A Close Shave with History and a Warm
Glow of Nostalgia
Assuming that, like me, you weren’t waiting to be born – what were you
doing in 1956? Spencer Tracey was still recovering from his Bad Day at Black Rock, Charlton Heston was delivering the Ten Commandments – whilst John Wayne
was in The Searchers. Tom Hanks and
Geena Davis were still at the bouncing baby stage.
While all this was happening, someone was making my Gillette Superspeed Flaretip in the USA – possibly listening to
Elvis sing Heartbreak Hotel on the radio. My Gillette Blue blades were being
manufactured in Great Britain while the British population was talking about
the Suez Crisis and petrol rationing. And just like me – my 1962 Slim Adjustable was still in
preproduction stage and wouldn’t arrive for another six years.
I bought the razors and blades after filming the Village Barber videos for Iain. I thought to myself – “I’m going to give that pesky DE razor another
chance and follow Iain’s advice about blade angle and pressure.” My angle was okay
but as for pressure, I had been pressing like I did with a cartridge. Well – to
say that the shave was an improvement is an understatement. My previous
attempts at using the £5 Wilkinson Sword
Classic DE razor had left me nervous, and reluctant to try again, after
slicing myself and making my face look like that of Edward Scissorhands - well, maybe I'm exaggerating. So I
continued, and the shaves got better and better, until I got superb,
comfortable shaves from this inexpensive, but excellent razor.
I had long been a wet shaver, using a brush and soap for twenty years –
but with increasingly expensive cartridges. Now I was thoroughly enjoying the
art of shaving again and decided I needed, or rather, wanted another razor. I settled on the Edwin Jagger DE89L and a rather natty stand and bowl which certainly
look the part sitting proudly next to the mirror in the bathroom.
Then I spotted the carbon steel Gillette
Blue blades on eBay, still wrapped in cellophane. After opening them I
discovered they were made in the third quarter of 1956 and set about getting a 1956
Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip razor to match – well who wouldn’t? By now
this was proving contagious, and I obviously needed a 1962 to match me – after all we would have both
survived and lived through the same world events – albeit, the one slightly
more oblivious than the other! I settled upon a Slim Adjustable (James Bond uses one in Goldfinger). Both of these vintage razors give wonderful shaves,
especially the more straightforward ’56, and some say they were around their
best at that time.
Well, I was getting fantastic shaves with all the razors, but how would they perform with vintage carbon Steel blades? Originally, all razor blades were made from carbon steel until the 1960s, when Wilkinson Sword introduced stainless steel razor blades. Soon the company's blades made rapid gains in shares of the market and other producers such as Gillette followed suit. Not only did the blades resist rusting – they were noticeably smoother on the skin, without the rather scratchy feel of carbon steel.
Well, I was getting fantastic shaves with all the razors, but how would they perform with vintage carbon Steel blades? Originally, all razor blades were made from carbon steel until the 1960s, when Wilkinson Sword introduced stainless steel razor blades. Soon the company's blades made rapid gains in shares of the market and other producers such as Gillette followed suit. Not only did the blades resist rusting – they were noticeably smoother on the skin, without the rather scratchy feel of carbon steel.
So, now armed with vintage razor and blades I waited
to try them that evening. So how do these, carbon Steel blades perform in a
shave? Well, as mentioned earlier, rather scratchy and a tad uncomfortable – at
first. But, after a couple of shaves they improve noticeably. I found it beneficial
to use the Village Barber Shaving Oil
as it allows the blade to glide over the skin comfortably and after the blades
were bedded in, I got fantastic shaves. I also tried a brush and lather and
found shaving soaps such as Mitchell’s Wool Fat, Palmolive and Proraso worked
well, but benefited further from being used over the oil.
I enjoy using these for an occasional walk through
history – so I bought some more blades on eBay. I opened these after
photographing the containers. The smaller carton was made in 1958 – the year Cuban rebels kidnapped five-time world
driving champion Juan Manuel
Fangio, and released him twenty-eight
hours later. And in 1967 while Jimi Hendrix
was recording Purple Haze in London –
across the water – the French ‘Gillette
Bleue Extra’ blades were being manufactured. Some of the ‘58s had a bit of
rust – but not on the cutting edge. Don’t use them if the cutting edge has
rusted. The French blades gave an incredibly close but smooth shave without
any scratchiness! I only did a second pass for the sake of it. I wish I had a ton
of these! These newer blades are marked ‘Extra’, and whatever extra thing they
did to them made all the difference, as they are noticeably better.
I enjoy using these for an occasional walk through
history – so I bought some more blades on eBay. I opened these after
photographing the containers. The smaller carton was made in 1958 – the year Cuban rebels kidnapped five-time world
driving champion Juan Manuel
Fangio, and released him twenty-eight
hours later. And in 1967 while Jimi Hendrix
was recording Purple Haze in London –
across the water – the French ‘Gillette
Bleue Extra’ blades were being manufactured. Some of the ‘58s had a bit of
rust – but not on the cutting edge. Don’t use them if the cutting edge has
rusted. The French blades gave an incredibly close but smooth shave without
any scratchiness! I only did a second pass for the sake of it. I wish I had a ton
of these! These newer blades are marked ‘Extra’, and whatever extra thing they
did to them made all the difference, as they are noticeably better.
In a world of people shaving with cartridge razors,
it’s fantastic to enjoy a shave with a double edge razor – and even more
special to know that you are one of the few on the planet shaving with a blade
that hasn’t seen daylight for decades! So why not give them a try, if you can
get some? Alternatively, try out modern carbon steel blades made by Treet such
as the coated Treet DuraSharp and plain
Treet Classic. In my opinion, the DuraSharps
feel very similar to the ‘Gillette Bleue
Extra’ blades.
The Village
Barber Shaving Oil also helps prevent rusting, as given half a chance, carbon
steel will rust – blow them dry them after
use. I take the razor to a dry room until the bathroom has dried off. I get a
week of great shaves out of each blade and they leave a warm glow of nostalgia
and a close shave with
history.
http://www.villagebarber.com/
history.
http://www.villagebarber.com/
