I like old things, especially tools and things that are still useful and usable. Things like these these Gillette safety razors I found at a junk/antique store in Ironwood this weekend.

From front to back:
1964 — Gillette Tech Travel Safety Razor, it came in what turned out to be the women’s travel case, though the same razor was also sold in a men’s case.

1917 — Milady Decollete Gold Gillette Safety Razor 1917 — this one is supposedly gold plated. This one was probably the nicest for shaving of the ones I picked up. It was solidly built and easy to grip. I sent it to my brother in Peru — hopefully it makes it though customs.

Next two : Early 1930s –  Gillette NEW with hollow barrel handle. One is a long comb version, the other a shorter comb. These work pretty well but have a fairly aggressive shave to them. Nothing too extreme, but more so than my day-to-day.

I gave the travel razor a try tonight and it worked well. It’s a bit more aggressive than my regular razor (a Parker safety razor),  but still manageable. It took a minute or so to figure out how to hold the short handle. I wouldn’t want to use such a short handle every day, but the size is nice for traveling.