SMF

My newest razor acquisitions are a 1957 red-tipped SS and a 1959 Fatboy - both from my grandfather. The SS looked heavily used, but cleaned up nicely. The Fatboy, on the other hand just had some water spots from what looked like very minimal use. It cleaned up to dang near Mint! I've been wanting a Fatboy, and almost paid $30 on ebay for one, but figured I should wait and see if my granfather could find any of his old razors. Well, spot on I'd say! I'm glad I waited.

Now I'm trying the settings and such. Already it seems like a better balance and shave than my older 1954 SS that I've been using.

The adventure continues...

Jason

Jason,
congratulations on your newly aquired family heirlooms.
lucky dog!
remember, that red tip is more agressive than the superspeed you are used to using.

Wow, grandpa comes through! Nice razors Jason. The part of this I really like is that 50+ years ago, while he was shaving with these razors, your grandfather never could have imagined his grandson shaving with them too. Take good care of them and maybe someday you'll be teaching your son how to shave with them. Nice story!

prism wrote:Wow, grandpa comes through! Nice razors Jason. The part of this I really like is that 50+ years ago, while he was shaving with these razors, your grandfather never could have imagined his grandson shaving with them too. Take good care of them and maybe someday you'll be teaching your son how to shave with them. Nice story!

Right on Vic! Great analogy.

Jason, I'm sure you are now realizing that waiting for Grandpa's razors was the way to go. You've got two great Gillette's to enjoy and treasure. FWIW, take it slow with the Red Tip.

Great story.

Regards,

Bill

He still can't imagine I would want to shave with them, but I find this common from members of my family who started shaving with a DE when they were young. Maybe it's the Louisiana heat/humidity. I like the heft of the tools, the skills it takes to do it right, and the cost of it all. It seems more manly to me to DE shave. I hope I'm not the only one who feels this way.

I'm definitely focussing on mastering the adjustable right now. I don't know when I'll attempt to tame the red tip SS.

The low settings on the fatboy are definitely milder than my standard SS with the same blades and lather. No irritation, very comfortable, just not very close. I've found that 3 is close to right, but I'll see what 4 gives tomorrow. I hope it's closer but still no irritation. My silvertip SS gets really close, but will irritate my neck if I don't take it really easy. I'm hoping the adjustable can get close but stay more in the comfort zone. At least I can back it off if I want for comfort's sake.

This brings my razor collection to:
1 Standard silver tipped 1954 SS (Z3) - purchased on ebay
1 TV model 1954 SS (handle looks like a 40's SS) (Z3) - from Grandfather
1 red tipped 1957 SS (C4) - from Grandfather
1 1959 Fatboy adjustable (E4) - from Grandfather

So yeah, I'd say I'm pretty extatic to have received these razors.

Another sidenote, my Grandfather told me that he had given the TV model '54 SS to his father (my great-grandfather) to try to get him to use the "new style" TTO razor that was easier to load than his old 3 piece. According to him, his father never switched. It was stored away in an old foot-locker that was inherited from my Great-Grandmother's house upon her death.

Cheers,
Jason

Jason,

The '54 TV SS is one rare bird. And to be in such an unused condition is icing on the cake. You should search the posts for some talk on the '54 TV model. You will appreciate it that much more.

You need to tell your Grandfather about all the hoopla going on here about his razors. I'm sure he will get a big kick out of it. Not to mention how crazy we all are.

This is one story for the books.

Regards,

Bill

Hi Jason -

That is a very nice collection of razors and a nice variety in shaving characteristics. How much more meaningful since they are all family heirlooms. Not many grandfathers will find grandsons who appreciate such as these. Congratulations!

- Murray

Finally got around to taking some pictures.

And More...

What an interesting story, Jason. I found my grandfather's 1957 red tip a few months back and was tired of paying $11.00 for ten Atra blades, so I saw the $1.54 Personna DEs at Wal-Mart and gave the old Gillette a try. It is aggressive and I got cut more than I liked. Then I checked out the Fat Boys and Slim Boys on e-bay and bought a couple. What a difference! I like the '66 Slim Boy on 7 with a good lubricating soap or creme. My granddaddy would be asking, "Why do you shave with that"? All I can say is, "Because it's fun!"