Two dirty Single Ring Gillettes in the mail

Yesterday I received both of the single ring Gillettes I picked up on the bay.
They are certainly in need of a good cleanup and next week I'll be attempting just that using the cleaning guide provided by @GDCarrington.

Functionally, they seem to be in very good condition so I'm hoping that they may clean up pretty well.

Came with box, some old blades, blade holder, etc:


They are sure looking rather 'stealthy'...really dark/black...this might take some work....:


I took at look at the date codes/markings and was able to find the following:
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Razor 1:
"PATNOV1504" on the handle.
No Gillette diamond or anything on the head.
On the inside barrel: "A259910"

Date code indicates: Year 1908
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Razor 2:
D916390 on the bottom head part
Underside of the head: The Gillette Diamond logo and "Made in USA"

Date code indicates: Year 1917
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From reading online I've gathered, correctly or not, that the Gillette logo will not be present on products manufactured before 1908.
Razor #1 may, in that case, been produced right before the logos were introduced on the razors later in that year (some sites says the practice was introduced in December of 1908).

So it seems razor #1 is a "very early" single ring which is kinda neat.

If anyone have any additional information about these razors, or can correct me on any of the above please do let me know.

Next steps:
Cleaning them up.

 

Thanks for sharing the pics - I am a bit of a history nerd - who knew shaving could feed the need for all things history? Look forward to the after pics.

 

Great! Can't wait to see them shined up.

 

I think sometimes we don't truly reflect on the rather incredible fact that we can - and many of us do - use an every-day tool made over 100 years ago and it works just as well as it did then.
It's really rather remarkable.

 

Thanks, I really don't want to mess them up so I'll try to do the best I can

 

Probably a newbie question, but what is a "single ring" razor? I would imagine then there is a "double ring" razor as well, right? Please humor me with an answer. Thanks.

 

I believe the single/double ring razors refers to the very first safety razors that Gillette made.

Appearance wise they look like this:

Stock photo from online:


The term 'single' and 'double' ring refers to the rings on the handle, right under the head.
(Left: Single Ring, Right: Double Ring).

The double-ring razor is the more rare of the two and were only made between 1903 and 1906 while the single ring version was made between 1906 and 1921.

Early razors and date codes can be found here.

 

your going to be amazed at the difference if you follow the electrolysis process.
they are very nice razors.
keep us posted

 

Next steps:
Cleaning them up. YES!

 

Ditto...

Those Single Rings look to be in outstanding shape.

 

What is this electrolysis process of which you speak? Is there a link available for one to study?

 

Gary
could you post a link to
the process, please sir?

 

@Radiotube I believe it's the process outlined here: http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/another-gillette-single-ring-cleaning-picture-heavy.25538/

 

Wow... that link was quite informative. Thanks, @Darkbulb ! I didn't realize those old razors were silver/silver plated. I just thought they were extra dirty, but now it makes sense to me why they were so tarnished looking. The baking soda and aluminum foil method seems to work brilliantly!

 

Dark provided the correctly link. Thanks!

The idea is to restore as much of the silver back to the razor as possible. Many people find that if they do this first, they do not rub and rub with a harsher polish until they expose brass.

The white coating that you see in the photos is only heavily revealed with a strong light such as a flash is used. That is the Hagerty polish protective coating, that does thin down with use, but enough stays to reduce the levels of oxidation so the silver does not have to be polished as much. Unlike Flitz or MAAS the Hagerty polish IS designed for use with Gold and Silver and even electroplated items.

 

If they could talk, the stories they could share.

 

You will be very pleased how well these old razors clean up.
I have a few single rings that came to me like yours and they now shine like they were made yesterday
be sure to post a photo when you've cleaned them.

 

Some times they could quarrel as well ...

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/two-brothers-series.35455/

 

Before you take any polish to them, may I suggest using a paste of baking soda and a small amount of water and dish detergent. Use a toothbrush and the paste on the metal. You'll get great results with less abrasion. Remember, polish removes metal.

http://theshaveden.com/forums/index.php?threads/The-Power-of-Baking-Soda.40959/