip of the SS fit so perfectly into the impression in the box that it may have been the original resident. As we all know, Gillette commonly used excess cases from one model with razors of another.

Of course, the one I found is quite a bit nastier. I'm going to have to do some work on it to make it presentable.

Maybe this pictures can help. The Diplomat case looks more like the gold #66 case (maybe the next week-post from Ray? :wink:):
 
Thanks Achim for taking the pictures! Saved me some work. :wink: Anyway, I was surprised by the differences, first time I saw them side by side was in my hands. :biggrin:
 
Yes, keep them coming. I like reading up on old razors. I've never cared for the look of gold razors but the Diplomat is the exception. Mostly because it so closely resembles the President - my all-time favorite. All that for $5 ...wow!

...Ray
 
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