Finally After Nine Years Acquired a Bottom Dial.

There is a difference between aesthetics and taste..but I'm glad you found your grail

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Enjoy your find. I hope you will use it and report your shave results to us all.

 

Deleted, thought it was meant for me.

 

I see what you mean about the different textures and whatnot, but the thing was sort of an experiment even when it was out. So in a way, it adds to the charm.

 

I know that I sure would like to have a bottom dial in my den! You are a lucky man!

 

Again, I absolutely agree with its desirability as a collectible. I just think calling it a beautiful design diminishes the good work reflected in Gillette's more successful final designs.

Take the 84, it has multiple textures, still pretty busy if you look, but much more subtly displayed in simpler lines, they don't distract from the elegance of the design as a whole piece. Somebody worked hard on this, where the Bottom Dial looks like it was just thrown together, which it pretty much was. It was not a finished design, no need to pretend it was.

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The BD is One of Gillette’s first attempts to make an adjustable razor. It was rejected by the test markets in favor of the regular fat boy. Same thing with the toggle.

The design itself worked but wasn’t the popular choice.

Looking to it from a more modern day perspective the balance on the BD seems to be more fitting and not as top heavy as the regular fat boy.

Would it survive under today’s standards?


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I can see where balance would be better with the BD. While the SA 84 is my favorite looker it is a bit top heavy.

The bottom dial Progress likewise has much better balance than the earlier Gibbs which is the most head heavy of all due to the perfect storm of short handle, nylon sleeve, and top dial.



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Gotta love the older progress. Great shavers ! Another example is the Apollo Mikron. User friendly design and great shaver


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The Mikron is my favorite shaver among them, definitely some risks taken in terms of aesthetics with the big knob and thick handles but I love using them.

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Beautiful cased set! With the cleaning brush too. Very nice!


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Keepers, yeah thanks. The Mk1 I would love to find but pretty much unobtainium.

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Actually on the Toggle it did fair favorably in the test market which happened to be Wisconsin in 1956. They also had a focus group test of the Toggle and Bottom Dial 1 -5 dial called an AQOSS (adjust quick open super speed) in Boston in 1956. The Toggle was sold in limited runs for Father's Day and Christmas in Wisconsin then introduced nationally in 1957 for the Christmas season redesigned to address the focus groups complaints.. The ones in 56 were the serial versions without any date codes and the dial was a 1 to 5 adjustment with 9 positions. The ones made for Christmas of 57 were either never dated coded or sent out with D1 date codes on them. I never was able to find out the answer to that one when I did research these.

 

I actually was able to get ahold of the Gillette archive department and wrote an article for a wet shaving website listing all the test markets and the percentages of who preferred what and so on. due to forum rules I cannot link the article here but a google search will take you there.


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I am sure I am missing some other pieces of information but these adverts back up the 56 test market Toggles and the 57 date for the standard Toggle.
https://theshaveden.com/forums/thre...rimental-prototypes-found.61306/#post-1540606
https://theshaveden.com/forums/thre...rimental-prototypes-found.61306/#post-1540611

It should be okay to link to your article as long as it is not an ebay auction.

 

https://sharpologist.com/untold-story-gillette-toggle-razor/


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I'd read this before but a pleasure to go through it again. Both great research and fine writing Joe

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Thank you very much. This article was a lot of fun! It also gives a little insight on how excited I am to have obtained a BD.


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It makes me curious about whether Accutec et al have anyone there with historical documentation. The only information I have on the test marketing of the Micromatic in 1929-1930 comes from a few newspaper ads in Charlotte. Kinda doubt it given all the corporate changes.

There was some controversy on one of the old boards about the development of the Futur and the inquiries to Dovo-Merkur didn't get far and that was only looking back to c.1982

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Here is the latest bottom dial article with some new information. Enjoy!:


https://sharpologist.com/gillette-bottom-dial-aqoss/


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