1911 ABC Flower pattern pocket razor (pic heavy)

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by battle.munky, Jun 12, 2011.

  1. JAWilliams

    JAWilliams Member

    Cool razor. Never seen one like that.
     
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  2. mr-razor

    mr-razor Well-Known Member

    +1

    here are some examples of Gillette blades
     
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  3. tomnat

    tomnat accepting applications

    :think001
     
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  4. battle.munky

    battle.munky Has the menthol.munky on his back!

    Thanks guys. Very interesting sites. I haven't checked the blades yet but I'm nearly certain that at least some of them are are 1xx numbered. I may frame some of them and make some bathroom decorations.








    He does that with the power of his mind.
     
  5. IronHammer

    IronHammer New Member

    Very nice set! I have a local vendor that has just the razor but she wants $22 for it. It is bent like yours so I passed on it.
     
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  6. fine wine

    fine wine New Member

    That's what I would do, he be done with it in less than 5 minutes
     
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  7. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    Sorry to kinda highjack this thread, but I have a mystery razor I saw today that made me go :confused:, and my copy and paste is broken (can't link back to this thread if I started a new one)

    The case was just like the one Bob has pictured above, but the razor was odd. The part of the head with the holes, instead of three holes there was one in the center and the outer two holes were more diamond shaped, and upon closer inspect (aka getting the razor out of the locked display case) they didn't go all the way through.

    No ornamentation on the handle. The razor and case were gold.

    I probably should have taken pics. :(

    Anyone got any ideas (based on my poor description :o)
     
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  8. battle.munky

    battle.munky Has the menthol.munky on his back!

    I know exactly what you are talking about but for the life of me cannot recall its name, but I betcha a few somebodys will be along and fill my gap.

    If nobody answers you I'll research and let you know. I'm about to watch a movie and the family is waiting for me or else I'd do it now :D
     
  9. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    I did look over mr razor's site before posting this, but nothing I could find matched what I saw today.

    Enjoy the movie! :)
     
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  10. battle.munky

    battle.munky Has the menthol.munky on his back!

  11. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    That's the one, top and bottom head pieces exactly. Forgot about those weird square shapes on the inside of the top piece.

    Mismatched set with the case though perhaps? :confused:

    Go watch the movie, BOB! :p

    thanks. :D
     
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  12. Etoyoc

    Etoyoc Backwards

    Great find on that razor. Like others said, the bend adds to its distinctness. You have a great MIL by the sounds of it.
     
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  13. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    Sounds like a Goodwill to me.

    http://renaldo.us/razorgal/thumbnails.php?album=2
     
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  14. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
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  15. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    That I know of, it's mis-matched. No Goodwill I know of ever came in a gold metal case. All of them came in the cardboard boxes which makes sense since the razors were "free" with the purchase of the 10-pack of blades - Gillette's way of offering "goodwill" during the great depression. It was actually reverse psychology.

    There was the Goodwill that came in a neat art-deco bakelite case but I think it was more towards the end-of-life for the Goodwill model when the depression was over and people had a little more money... Gillette decided the best way to get rid of their supply of Goodwill razors was by putting them in a neat art-deco bakelite case as seen here.

    Additionally, there was a British version that came in a black-leather covered case with 1 blade. It was called the Empire Set but the head pieces are similar to one of the USA Goodwill variations so it's commonly referred to as the Empire Goodwill - as seen here and here.
     
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  16. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    Thanks, Jody!

    Glad I left it at the store.
     
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  17. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    This razor was developed based on the AutoStrop takeover of Gillette. The Probak razor (AutoStrop) had a proprietary design that could use Gillette blades.
    Gillette's pre-takeover three hole could not use Probak blades. When AutoStrop won the patent suit, Gillette surrendered and was absorbed into AutoStrop who took the Gillette name which was more famous and valuable to use.

    Attached are pictures from my Probak razor showing this pattern.

    I do need to clean this one up, but unfortunately I have not been able to.
     

    Attached Files:

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  18. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    Curious where you got that version of the Autostrop/Gillette merger Gary. The Gillette book I read says that as Gillette saw it was about to lose the blade lawsuit against Autostrop, it instead bought Autostrop - not that Autostrop bought Gillette.
     
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  19. dougr

    dougr Well-Known Member

    Yes, Jody that is the same version that I am aware of and the CEO/President of Autostrop became the CEO of Gillette, replacing King Gillette after merging the two companies.
     
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  20. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    That is true, but this "merger" was not a merger of equals , just like the Daimler-Chrysler merger was not in reality a merger of equals. One companies entire management structure was quickly eliminated (Gillette) in the merger while the other company's management structure (Autostrop) took for all effective purposes complete control of the entire company.

    Gaisman effectively controlled Gillette and moved to remake the company.

    Chrysler suffered the exact same fate with the Daimler merger and years later was sold when the post merger German management team drained all the financial reserves from Chrysler. That is for another case study.

    I have experienced this twice in my own personal experience where the story for the masses and the markets were different than the messy reality.

    Source: King C. Gillette: The Man and His Wonderful Shaving Device Pages 162-164, 167.

    Additional source:
    The Razors-and-Blades Myth(s) page 229

    http://lawreview.uchicago.edu/issues/backissues/v78/78_1/78-1-Razors-and-Blades Myth(s)-Picker.pdf

    By the end of 1930, Gillette and Auto Strop were to merge in a shotgun marriage designed to settle the patent litigation, but the Gillette board of directors—and patent portfolio—was remade. The Gillette insiders were swept from the executive committee of the board, and, by the end, only one razor man was on the executive committee: Henry Gaisman, formerly of Auto Strop.

    The Razors-and-Blades Myth(s) page 253

    Yet, in six months, the war was basically over and Auto Strop had won. Auto Strop brought a patent lawsuit in federal court in Delaware on April 2, 1930, seeking an injunction against Gillette’s sale of the new razors and blades. By mid-October, Gillette had announced that it was purchasing Auto Strop to bring an end to the patent litigation. But notwithstanding Gillette’s size, contemporary observers understood that Auto Strop had the upper hand. And they were right: In short order, King Gillette was no longer president of Gillette. A new president had been brought in, and Henry Gaisman stood at the top of Gillette as chair of its executive committee.

    That is why I stated that Gillette surrendered and was absorbed. That was the reality of the business deal. The smart and nimble, and according to Adams book, more technologically advanced Autostrop company used corporate judo to reverse the position of who was now in control. Gaisman did not rename the company because the name Gillette was more valuable in the accounting books than the physical assets of the company.

    We think that Gillette was one continuous company but in the business reality there were three main distinct eras of management of the company named Gillette.

    1. King Gillette Era - 1895~1904 through 1930
    2. Merged Company Era under Gaisman and his successors - 1930 to 2005
    3. P&G Era - 2005 to present

    Hope that helps.
     
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