WetShaving
This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
New subscribers welcome!
Please visit our wiki, which is always and forever a work in progress.
Check out these alternative front-ends for this server:
https://gem.wetshaving.social/ - a nice modern interface
https://old.wetshaving.social/ - designed to look like old.reddit.com
Our sister Mastodon instance is https://wetshaving.social/.
Community Rules
Rule 1 - Behaviour and Etiquette
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Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
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Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
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Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Rule 2 - Content Guidelines
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Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
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Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
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Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Rule 3 - Reviews and Disclosure
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Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
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Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
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Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Rule 4 - Advertising
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Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
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Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
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Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
Rule 5 - Inappropriate Content
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All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
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Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
Rule 10 - Moderator Discretion
- The rules may not apply perfectly to every situation. The mods have final discretion.
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That's good stuff there!
I think I can see that razor is Geneva, which is good steel. And looks in great shape too.
And that first DE, that's no normal 40s style superspeed, that's a much more rare Ranger Tech!
Oh really? I was struggling to identify these adequately, all I know so far was approximate time periods and the fact that it shaved much less aggressively than my 3-piece NEW bar handle razor... Any other details you can share I'm all ears!
And yes, the straight is a Pyramid Geneva, haven't tried it but honed it up the other day. Sometimes I wish my whiskers grew faster just so I had an excuse to shave more often!
All of these razors have much better workmanship and materials that most modern ones created today. So many these days are just plated pot metal, and will usually break after a few years of use. And there are companies like Vikings Blade that are adding a story and marking them up super high.
But these that you have are brass at their core, which will outlive you.
As far as dating goes, most of these will have a date code at the bottom, under the baseplate. A letter will be on the left end, and a number will be on the right. The letter is the year, and the number is the quarter of that year.
https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/wiki/US_Gillette_Dating_Information
Scroll down to the section: 1950-1988 (letter codes)
Fantastic, thank you for the data!
I like my Geneva, I think it has the Pyramid too though it's been a while. Yours looks to be in very nice shape. Thanks, now I know what I'm shaving with today. Was actually the first one I honed and it took an edge quite readily. Congrats on the find!
Buddy.. only one genco?? :D maybe it's just me, we all have the brands we find we gravitate to, for me that's Boker, Genco, and Imperial, I have 3+ of each because they're all winners. Just got a new imperial today, my 3rd Chicago world's fair distinct etch! (also like 7/8 which is wild for imperial)
Ha! Well, one so far. But I started with it and it was a good one so ya, it'd have made sense for me to pick up more. However at the time I was looking for variety and figured I had that box checked, just haven't circled back yet. Almost did pick up another now that I think of it but sat on it too long and someone snagged it. My first Imperial is so very patiently waiting in purgatory for scales. I like my Puma a lot but it's my only one. Hm. Ok maybe this is a pattern... Still no Shumate nor Waterville nor Ramapo though so if I was going to make a point of shopping for an American razor I'd probably lean that way. You may have been very wise specialising your collection... And nice score on that Imperial!
Welcome, good to see you here.