Hi All! Well I must say - this is one addictive little hobby y'all got yourselves involved in! As for me, my wife is starting to wonder what is up with all the late nights on the internet! "What are you doing coming to bed at 2 am so many nights in a row?' she asks. 'Why I am looking at pictures of old razors' I say! (I simultaneously attempt to cutely blink the eyelashes of my reddened eyes at her in the hope that she doesn't fear I'm perusing photos of a darker and more sinister nature.) Fortunately, she understands that I am prone to eccentricities such as this, and in her support of my never-ending ability to change focus, feigns a mild interest in my excited ramblings on the latest prices for crusty old grooming implements on ebay. Ahhhh, those crusty old grooming implements! Some shiny, some not, some fancy, some shot. Oddly compelling. I made the shift to DE pogonotomes about two months ago and there will be no turning back! I have been halfway there for years, having used a brush with soap in a mug as long as I can remember. Meanwhile, those dern DE razors always tugged at me - but I kept ignoring the call. Then, I'm not sure what happened, but it jumped into my head to get a DE. I checked out the two or three small antique shops in town (not a big place) and came up with a bakelite Neillite for three bucks. I went home and began to look it up on the internet - certain that my find was groundbreaking. Perhaps I wouldn't need to win the lottery after all! Maybe the Neillite was my ticket! Alas, it was not. But, perhaps more important than tripping over something that Sothebys would want to beat down my door for, I discovered a passion where I never expected to find one. Go figure! (and Chris - I didn't know you were using the Rocket Man moniker until I signed up - of course. My number one razor right now is the Canadian Rocket. I thought I was being clever. Oh well. It can be fixed!) Nooborn in the Den
Welcome to the Shave Den and great introductory post by the way. Can you tell us a bit about the Neillite razor? Maybe some pictures? I for one have never heard of that particular razor.
Thank you for such a great welcome! It is much appreciated. Rich, this Neillite razor I have doesn't seem to have much exposure on the net and I have found very little about it. There is one reference on B&B seeking info, but without many results (it may be worth a peek though). badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=67706 I took a few awful pictures I was going to try and post, but I haven't figured out how! Hmmm - I will work on that. However all is not lost - the post above has a link to a site where someone actually has a few for sale - there are a couple of pics there. Mark - I have been working on the videos - thnx for making those! Wonderful tools for breaking into DE shaving. And Chris, thnx for your comment about the RocketMan name! I will be proud to fly the Rocket flag! Wayne
Welcome aboard, Wayne! Nice entrance. Now you've gotten me enthralled with the Neillite reference. All I can find on it refers to a Lady's version manufactured in 1930 by what may be James Neill & Co., Ltd, Sheffield, although they are stamped "Made in USA". The man's version you have looks very similar to several razors produced by various companies during WWII. Here are a few I have: Clix Five Hundred Star Military - 2nd from right Simplex Military - Federal Razor Company
