Gillette Rocket, the refined DE.

Thanks.

What is its real name, then? Or does it even have an offical name?

I believe mine has 'II'. My quick understanding is that if it had 'I' it would have a blue tip. 'III' for red tip. Isn't it redundant though, or am I missing something? Or was that so the heads didn't get mixed up when attaching to the handles?

I have all 3 in the U.S. made versions.

BTW, why do so many people call it "flair" instead of "flare"?

 

gillete 1 piece.only hd 500 in England got the rocket name during the '50s..

 

I blame auto-corrupt. Flare-tip is correct.

 

Thanks.

Hmmm -- I see now why collectors gave it a name. How else would anyone know what you're talking about?

It seems that Gillette never got the memo about blades getting sharper after the first shave.


BTW, I find it kind of aggressive. It has a decent gap. I get a smooth, close shave though. I like it. It's been awhile since I've used my American trio of colored flare tips to compare.

 

the brit trio have a larger gap than the u.s ones also.the middle one is the same as your new "rocket" shave wise.
my mid 60s brit flare tip rocket is even more efficient.it has the slim head on it

 

Thanks.

I thought my "rocket" was the middle one of the British trio.
The mid 60s had a different British flare tip?
I did notice that my "rocket" had the same head, profile-wise, as my U.S. trio, and the Fatboy, as opposed to the Slim head, which has a lower profile.
Mine does have "II" on it.

I should read this whole thread, but:
1. There are 25 pages before this, and
2. Most of the important pics have disappeared.

 

there are slight differences mechanically between the brit and u.s trio,as well as gap/blade exposure.
still lots of good info on said pages.

 

Comparing the shave between both neutral-colored flare tips: U.S. vs British...

The American one is a hair-less aggressive -- in fact, I wouldn't actually call it aggressive at all. The British one just crosses the line by a whisker over what one might call mild. Perhaps best to call the British one medium aggressive.

Other than the British one feeling a hair more aggressive, they both gave me the same shave. Same results with the same amount of work. Same blade (Silver Star), first shave with British, 2nd with U.S. The razors were used on consecutive days.

One could argue that there are still variables at play -- a brand new blade vs. one on its second shave. That's why I feel you need to shave for awhile with 2 given razors before being able to gauge them correctly. Also, I could get totally different results using a different brand of blade.

In conclusion, I could probably use either of these razors as my only razor, and be completely happy.

 

yes the mid 60s had a slim head flare tip rocket.note the u.s style end caps..

 

Thanks, and I noticed on mine the "caps" aren't really caps -- they are part of the piece that goes inside and under the head.

 

yes sir.

on another note.
early rocket.or 'crat jr.

 

Nice. The head looks like my Sheraton -- but I assume there's a difference.

I understand the American Super Speeds for the most part, but for British...
They made British flare tips that were both "rocket style" (telescoping TTO mechanism) and American style (non-telescoping TTO)?
And both types came in all 3 colors -- meaning there were 6 British flare-tips?

Am I right to assume that a "rocket" for a collector means it has the telescoping TTO handle? That's what I've always thought.

TBH, I've never understood the logic of using different names for any razor based solely on the packaging it originally came in. Doesn't make sense to me, since most (reasonably-priced) vintage razors do not come with their original boxes. This is strictly my opinion. YOMV.

 

the flat baseplate is the difference between the sheraton/senator and the popular..


ok,history lesson..
the british trio was around from 55-58.the u.s trio was around from late 54- 57-then they had a redo..notice the crimp in the handle with the tv special and other colored u.s razors.it got closer to the tto knob in 58,in england it never happened.it got transformed into the rocket razor mechanism.the u.s continued until 1966 with the regular flaretip only.the the black handled version.britain got the trio /rocket versions for 1-2 years,ending around '61 with only the regular continuing until 1965.

 

it was all about the rocket razor as far as i knew..canadian to boot.no reference to "rocket" anywhere else ..

 

razor reference only...

 

Thanks. So a "rocket" doesn't necessarily have to have the telescoping TTO handle?

Aristocrat Jr...I haven't had the stamina to look into what makes one a Jr. When I see Jr., I think a smaller version of something -- but I know that's not the case. Same thing as the Gem Jr.

Thanks.
My American trio has one each from 1956, 57, and 58. I need to look at the 1958 again, but I never noticed a difference in the crimp. I was just comparing them last night. When comparing them without a blade loaded, the heads all look the same, btw. With the doors closed, I see no difference in gap. It's been awhile since I shaved with the red tip, but I never noticed it to be an aggressive razor at all.

 

your 1958 could have a higher crimp if it's a d-1 coded razor.

not my pic.


1954-8 on the left,mid 58 up on the right.



brit version,notice the rocket style end caps,

brit version 1959 and up.

 

Thanks.
Mine from 1958 is the American blue-tip, and I checked -- the crimp is lower.

Regarding my 50s one-piece British, with the neutral-colored tip, I used it this morning. On the first stroke, it reminded me that it was more aggressive than it's American brother. I still got a great shave -- irritation free.

It wouldn't be fair to say I think I like the American one better -- more accurate to say I like the American one better with this particular blade -- a Silver Star. Perhaps with another blade, my opinion would be different.

As you know, that's why opinions vary on razors -- in addition to YMMV for the razor, YMMV for the blade in the razor.

In no way am I saying that I don't like the British one-piece, with the telescoping TTO handle -- I'm just saying for now I find its American brother is just a bit smoother, with a Silver Star blade. And both have neutral-colored tips.

One thing I noticed, and I'm sure you know this, but the American red-tip has a slightly thicker handle than the blue and neutral. It is slightly heavier, of course. TBH, I don't notice much of a difference in weight between the blue and the neutral. I'm sure there is one, but not enough to make a difference when shaving, for me. And of course, the blue has a milder head. I almost used the blue-tip today, but wanted to go back to the British one.

Except for adjustables on their highest settings, I'm not sure that any vintage Gillettes could be considered anything more than "medium" on the aggression scale, if one goes by today's standards. I don't believe I've used my Fatboy or Slim on anything higher than perhaps 3 or 4.

 

the original rockets were made in england razors with canadian cases for the canadian market.the telescoping twist knob was a feature as well as the end cap shape.these razors were called aristocrat jr in all other markets including england.the nickname" rocket" has been used by collectors to describe this type of razor with a telscoping twist knob.