I'm stumped on this one. 1918 fat handled Gillette razors are called 1918 bulldogs, and Cooncat Bob used to make a bull mastiff handle before he committed suicide (R.I.P. buddy) and Ikon and Weber both make a "bulldog" handle. (Edit: So does Above the Tie, their version is called the Atlas) Where did the reference originally come from, and why?
Alright! I dug a bit more and found some advertisements and pictures. Still no idea where the name came from originally. It could have been inspired by the British as WW1 was going on at that time. The description of the bulldogs reads: "handle of razor is stockier and is specially knurled." Also Canadian versions of this razor are marked "bull-dog" on the handle. These versions are fairly rare, but not more valuable than unmarked bulldog razors. Production started in 1915, as near as I can tell.
Why did they decide that this handle version will be called "bulldog?" Up until this point, the names had been pretty elegant. "Bostonian," "Aristocrat," Deluxe," "Standard."
Knurl 2. One of a series of small ridges or grooves on the surface or edge of a metal object , such as a thumb screw,toaidingripping. Bulldog=
Well....here is a crazy idea. The bulldog pipe shape was a very popular before and around the time original bulldog handles were produced. Also, one of the defining characteristics of the bulldog pipes are two machined lines on the bowl. For a razor handle to be called a bulldog it must have two machined lines on the end.
The Bulldog series and the Milady Series were started in October / November 1914. Many of the OLD versions of WWI period were suffering from stress cracks due the the volume of razors produced (reduced quality). The Bulldog series was targeting officer classes in Great Britian and the British Commonwealth with a much sturdier razor. Many times it was sold in the more expensive travel case set. Source: Complete Gillette Collector's Handbook Pgs 116-121 with Bulldog in Gillette Ads on pgs 119-120. The mascot of many British armed forces was the English or British bulldog so that was the reason of the naming convention.
A google search for bulldog will pull up bulldog pipes, which were popular at the time, also the AMC Bulldog truck and the Sopwith Bulldog, a lessor known plane than the Sopwith Camel, made famous by Snoopy. There we go, the answer I was looking for. Thanks.
