December 7, 2018
Razor: 1941 Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Treet Platinum
Brush: Razorock Plissoft
Soap: Stirling Sheep
Post: Alum, Listerine, WH
Today is the 77th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the "Day Of Infamy", which marked the US entry into WWII and the spiritual birth of the "Greatest Generation". Normally, I'd pull out a WWII-era Tech in remembrance but, to be honest, I kind of did that to death last month. Instead, I decided to go with a special razor from that time- a 1941 US Aristocrat.
To meet the demand for razors to supply to our troops, Gillette switched all production over to three-piece (i.e., Tech) razors for the duration. As such, a '41 Aristocrat would have been among the last TTO razors made until after the war. Personally, I've always found the Aristocrat to be a fascinating razor since it was intended more as a presentation piece rather than a razor that a man would buy for himself. The romantic in me pictures this particular razor as possibly a gift to a father on that subdued Christmas of 1941 or, perhaps, given to a son or sweetheart who was preparing to ship out. Conversely, the sardonic everyman in me pictures a man like myself, desperately entering a drug store in early 1942, hoping to find a replacement razor and, literally, buying the last razor the store will have for several years.
Either way, this one was well-loved and well-used. Much of the Gold wash is either missing or badly dulled from use. The case was missing the lower insert but was otherwise in decent shape. There was no blade bank. No doubt, this razor saw a lot of use during the War and beyond.
As for today's shave? I tend to forget that the pre-War TTOs are more aggressive than their post-War counterparts. I tried to be careful but still ended up with a weeper on my chin and some sting from the Alum. Nothing at all, in the grand scheme of things.
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