DSC03844 by DaveOl1, on FlickrI found this at my mother-in-law's house a few months ago. It belonged to her husband who died in 2003. It says Gillette on it and the handle is 3 inches long. It butterflys open to accept the blades. Anyone able to identify the model? I haven't cleaned it up yet. It still had this blade in it. The file is too large. I will have to put it on Flicker first. DSC03839 by DaveOl1, on FlickrDSC03844 by DaveOl1, on Flickr
On the bottom there should be a letter on one side then a number on the other, which will correspond with the year and quarter it was made. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Actually, it probably won't have the date code. If you look at the full-size picture, you can just make out the word "PACKAGE" in the blade tray which means it's a '48 to early '50 razor.
You could soak it in Dawn dish soap and water for a while. Then use a tooth brush to help scrub it clean. Scrubbing Bubbles, without bleach, is another way.
When I clean razors I boil a pot of water. Once it is boiling turn off the heat wait until it stops boiling then add dish soap and drop the razor in and let it soak. Clean afterwards with something non abrasive like a toothbrush, rinse and repeat then polish it up with an appropriate metal polish in this case you want something that works on nickel. If you plan to put it back in service you might want to consider replating it. If that is pitting in some of those pictures you won't be able clean that off.
What blade did it have in it? Should be able to identify when the razor was last used if it was one of the Gillette blue or super blue blades. Those had date codes. I second using scrubbing bubbles.
Very nice find. Scrubbing bubbles works great. A soft tooth brush is good with some dawn. Nice soapy warm water baths are nice.
This is the blade that it had in it. It's not the old blue blades. It looks like a more modern stainless steel blade. DSC03838 by DaveOl1, on Flickr
No surprise really that the blade isn’t original to the razor. Scrubbing bubbles is excellent and a mild metal polish, like Flitz, will put a nice shine on it.
When your done cleaning and polishing imho it’s a good idea to oil the moving parts with mineral oil. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Looks like a Personna. Either way, it dates from 1965 or later, as that was about the time that stainless razor blades were taking over the market. So it was used for at least 15 years, possibly more.
All cleaned up DSCF1142 by DaveOl1, on Flickr DSCF1141 by DaveOl1, on Flickr DSCF1141 by DaveOl1, on Flickr DSCF1142 by DaveOl1, on Flickr
Very nice job. 1940s/50s Super Speeds are really nice razors. They are fairly petite but the design is an absolute classic. It's a mild razor that gives a very smooth shave with a sharp blade like a Gillette Silver Blue or a Feather. Your best bet is probably to spend $10 on a 30-blade sampler pack, like this one at Amazon. Then you try out a bunch of them and see what works best for you.
Thanks for the reply. I may not use this razor, just keep it as a reminder of him. When I got my Merkur Futur I ordered a sample pack at the same time. I've found that in the Futur I prefer the Astra blades. I thought that the Feathers were a little too sharp and unforgiving. I tried some of the other bladesbut I kept going back to the Astras. I imagine that different razors work better with different blades. I just bought an Ikon X3 a few months ago and like that also, but I seem to get a slight case of razor burn with it and the Astras. I may try some of the other blades. I bought some Wilkinson blades at the drug store a long time ago and really didn't like them.
Just to give you a comparison, a 40's/50's Super Speed has about the same blade gap as a Merkur Futur at number 3 setting. So, it's a fairly mild razor and I've found they work best for me with a sharp blade. But, if you just decide to keep it as a memento, that would be great too. I wish I had my dad's old razor, or my father-in-law's.