#1
Hey everyone. I haven't ventured into vintage razors much, but I just received these pieces of treasure from my great grandfather. One of which he said belonged to his father. I was hoping to gain some insight into which models they are. All are Gillettes. Also how would I go about dating them. Finally would they need refurbished or would just a cleaning suffice? They appear to be in good shape. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. 
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Trinity Shaving likes this post
#2

Member
Seattle
All three are Gillette... Family heirlooms clean up and enjoy!

Blue tip, 40s SS and tech.
Mississippian exiled to Seattle
#3

Member
Castro Valley,CA
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2015, 05:54 AM by Trinity Shaving.)
The two turn to open razors are Superspeeds. The one with the blue tip is a "Blue Tip SS" and will be a very mild shaver. The other is a "40's style SS" and will be on the mild side of medium. The three piece is a "ball end Tech" and will be a very mild shaver. Look under the heads for date codes(1 letter 1 number). Tell us the codes and we can figure out when they were made. Clean them up with a little dish soap and give them a try.
#4

Administrator
Philadelphia, PA
they should clean up well.
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.
#5

Super Moderator
San Diego, Cal., USA
The Tech may not have a date code but the Blue Tip Superspeed will. Turn the razor upside down so you can see the underside of the base plate. Look carefully and you should see a letter and a number. The number stands for the quarter of the year in which it was made so you will only see a 1, 2, 3, or 4. Thus, a 3, for example, means the razor was produced in the third quarter in a given year. The letter stands for the year. To find out what year your Blue Tip was made, look here: http://www.razorarchive.com/gillette-date-codes.

As for your other Superspeed, it may or may not have a date code. Those produced before about 1950 did not while those that came after, did.

A gentle cleanup should have those beauties up and ready for use in no time.  I hope you enjoy them as all three are classics that have stood the test of time. That your great grandfather gave them to you should make them heirlooms to be kept and passed down, in my opinion. Enjoy. Smile
#6
Thanks for all of the insight everyone. I scrubbed them with soap and water last night and am going to use one today. They are definitely going to be heirloom pieces as everyone mentioned. I am very honored to have them. The letter/number combinations are as follows:
Tech-L1
SS-y3
Blue tip-d4
#7

Merchant
Cleveland, Ohio
Tech made 1st quarter of 1941
SS made third quarter of 1953
Blue Tip made 4th quarter of 1958
#8
I just shaved with the '41 tech and I must say for a 75 yr old razor it really performed. It provided a very smooth comfortable shave. Couple that with th meaning it has and you have one special shaving experience. Thanks again for all the input.

Freddy likes this post
#9

Member
Central Maine
It's no surprise that they performed nicely. Whiskers haven't changed in all that time, so the job is the same today as it was back when those razors were new.

Lots of us use razors much older than that and yes, they perform nicely.

Enjoy those razors! How fantastic that you are able to have family heirlooms to shave with! I envy you.

Freddy likes this post
Brian. Lover of SE razors.
#10

Shaven in the Past
The Blue Tip (and the Red Tip) were only made for a short time. 55-59 if my memory serves me correct.


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