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Safety Razor Of the Week, 10/5 – 10/11 The Gillette Richwood

The Gillette Richwood “New Standard”


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This week I would like to take a look at and discuss the Gillette Richwood.
It is one of the “New Improved” open combed models and is displayed in a dark, rich wooden case with a matching blade box. I have to say that the Richwood is one sweet looking razor.
Other sets using this razor were The Bostonian, The Traveler, The Algonquin, and The Chippendale. Each came with their own distinctive cases and blade box.
There was also a Gold version of The New Standard. The production of these razors ran from 1921 through 1929.



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The Richwood is known as a three-piece razor comprised of the head top plate, tube handle (which is much thicker than a standard SS), and tube through locking knob. It is a silver plated razor with a distinctive diamond pierced handle.
The Richwood is 3-1/4” overall in length with a blade gap of .71mm with is just about a 6 on the Gillette adjustable razor. This makes the Richwood a fairly aggressive razor.

The New Improved is easily recognized with its distinctive flat top guard plate which still use the infamous guide pins.
One interesting feature of the New Improved head was the “channeled guard” which was designed to allow for adjustments to the blade gap (based on how far the handle was tightened against the blade) without changing the basic blade angle.



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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 vintage razor that seems to make the shave that much more special. If you every have the opportunity to try out a Gillette Richwood, I highly recommend you take it.


Here is my SOTD for today.

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

Back to Safety Razor of the Week.
 
one of my favorite gillette razors. while my set is a silver 1924 new improved, the richwood box is really amazing.
 
I have my dad's high school graduation present from his parents which is a silver plated Gillette New Standard. He graduated in 1922 which coinsides with the serial no. on the razor.

He never used it much. . . I'm not sure why he didn't, but frankly, it looks like a piece of fine jewelry when it's polished up. I suspect he couldn't bring himself to contributing to degrading it's beauty. Unfortunately it isn't a Richwood with it's great wooden case but, even in it's leatherette covered case, it is one of the prized specimens in my collection. Probably the only razor I have that I wouldn't sell.

Ray, your pictures are great. That silver is at it's best on that black background. This razor was a fine choice to be one of your "razors of the week".

Regards,
Tom
 
Like it? I love it! The razor and box are fantastic.

I have a 1925 New Standard silver (really beautiful) and a gold New Standard (don't recall the date). The gold one has seen better days, presentation-wise.

I haven't shaved with either of them yet (I'm enjoying the Goodwill razor right now).

I'm looking forward to trying the silver New Standard - it's got a really nice weight to it (I may need to work on my biceps before using it. :lol: ).
 
I have a 1928 New Improved (no serial number) in the New Standard presentation and loved the shave. I can honestly say it was my best shave ever.

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One of my favourite sets, and one of the stars of my collection, too beautiful to shave with, i just cant bear to ruin it. Still love to lok at it though :redface:
 
VERY nicely done Ray! I look forward to these installments every week. I have a New Improved from 1921. I'm really looking forward to shaving with it, I just can't get enough of my president right now.

Does anyone know exactly when production started in 1921? The Krumholz book is not real clear on this.
 
I have a 1928 New Improved (no serial number) in the New Standard presentation and loved the shave. I can honestly say it was my best shave ever.

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Guido

The guide pins on your New Improved are different than most. They seam to be spherical rather than conical, almost like the ABC razors.
 
Add me as a fan of your reports, Ray. Informative with excellent pictures - good combo.

Can you clarify the naming of these razors? I've never gotten it straight. Am I right that The Bostonian, The Richwood, The Traveler, etc are all different names for New Standard? Is it a marketing angle only? In any case, that's a beauty. Someday....

...Ray
 
Add me as a fan of your reports, Ray. Informative with excellent pictures - good combo.

Can you clarify the naming of these razors? I've never gotten it straight. Am I right that The Bostonian, The Richwood, The Traveler, etc are all different names for New Standard? Is it a marketing angle only? In any case, that's a beauty. Someday....

...Ray

These razors are all the same, the diffrence is the sets that they came in. Each had diffrent cases and matching blade boxes.

For example, The Richwood came in the Wood case while the Bostonian came in a Chrome case and when you opened it, the bed raised up to present the razor.

BTW, Thank you for your kind words folks.
 
Am I right that The Bostonian, The Richwood, The Traveler, etc are all different names for New Standard? Is it a marketing angle only? In any case, that's a beauty. Someday....

...Ray

the New Standard is a name of a set too. They are all New Improved razors in different cases.
 
Thanks Ray for the excellent threads of different razors. Great for discussion and reference.
Some extra info on these razors,and other razors of this era: Tuckaway,New Standard,Richwood,Big Fellow and others were known as "The New Gillette" with different names.
The gold "New Standard" was known as "The New Deluxe"
Other Gold sets of this era may also have been called "The New Deluxe"?
The Richwood Silver set has a dark mahogany case, which shows off the silver razor to great effect.
The Richwood "G" (Gold) has a plain mahogany case, giving a much softer presentation.
Shall PM with some photos if you want to include as a reference.
Graeme
 
Thanks Ray for the excellent threads of different razors. Great for discussion and reference.
Some extra info on these razors,and other razors of this era: Tuckaway,New Standard,Richwood,Big Fellow and others were known as "The New Gillette" with different names.
The gold "New Standard" was known as "The New Deluxe"
Other Gold sets of this era may also have been called "The New Deluxe"?
The Richwood Silver set has a dark mahogany case, which shows off the silver razor to great effect.
The Richwood "G" (Gold) has a plain mahogany case, giving a much softer presentation.
Shall PM with some photos if you want to include as a reference.
Graeme


Thank you for your post however these are from the "New Improved" era the next generation was know as "The New" era. Note the head style of these razors with the milled flat and still the use of the guide pins.
The next era or "The New" cane with a slot milled in the plate and the guide pins went away.

I always found it funny that Gillette mad the "New Improved" version and then they made "The New" version... a little bass ackwards don't you think....:lol:
 
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