What's that razor worth?

Or rather...what's that razor worth...to you? How bad do you want it, and what are you willing to pay? And finally, what criteria are you basing your decision on? Condition? Rarity? With the case and instruction sheet included?

I pretty much just jumped into my first purchase, a 1951 Gillette Milord Super Speed. Most of the gold was worn away, but it was clean, operated flawlessly, and was relatively scratch-free. The seller was close by, had excellent feedback, and offered free shipping. I soon became a bit more selective, and doing research first before buying. The Milord was a good shaver, no doubt, but I could have done better. My second razor was a post-war, NDC (no date code, being made before 1951) ball-end Tech. It was in near-mint condition, but I probably paid more than if I'd been more patient and waited. (It is, by the way, a superb razor when coupled with the right blade.) So, I learned to wait, and resist impulse buying. There are exceptions to this; however, it again depends on what you're wanting. 

I've made nearly all of my purchases off "that auction site", checking the "ending soonest" first, then the "newly listed". And most have been determined by a combination of condition and price. If I find something that interests me, I'll do a specific search for other similar razors to find the best condition for the cheapest price. The most I've paid was $47.05 for a mint 1947 Milord, with the case. Too much? Maybe, but I was willing to pay that. I've lost a few because I thought the price was too high...for me. But someone else didn't. If you miss one, though, there will always be another one showing up. That's where patience pays off.

I really wasn't concerned with cases and instruction sheets, since I had made a stand (of sorts) to display all my razors. I think I have six in their correct (I think) cases. Which comes to this: Is that Type E Schick injector or Simplex Contract in its correct box? That's probably easier to determine than if that vintage Gillette Oxford is in the case that the Berkshire came in (in all probability, they're the same case; Gillette was known to use the same case for different razors). Cases do come in handy, though, especially for traveling. My NOS 1945 Contract Tech came with the correct hard clamshell case; it's my favorite when I'm on the road (performs extremely well with Polsilver blades). And in some instances, the case is a must-have. Why buy a short-handled "travel razor" if it doesn't have the case?

Your mileage may vary

You'll see this a lot when you lurk about the shaving forums. What it simply means is not everyone will get the same results. While you might get a BBS (baby butt smooth) shave with a Red-tip and a Feather razor, I might come away with irritated skin due to mine being more sensitive that yours. There are a lot of variables to consider in your search for the best combination: a razor's blade gap (described as "mild", or narrow, and "aggressive", or wide); your whiskers (I can get by with shaving every other day, while you might have a 5 o'clock shadow at noon); skin condition (smooth and sensitive, or rough and tough?); the blade itself (a vintage carbon steel blade, to me, is much harder on my skin than a Teflon-coated stainless steel blade); pre-shave ritual (some shave before showering, some after, some use a pre-shave oil, some don't, some use hot water to shave, some use cold...you get the picture). All this stuff needs to be taken into consideration if you plan to actually use what you collect. If you only plan to collect NOS (New Old Stock), unopened/unused razors, and keep them locked up in a display case, then all this is moot. But, I like the feel of a vintage razor, both in my hand and on my face. And my entire collection is on display on my bathroom countertop, all within easy reach.

What you use to lather up affects your shave as well. The two main points to consider: It's gotta be moist, and it's gotta be slick. I mainly use Williams Mug Shaving Soap. Now, I've read many a disparaging comment regarding Williams, but they've been making this stuff since like 1840, so they must be doing something right. Once you learn how to lather it up, it works just fine. The trick is keeping it moist, because it can dry up rather quickly. HEB's used to carry it; now, all they have (in the way of pucks) is Van der Hagen scented and/or glycerin (depending on which store you go to). There are a ton of other soaps out there, in tube, puck, powder, or whatever other form they could come in. Go to Google Images and search "shaving soaps", and you'll be amazed at the variety (and cost). You can even get special little bowls, too.

Brushes. I have three. But there are probably as many brushes as there are soaps. My first was a cheapie black acrylic-handled "bristle hair" that came with a stand and bowl. Well, everyone else had more than one brush...and I had that balding Czech brush...so, I started looking for a knot (the bushy part without the handle). I settled for a Maggard synthetic, and mounted it using auto/marine sealant. It was as different as night and day. The synthetic felt like I was applying lather with a soft piece of foam rubber. Too soft, actually, as I had a hard time building up a decent lather. I then found a vintage "pure bristle" Strong Set brush and Old Spice mug at an antique shop in South Carolina, and I do believe this is the best-ever brush devised by man. My bristle-hair has been relegated to the job of "travel brush", and kept in a little pickle jar...

Single-edge Razor *blades*

Unlike double-edge blades, getting good single-edge blades that preform to your needs can be a bit tricky. The variety is just not there. GEM and Personna blades can still be had; in fact, the stainless steel GEM blades available at one of the larger pharmacy chains (which btw, are marked "GEM by Personna") are quite good in a vintage GEM razor (or any other razor taking that type of blade). The coated stainless steel Ted Pella "Personna GEM" (starting to see a pattern here) are equally good, and can be easily found online. I've tried the vintage carbon steel blades, but found them too rough for my sensitive skin. But if you run across a vintage blade or two or three that gives you a good shave, there are tons on online auction sites. In fact, the old GEM "Blue Star" (without "Personna") blade is still being made.

It seems like injector blades can only be found online. Modern Schick injectors are made in China (hence the nickname "Chicks), but are actually pretty good blades. They come in 7-blade injectors, and can be easily ordered here (free shipping!) Personna (yup, they make these, too) has available a 20-blade injector that's of good quality, too. These blades will fit all the old injectors going back to like 1935. 

Something worth mentioning here: I just received an Eversharp-Schick injector razor today which came with a Personna injector of twin blades. Now, from I'd read before buying this, twin blades won't fit the older razors due to their being slightly thicker than single blades. They will, however, fit the Schick L type razors (mid-'60s) and later, and perform quite well. In fact, both Personna and Gillette packaging for twin blades states on the back that twin blades will fit any injector made after 1961 "except razors with rinsing levers, PAL razrors, and Personna regular razors". If in doubt, Google can be your friend. Research before trying to stick a twin in any vintage razor, else risk getting it stuck...removing it may be a real pain, and could cause damage to your razor.

Single-edge Razors

I've just recently been re-introduced to single-edge razors (after having *not* used one in more years than I can remember), and now I'm really tossed about which razor is my favorite. More investigation and experimentation is needed.

 GEM Junior

GEM and Star (the original "safety razor" as made by the Kampfe Brothers in 1880) are the two most prolific brands you'll find available these days. These old razors are finding a gaining popularity among wet-shavers, with their prices reflecting this. Still, the GEM Junior pictured above was had for a mere ten bucks...and gives a most triumphant shave. It's all brass with a solid handle, giving it noticeable heft, but is a true pleasure to use due to its small size. Added cool factor: the sound of whiskers being mowed down as it glides across your face. 

 Schick-Eversharp razor with injector

Injector razors are another single-edge design, the brain-child of Col. Jacob Schick. He based the concept of the injector on the loading of a repeating rifle (hence the name of his company, the "Magazine Repeating Razor Co.", founded in 1925); blades were contained in a spring-loaded "clip" that had a "key" which is inserted into the razor. A slide is pulled back, engaging the first blade, then pushed forward to force the blade into the razor (pushing the old blade out if one was previously loaded). Pull the "key" out, and the razor is ready to use. A really cool "lock 'n' load" feeling, this. Schick, of course, PAL (both fixed and adjustable) and Personna are the most common vintage injectors to be found.

Double-edge Razor *blades*

Now that you know a bit about the razors, let's take a look at the blades. And there are probably twice as many blade versions as there are razors. Old-school blades are carbon steel, and subject to rust if not dried after using; stainless steel blades came out around 1930, became thinner, then coated for a smoother shave. Most modern blades are made overseas, with Gillette having licensed plants in Russia and India. Most blades come in packs (or "tucks") of 5 or 10, individually wrapped in paper with the flap glued once, twice, and sometimes in four spots. Blades can be uncoated, chrome, platinum, or Teflon-coated (these are my favorites, and give me the smoothest shave of the lot). To give you an idea of the variety of blades out there, here's a list of mine:

Gillette (Platinum, Platinum Plus, Silver Blue, Rubie, four different "7 o'clock blades", and Gillette Wilkinsons); BIC Chrome Platinum; Feather; KAI; Derby Extra; Dorco ST300 and ST301; Shark Super Chrome; SuperMax Platinum; Polsilver (both Super Iridium and the Lodz blades; Personna Meds, Reds, and Crystals; Astra Superior Platinum; Treet Dura-Sharp and Platinum; Laser Super Platinum; Voskhod Teflon-coated (and probably a half-dozen other Russian blades); Bolzano; Lord Super Chrome and Platinum Classics; Perma-Sharp Super; Schick Plus Platinum and Super Chromium; and a mix of others I can't recall right now. A rare bird I recently acquired is a Schick "twin" double-edge blade...

Finding the right mix of razor & blade can be a daunting task, because preparation and your own skin & whiskers play a big part in finding the right combination as well. Like they say, "Your mileage may vary."

Double-edge Razors

Since I started out collecting double-edge Gillette razors, let's start there...first, a little history.

King Camp Gillette (what a name, huh?) is the name everyone knows when it comes to razors & blades. Although there were already several models of safety razors on the market, Gillette was the guy who is best-known for inventing the cheap, disposable razor blade, which is where he made his money: sell the razor cheap, and make profits off the blades. Just like HP does with printers and ink cartridges.

And he's made a ton of money ever since.

 Our Founder

Anyway, Gillette double-edge razors come in a wide variety of models and sub-models. My personal collection consists of an Old Style, a NEW, a Goodwill (these three razors being open comb), six Techs (including two Contracts and an English-made), a 1941 Ranger Tech, a 1946 Ranger Tech hybrid (being a '46 Ranger head on a '48 SS handle), an Aristocrat, a dozen Super Speeds, and four adjustables. A good example of different sub-models are the Super Speeds: I have the Ranger hybrid, a standard 40's style (1954) Super Speed, two Milords (a no-notch '47 and a '51), two black-tips (steel and aluminum handles), a blue-tip, a red-tip, a '58 TV Special, and a black resin-handle. Even between my '56 and '61 flare-tips, there is a slight variation in the handle (the band above the TTO knob is wider on the '56 than on the '61).

A sampling of Super Speeds

Among my Tech (three-piece) razors, I have a pre-war Heavy (the slots in the safety bar are triangular; post-war Techs have oval-shaped slots), a post-war ball-end, a '65 English-made Tech, and two Contract Techs (Gillette suspended civilian production during WWII, and made several different models under government contract: my two are both fluted steel-handled, one being black with a nickel base plate and the other gold).

A few Techs

 The four adjustable razors I have are a '59 "Fat Boy" (named for the slightly larger diameter handle, and also known as the "195" because it originally cost $1.95), a '65 Slim (with a slender handle), and a pair of '74 Super Adjustables (with black resin handles, one being a Super 84, 84mm handle length, and a Super 109, 109mm handle length).

My adjustables

 There are two additional variations of the Fat Boy: a "Red Dot" (having a painted red dot for an adjustment marker), and the rare "bottom dial" (the adjustment dial is placed just above the TTO knob). Interesting, and costly. There is also the aforementioned Toggle adjustable, which comes in a 5-position and a later 9-position model. (The adjustment dial on all models sets the blade gap from "1", which is mild, to "9", or more aggressive.) 

I've only three open comb razors: the Old style (which originally took the old three-hole blade), a Goodwill (more on that in a bit), and a NEW (made for the new Gillette slotted blade). My Old is a short comb, while the other two are long comb (the length of the (teeth) on the base plate). Old style razors were notorious for the handles splitting at both the bottom and top plugs, as they were separate pieces and pressed into the brass handle tube.

Open comb razors

 Now, about the Goodwill: King Gillette gave these razors away when a customer bought a ten-pack of his new style slotted blades for $1. Mine, the 160, has two studs milled into the base plate which correspond to two indentations in the cap. Other models had holes cut in the cap to mate with these studs, while others still had slots at the center stud.

*whew*

 Confused yet?

Well, gee...what kind of razors are there?

Man is an ingenious creature. I reckon the very first razor was nothing more than a sharp-edged rock or seashell. And look what he's advanced to...

heh.

Sure, there are a slew of multi-blade cartridge razors out there, but how many would be worth collecting? Let's stick with the most commonly-found classics.

Single-edge razors use a blade with one edge that's been honed; the other edge is sometimes covered with a narrow strip of metal (called a "spine"). You've probably seen single-edge razor blades at hardware stores, although they probably aren't what you'd want to shave with. Basically, the top (or "cap") of the razor flips up, a blade is placed on the base plate, and the top closed, exposing the single sharp edge. A variation of single-edge razors is the injector; each narrow blade is encased in a mechanical loader that is inserted into one side of the razor by way of a built-in "key". A slide forces a new blade into the razor while pushing an old blade out (if one is loaded). Some injectors are fixed (as far as mildness or aggressiveness), while some are adjustable (the blade gap can be set for both mild and and aggressive to a varying degree). Straight razors are also considered single-edge, but they're scary, and I don't wanna go there. 

Double-edge razors have blades with both edges sharpened. Razors are typically the three-piece (the handle is unscrewed from a stud on the cap, which protrudes through the base plate). The older models had two studs in the cap and used blades with three holes to keep the blade aligned. The slot and diamond pattern in the blades we use now came out around 1930. The other type of double-edge razor is the twist-to-open (TTO); a knob at the base of the handle is turned to open and close "butterfly" doors in the head, where the blade is loaded. Like the injector razor, TTO razors can also be fixed (but of varying degrees of blade gap, like the mild Blue-tip and more aggressive Red-tip), or adjustable (which can be sub-divided into Slim, Fat Boy, short and long Super Adjustable, and the rare toggle). There are fancy TTOs, such as Aristocrats, or Plain Janes like a flare-tip or a "40's style".

As you can see, you can get pretty involved with even one type, Like Super Speeds, for example, which began (by name) in 1947 (the 1946 Ranger Tech is considered the forefather; but if you include it, you may as well include the 1941 Ranger) through 1988. Here is an excellent guide to all that is Super Speed. And here is a good pictorial on classic Tech razors.