Well, here is the third and final razor I received from my stepdad. It is an American Gillette TTO, but that is all I know about it. I went to Mr Razors site to see if I could identify it, and the closest I could come is a milord 46 or 47. Can anybody help me out? Its gold plated, and most of plating is coming off the silo doors. I am not looking to sell, just understand what I have. This has given me some of my best shave's of all the razors I have. As close as I have come to BBS to date. I'm really liking this one.
Or could it be a Sheraton? I'm certainly no expert. Are there any numbers/letters imprinted under the head?
That's a Gillette Milord. If it were a Sheraton, it would have an open-comb head. It's not a 1946 Milord because the handle is fully knurled. The 1946 Milord handle has a smooth band just above the TTO knob. If it doesn't have a date code on the bottom of it, It was made in 1947, 1948, 1949 or 1950. If it does have a date code on the bottom of it, it was made 1950 or after.
Man, that is impressive. I was just looking at the pictures on Mr. Razor and playing the seaseme street game, one of these things doesn't look like the others. Thanks for your input. I don't believe there is a date code, but I need to clean it up and look. Where should I look for the date code, and approximately how big is it? Is it the same size as the patent numbers? Is this the same head geometry as used on the New's and tech's. It really seems to shave much better than my new or slim.
On the bottom side of the head where the neck meets the head, if there is a date code, you should see a single letter and a single number stamped. An example is seen below: If there is a date code, you can go to this web page to determine the year it was made: http://www.renaldo.us/grbd.html I really don't know about the geometry but I would say the blade-gap (gap between the blade edge and guard) is certainly different.
Jody is correct. It is not a Sheraton. It is a Milord, which is next in the lineage after the Sheraton. Gillette could not retool fast enough after the war and continued for one more year with the older style handles in 1946 for both the SuperSpeeds and the Milords. In 1947 the transition was made to the fully knurled handle like yours. Here is my 1947 Milord. Mechguy, I agree with you on the shaving ability of this razor. They are nice razors. I shaved with this one this week and it gave me an excellent shave!
It gives me better shaves than my slim or my new, every time. Its just amazing. Its rapidly becoming my favorite. Again thanks to everyone for your help. Educational as always.
I became quite interested in collecting the Milord some time ago. It's not easy to find a really nice one without spending a few bucks. The thin gold plating on the head doors wears fairly easily with prolonged use. The two razors in the front row are the 1940 Milord and Milady in the matching cases. What's interesting is the knurling or lack of is different. Also note there are no end caps. The back row of three shows the 1946 and 1947 style razors. The three cases are different in that the size of the squares in the outer case patterns are very different in size. Len
Wow, I didn't know this model even had a following. Before all the pictures were posted, I don't think I even noticed one that looked like this. Those are some real nice looking razors you have there. As you said the plating on the doors of mine is almost completly gone, but mine has sentimental value. I might start trying to find some more of them, I really enjoy the save they give. 13 hours, and still a better shave than I got from the carts. Thank you all again.
the other distinguishing feature between the 46,47 and later models would be the presence or absence of notched center razor blade positioning bar; the 46 & 47 were unotched, the later models were notched-to be used with the newly introduced speed pak blade dispenser.
Thanks Jody. This is the first time I showed my Milords. And for those members that may not know, the nickel plated version of the 1940 Milord is the Ranger Tech. Actually both razors were introduced for sale for the 1941 christmas season according to Krumholz. Len
Here is a photo of what I think is a 1947 Super Speed (but reading the above post, might be a Ranger). At any rate, it does not have the notch. Also, here's the head from a 1968 Knack, that has the notch.
Since yours does have end caps but no blade notches, it's either a 1946 Ranger Tech or a 1947 Super Speed.. The way to tell which one it is, is by the handle. The Ranger Tech has a smooth band just above the TTO knob whereas the 47 Super Speed is fully knurled just above the TTO knob.
Jody, Ok. Cool. Mine is/was a Super Speed then. The knurling went all the way down. I'll have to watch out for that. I should have my Krumholz soon, so hopefully, I'll get a little smarter. Thanks
Krumholz book is a fantastic resource but it does contain several errors and mis-identifications. Just know it's not an infallible source but it is a great and very useful source.
