question about colored tip superspeeds

jallen013 · Post by **jallen013** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 2:07 pm

it seems common knowledge that when gillette was making colored tip superspeeds in the late 1950s that the blue tip razor was considered "light" and the red tip razor was considered "heavy". i never have seen a definitive answer as to what color the tip of the "regular/medium" razor of the same time period had.

some say the tip was black; others have heard tan or light brown; i've read it was unpainted and also that there was no "regular/medium" offered during this time.

anyone know for sure?

Gatorade · Post by **Gatorade** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 2:47 pm

The book says tan, and unpainted. The black may be referring to the aluminum and black tip from a couple years earlier. That one looks like a 40's SS.

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 3:27 pm

I have yet to see a tan coloured tip. I think it is a myth.

Gatorade · Post by **Gatorade** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 3:51 pm

rustyblade wrote:I have yet to see a tan coloured tip. I think it is a myth.

I have seen the tan boxes, but they had an unpainted tip on the razor.

jallen013 · Post by **jallen013** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:37 pm

Gatorade wrote:The book says tan, and unpainted.

i've heard "the book" mentioned before..... what book is this?

yomuppet · Post by **yomuppet** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:50 pm

All the non-{red,blue} 50's superspeeds I have come across have silver tips.

J

shaveking · Post by **shaveking** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 5:36 pm

I have a black tip. its' identical to the red in every respect. perhaps a little milder shave.

pete

Scorpio · Post by **Scorpio** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:32 pm

My black tip looks likes the 40's SS not the 50's SS.

Rafael

Brett G · Post by **Brett G** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:19 am

I have a tan colored "medium" Super Speed. The three razor line-up was made from 1954 to 1958. The medium either had a plain handle or a tan varnish. The coating is see-through and covers the entire handle. It is quite subtle and can easily be missed, especially when looking at an eBay photograph. If I get time later today I'll take a picture of mine alone side a TV razor for comparison.

Gatorade · Post by **Gatorade** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:57 am

Brett G wrote:I have a tan colored "medium" Super Speed. The three razor line-up was made from 1954 to 1958. The medium either had a plain handle or a tan varnish. The coating is see-through and covers the entire handle. It is quite subtle and can easily be missed, especially when looking at an eBay photograph. If I get time later today I'll take a picture of mine alone side a TV razor for comparison.

Thanks! I had been looking for more of a contrast between the tan and plain ones. Maybe it was too subtle to be noticed as you said.

Brett G · Post by **Brett G** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:59 am

Here it is;

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:22 am

Ahhh, i've seen those. When the tan colour is mentioned, I just thought of something similar to the red and blue.

I must say, not very impressive IMHO.

Thanks for the picture Brett.

Gatorade · Post by **Gatorade** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:23 am

Brett G wrote:Here it is;

Yeah, see I could have seen that razor a dosen times and thought it was plain. Thanks for the clarification.

Pauldog · Post by **Pauldog** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:21 pm

That's probably the same kind as mine - early 1950's, plastic black twist knob (tip).

And - I think I've seen a SS with a tan painted tip, but it's been a while and my memory may be faulty.

Scorpio wrote:My black tip looks likes the 40's SS not the 50's SS.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:47 pm

Brett, Ha! Fascinating. And, I must say that your TV model looks quite pristine. Mine's nice, but not quite THAT nice.
Regards,
Gordon

RueTheDay · Post by **RueTheDay** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:37 am

What is it that supposedly makes the 1940's Superspeeds better than all later models?

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 5:28 pm

RTD, Who says that they are? The ones that many of us use, that we loosely refer to '1940s Superspeeds'. were mostly made from 1948 on through the early '50s. These are very good, very consistant shavers, and the build quality is really phenomenal for what was, at the time, a basic drug store razor. Many of the mid and late 1950s models are also excellent. The 1958 'TV Special' model is an absolutely superb shaver, just a hair more 'aggressive' then the late '40s originals. Almost any Superspeed model you get, from 1948 on through the early sixties is likely to be very good. Everyone has their most favourite models, of course.
Regards,
Gordon

RueTheDay · Post by **RueTheDay** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:36 pm

bernards66 wrote:RTD, Who says that they are? The ones that many of us use, that we loosely refer to '1940s Superspeeds'. were mostly made from 1948 on through the early '50s. These are very good, very consistant shavers, and the build quality is really phenomenal for what was, at the time, a basic drug store razor. Many of the mid and late 1950s models are also excellent. The 1958 'TV Special' model is an absolutely superb shaver, just a hair more 'aggressive' then the late '40s originals. Almost any Superspeed model you get, from 1948 on through the early sixties is likely to be very good. Everyone has their most favourite models, of course.
Regards,
Gordon

Ah so when people say 1940's Superspeeds, it doesn't literally mean only the ones through 1949.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 7:00 pm

RTD, No, not usually. They are generally referring to the ones made from 1948 ( which is the year that Gillette first started putting a notch in the central bar of their razors to help facilitate loading the blade ), up through about '53 or '54, when they switched over to a somewhat different handle design, which then continued on into the '60s. The models made right before and right after WWII have a different head design geometry. During the War, no Gillettes were made for civilian purchase, as far as I know.
Regards,
Gordon