Looking to at seeing what opinions people have on which Gillette razors are worth collecting? I’m thinking a double ring, toggle adjustable, 35-36 aristocratic tto comb, and a bottom adjustable fat boy.
I've tried many different razors, but I tired of "collecting" razor for the sake of the highly sought after. I prefer to acquire razors I enjoy the shave, then go from there. Recently I've began gathering bakelite razors of all types, not just Gillette.
I like this attitude. I am cured from RAD myself, but before I got cured I only bought razors I was thinking I would enjoy to shave with. Sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong.
i chose vintage british gillettes due to my past family member's use of them..yes some are rare and unique compared to some u.s/canadian ones but but mostly due to age and availability here ..they aren't really limited production models.limited run models ie bottom dials ,toggles were mostly test units that didn't make the cut..fun to collect if you are into that,but rarely better than the more available and improved models that followed their design..just my 2 cents..enjoy your gillette journey..
Depends what your intentions are. Is it based upon certain styles or sets that caught your interest, based upon $$$ and/or rarity or some combo of all of the above?
To partially answer the above there are certain razors that are no doubt considered collectable for their rarity and others that are fairly rare or scarce that don't garner the same interest and certainly less so when priced too high compared to common counterpart. Leaving out prototypes for adjustables, the bottom dial fat boys, red dot fat boys and even the deluxe adjustables aka toggles are highly collectable for rarity reasons and the toggle for the design. To a lessor extent the Executive adjustable for it's unique handle knurling compared to a standard fat boy. If you want complete sets then the amount of original packaging with the razor drives the collectiblity even higher. Some razors that are fairly rare but not sought after collectibles by many are the open comb 3pc tech razors and the perspex cap and baseplate 3pc techs. Another depending the price are the Probak razors especially ones where you can prove provenance that it was produced after the Autostrop / Gillette merger. There are others but I will opine on them separately.
Collect what appeals to you. If you view your "collection" as an investment, then you're not really a collector. By comparison, Enrico is collecting razors that "speak" to him.
Bottom dial fatboy is one of the most rare razors out and most likely the most expensive one you'll pay for in that you listed assuming you can find one. Standard gold plated toggles produced from 1958 - 1960 though iconic are not overly rare, the nickel or chrome plated ones are much more rare along with the serial toggles. Red Dot Fat boys are also up there in the rare category. For more info on the adjustables see this website https://gilletteadjustable.com/ Another very rare adjustable is a N3 dated coded Slim adjustable. What makes them unique is they are combo of the Super adjustable razor head on a Slim handle. Another one which is rare is called a hybrid tech by collectors. There is also an American version of this razor that is even rarer than the British variants. The Rocket styled Milord is also a very rare razor. It is the only American made Gillette not sold in England that has what is called Rocket styled TTO mechanism. Maybe 20 of them are known to exist. Infact here is one up for sale right now. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-19...813416?hash=item3dacc84e28:g:BAQAAOSwzOJffyZb
Another one is this 1st gen British Aristocrat which is most likely a post WWII razor based upon the handle. This style open comb British Aristocrat is a very rare razor far as I know. You almost never see them come up for sale. As I mentioned in an earlier post the open comb 3pc techs regardless of the base plate style i.e ones made 61 and earlier or ones made 61 or later are fairly rare razors. Here is one I own, this one is Nacet branded but they also were also branded as Gillette. Then another I mentioned are Perspex base plate techs like this one pictured. The goodwill 170 is very rare also. There are also others just not coming to mind right now.
BBS thank you some of the ones you mentioned I really can’t tell a difference between them n another razor. Lol
I own a 1934 U.S. aristocrat, which is the first TTO aristocrat, and a 1936 British Aristocrat, which is the first British TTO Aristocrat, and is silver, rather than rhodium plated like the later #15 sets. I wouldn't go out of my way to get the American one, IMO. That's why it's stupid to collect something on the basis of rarity. Far better to collect things based on whether they are interesting or beautiful or both. If you are just going to throw money at rare razors for the sake of owning rare razors, then focus on condition over all else. Buy only NOS or mint razors with the original cardboard outer shippers. The following Gillette razors have not yet been mentioned, but are both beautiful and fairly rare Gillette razors. All sell for $150+ when available. In 'New Old Stock' condition, with the original cardboard shipper, some of these can sell for over $1000: 1939 British Gillette #75 and #76 set 1914-1918 Bell End Aristocrat 1914-1920 Bulldog The Gillette Executive (the only completely rhodium plated U.S. made razor, only sold at Christmastime in 1949 and 1950) If you are actually serious about collecting the "most" rare razors and are Elon Musk or some other celebrity slumming here in disguise, you won't want your time with any of the razors mentioned in this thread. They would be far to "common." Yes. I said that. There are some sets that are one of a kind. King Camp Gillette's personal Tiffany & Co. made razor, with paperwork and provenance is one such example. https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/king-camp-gillette-personal-memorabilia.259848/ (Edit: unfortunately the pictures are gone from that thread. It was a really nice set. Not even half as nice as the next set, though...) After you get done drooling over that worthless razor... Yep. There's even more exclusive and valuable Gillette razors than that thing. https://gilletteadjustable.com/for-sale/ (Scroll down past the Rex adjustable advertisement). The owner is a member here, @GlennConti I don't know how much he's willing to sell it for, but I wouldn't bother PM'ing him unless you have at least $50,000 in your hand, and even then you'd probably get laughed at. There's a thread on that set here: https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/1912-king-c-gillette-c117599-razor-kit.60150/ So now the question is, Mister "I want to collect rare razors," just how rare and how much are you willing to spend? Sky is the limit when it comes to this hobby. Time to put on the big boy pants.
If I can find the posts I'll link to them. edit https://theshaveden.com/forums/thre...o-the-gillette-tech.60189/page-4#post-1532444
One more are the 4pc British tech razors. I am pretty sure these were only sold in bathroom sets. Here is one for sale on ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Gi...931894?hash=item3dad442ef6:g:-TYAAOSw4slfh88x note on the ebay links, they are buy it now fixed price auction so shouldn't violate any forum rules by linking to them