One of the aspects I most enjoyed when I first came across B&B was the willingness of its members to share information and its civility. GlennConti is following that tradition with this post. It's not everyday that a unknown variation of a very popular and desired razor is shared in an open forum so as to inform, share and educate. Glenn is sharing his excitement, that's good. I was excited when I stumbled upon it in mismatched case. It was not until it arrived that I noticed the razor was not the standard issue F-4 Toggle. I am pleased to have played a part in bringing this razor to the attention to the wetshaving community. The market determines value. Wetshaving enthusiast like Glenn make it personal on a different level. Hopefully we can all be pleased that one of our members grave this rare jewel a good home.
The "Chrome" Toggle That Isn't
- Thread starter GlennConti
- Start date
+1. To change the the subject a little bit are you planning on getting it wet or is she a display piece only?
You have some very nice razors.
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DaleJr, that is an excellent point. For the record I did not, now I'm wondering why I didn't.
Give him the credit for the holy grail and name it after him like the paleontologists do for new dinosaur discoveries. I say we call this the CONTITOGGLESAURUSRARUSMAXIMUS? Seriously though nice razor.
- Thread starter
- #26
I haven't used it yet. I am a little leery of the strength of the toggling mechanism. It works great now. But, I do not want to put undue strain on it. I am going to use it at least once. Then very sparingly. I have a D1 toggle also that I treat less gingerly. I have a replated 24k bottom dial that I can use and a replated rhodium red dot fatboy also that I can use. The blade tray is similar on all of these to the gold "chrome" type. So I don't think I will be missing much by saving it.
Did you get this razor from ATT?
I don't know what it is, but it is beautiful. Better than anything I have.
BTW, I recently learned that anyone can edit the Wiki. Go for it.
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Congrats on a wonderful score. So much of Gillette's history has been obscured by the sands of time.
There many factors to consider. First of all any razor can be plated in gold ( not that I'm saying your is) , which makes many members question it's authenticity. The date and design of the dial mechanism are the only indicators for this razor to be a Chrome/Nickel set. But due to the possibility that is not authentic there may be some hesitation on the WIKI update.
I can just go in WIKI and input your razor, but before that is considered we may have to come to a consensus and eliminate all the factors that dont make it a Gold version of the Chrome/nickel Toggle set. As I told Stan while back, I personally think it was a special presentation set ( which Gillette was known for) that was made for worker or anyone held in high regards at Gillette or any other business. It most likely is a special order razor that somehow survived all these years and we are lucky to see it. Thanks to Stan and yourself.
Glen, I just took a F4 Toggle (not chrome) apart this weekend for a B&B member. It was frozen on the toggle switch and did not adjust. I put the toggle and adjuster through the ringer. These razors are pretty durable and resilient and can take a licking. I soaked it in hot water and Dawn and kept at it until it released. But the Toggle was dropped on the toggle/switch handle and it damaged the insides of the rod and adjuster. This made it impossible to adjust. I PM'ed a few B&B members and came to the conclusion that i would not dis-engage the rod from the adjuster area due to the possibility that the damage was not repairable. So i just tweaked the rod and put it back together and it is working at 90%. The member is ecstatic.
Here is a look inside the Toggle
Think about this, I have a nickel plated version that is cased, with a shipper, packing and instructions. But even with all that, I do not find any supporting evidence that nickel is what that factory shipped it with.
Toggle?
Gary, he bought it off Stan at Above the Tie.com.
Yes, as complete as this "Chrome Toggle" set is, their is no documentation about the plating it left the factory with.
Wait...........shipper box, case, papers?Yes, as complete as this "Chrome Toggle" set is, their is no documentation about the plating it left the factory with.
All I am illustrating is before we say this or that razor is or is not original because of this or that, stop and think about what we really know, meaning something that is "Provable". I do not remember ever seeing any advertising for the "Chrome" Toggle model. 1960 was a wild year for the Gillette adjustable. Think about what we have seen so far for adjustables with F-4 date codes. The Bottom Dial, the Red Dot Gold Toggle, the "Standard" FatBoy, the nicknamed "Chrome" Toggle, a Red Dot FatBoy and now this gold plated "Chrome" style Toggle.
I could easily see some executive picking up the phone and asking production to do "something special" for that awards dinner next month down in Philly. Even if these one of a kind examples were not made for retail, it would not make them less real.
I could easily see some executive picking up the phone and asking production to do "something special" for that awards dinner next month down in Philly. Even if these one of a kind examples were not made for retail, it would not make them less real.
