Do You Remember????

I posted this question on another forum a couple of years ago & only got a few responses so I'll try again as I think it is an interesting topic:
I started shaving around the time of the Gillette Sensor Era, so I've always wondered What was it like purchasing a new Gillette DE razor? I'm talking 1940's-1960's...........how were they displayed & sold? (display rack? behind a counter? glass showcase? etc.)......were they considered a "special" purchase or just an everyday commodity? What type of stores carried them? Do you recall seeing any special Christmas displays? Etc. I seem to recall seeing some Super Adjustables & Lady Gillettes blister packed & hanging on hooks in a local department store before I was old enough to shave(1970's).
Since my Time Machine is broken, I would love to hear some first hand memories of the buying experience.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

Not first hand, but based on my observations. I could ask my dad, I suppose. By the 60s and 70s, they were in blister packs on pegs. Before there, there were displayers, and the razors were boxed. I don't know about behind the counter, but some of them were on-counter displayers with copy to educate the consumer about how great they were.

I'd speculate that the gold plated executives were a more special purchase (fancier box, for one thing), but the humble Gillette Tech was always a budget commodity purchase.

 

They were right there in front of my face on display and at the time I didn't care. What a kunkle head I was. As they say. "If I only knew then what I know.......

 

They weren't precious metals, they were razors, and it was a stupid chore to shave. The cartridge thing was a godsend - if you dropped a DE, and you were my dad, you threw it out. If you drop a cartridge, you changed the cart went his reasoning.

 

My dad's in his late 70's, and as a kid, in the 60's I remember him walking around with toilet paper stuck to all the nics on his face. He had a black handled Super Speed, from what I remember. He then used electric since the mid 1970's. I guess his technique stunk.

 

This is a fascinating. I don't know... sometimes I shave and my mind is on work or some other distraction, and I get a couple weepers... yesterday I nicked my ear lobe! So there is a kind of Zen thing with a good shave. A ritual, and, here's a trendy word... mindfulness. Aggressive double edge razors can be very unforgiving if you are not completely into the process. I, for one, would not want to shave with anything other than a DE. Now that I have some razors to choose from, I can use a less aggressive razor when I'm pressed for time or distracted. I have thought about a straight razor, and I'm not going to go there. It has never attracted me. Obviously there is a whole world of straight razor guys out there. If this is something we have to do, then isn't great that we can make a hobby out of it? It's endlessly fascinating. Just look at all the subjects in TSD. When I think of how I used to shave, say in the Navy on the ship, with a disposable razor and bar soap... (Zest cuz of the treated water)...wow...

 

My dad used the toilet paper when I was a kid, too.

 

I bought my first razor, a black beauty, at the five and dime down the road in "69 or "70. I also remember picking up clubman aftershave as well. I too remember having those pieces of toilet paper stuck to my face. As soon as the trac II arived on the scene, I tossed that razor as fast as I could for the new style. I vaguely remember hardly ever changing a blade. Boy if hindsight was 20/20

 

When I was 12 my dad had a TTO Gillette in the bathroom, and the blades of course. I don't remember it being a big deal, it was something he just did.

 

My dad always used an electric, at least as long as I can remember. I'll be honest, I never knew there was another way to shave until 2014.

 

They were just displayed as any other item would have been. Nothing special, they were in all the grocery and drug stores. Razor blades in drug stores were usually displayed on or behind the counter. To easy to grab a pack and pocket it.

Greg W.

 

I remember my grandfather having a de razor when I was kid. I remember touching it and messing with it. I knew instinctly that it was crazy dangerous when I twisted the butterfly open and saw a de blade in it. I was fascinated with it. For some reason I keep picturing a black beauty but I can't be certain. But shaving with a de does bring back fond memories of him. I can picture him shaving with his de when I'm shaving. Although I never saw him shave with it.