I have what I'd call a "reverse birth year" razor. I have a '58 Gillette TV Special, and I was born in '85, hence the "reverse" part!
What are you going to do with it if you don't shave with it? Do you plan on selling it sometime in the future, or will you keep it til you die? I guess it depends on why you bought it, don't use it if you bought it for an investment, but if you bought it to enjoy you should decide what gives you the most enjoyment, whether it's using it or displaying it. P.S. - it is a beautiful razor.
I was thinking of selling it in about ten years(retirement age). My birth quarter razor means nothing to my kids. l want to do both use it as an investment but enjoy shaving with it rarely(on birthdays).
Thats an ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL razor Glenn!!! I'm not a "real" collector I'm a shaver and an accidental collector. My collection grew as a result of my wanting to try as many different razors as I could...So I.M.O. you should use and enjoy the razor as it was intended to be used and enjoyed...
I don't think one shave a year will drop the value of it. The only razors I don't use are a 48 Aristocrat and a New Type that are unused. I do have a shaver grade of both though. Congratulations on finding such a nice BYR. Hmm might need to add that to the acronym list.
I believe 1958 Fatboys were $1.95 each while the 1958 Toggle was $10.00. By this reckoning, mint Toggles should be 5 times the price of mint Fatboys. They aren't; Toggles sell at a discount to that multiple so my guess is that there is room for improvement in Toggle prices. Any comments on this analysis??
In 1985 I was shaving with the Gillette Atra Plus. It had a well built metal handle. Here is one I found on Ebay. Date code of "F". The "Plus" is the lubricating strip on the cartridge. 1985 was the introduction of the lubricating strip.
I think the rarity/uniqueness of a Toggle will make it always sell for more, especially as time goes on and the resurgence of "traditional" shaving continues. I've not had the good fortune to shave with a Toggle and so can only speculate on how the shave would be compared to a FatBoy,Slim or Super Adjustable. One thing I've always wondered about is why didn't the Toggle reach a full production level along the lines of the FatBoy? Did Gillette smply not like the look of the toggle end, did the pubic reject it or was there some type of flaw discovered in the razor as compared to the FatBoy that we don't know about.....
It may have been the springs involved with the manufacturing of it. I don't believe the Fatboys have any and the Toggle has two. Maybe the manufacturing costs were higher?
Yes the FatBoy's have the one spring in the handle also. I think the razors are almost identical except one screws/unscrews to open the TTO doors and the other toggles. I can only speculate that the Toggle itself had some kind of flaw (perhaps in keeping the doors closed tightly over the long haul?). Just my guess. Although for me personally, I can see how the toggle part/shape while interesting looking, would be kind of uncomfortable in use. Does the toggle hold the TTO doors securely during the shave? Does the handle feel odd coming to a point at the end? It's definately different from the FatBoy and the razor handles I prefer(heavy 3 piece BullDog type).....
I don't think the price when new has much impact on the price now. I think it's just basic supply and demand. The supply isn't getting any bigger. These razors haven't been made in over 50 years. So if demand goes up, price will too.
Well I can only hope the bottom doesn't drop out of demand. After the baby boomers are done, who will care much for 1958 razor. Hopefully keeping it just 10 years is the way to go.
Maybe. It's kind of like an xxl handle. I don't rest my finger on the bottom of my Fatboy so the pointy end won't be a problem comfort-wise. I'll let you know how the lever works as a blade securing mechanism. The Fatboy with the extra 1/4 of a turn works quite well.
You might have hit the nail on the head...Maybe thats the difference, that extra 1/4 turn(its been so long I'd completely forgot about that) on the FatBoy is to lock down the TTO mechanism so the blade won't move in anyway. Gillette may have felt the safety feature of the FatBoy out weighed the quick opening feature of the Toggle?? I believe the razors are the same length, with the FatBoy a teenie tiny bit heavier?
