Curious detail on this Gillette Tech

[pjgh]

Very valid though, and it certainly made me consider the actual manufacturing process rather than just being a product of a period (of months) of switchover. I'd obsessed about the handle, being late 1930s and into the 1940s; the very end of the New production. That handle, the orientation of the stamp being a New ... maybe it's starting to fit together as a simple mistake or maybe a runout of production time or material without having to change too much of the tooling.

Having worked in factory production I know I've been there ... shhh

 

[doughnut operator]

Off-topic, since I mentioned it ... here's my Grøm! Not an anomaly but a brand that Gillette took over.

never seen or heard of grom ........ just when you think you know something .lol nice example

 

[Dave-the-rave]

I thought Grom and 7 Oclock were owned by the same chap who owned Valet, which all ended up under Gillette. I thought and I may be wrong, that the flat bottom was originally a 7 Oclock design, so although we refer to it as one of the NEW's, it wouldn't have been. As I say I might be wrong.

 

[Bogeyman]

"One offs" are not unknown in the manuf. world as imperfect humans operate imperfect machines. Sometimes they are very valuable:

How the Inverted Jenny, a 24-Cent Stamp, Came to Be Worth a Fortune

Mark the centennial of an epic mistake at the National Postal Museum where several of these world-famous stamps are on view

www.smithsonianmag.com

Do you own a Tech "hybrid", pjgh?

 

[pjgh]

I thought Grom and 7 Oclock were owned by the same chap who owned Valet, which all ended up under Gillette. I thought and I may be wrong, that the flat bottom was originally a 7 Oclock design, so although we refer to it as one of the NEW's, it wouldn't have been. As I say I might be wrong.

7 O'Clock was certainly Valet. I have one. It's very likely that the flat bottom was a design outside of Gillette - they bought it and used it. Rather than stamping out the competition: 7 O'Clock, GROM, Minora, etc; they simply continued the brand names and applied a uniform set of products across the ranges. Sound marketing.

 

[pjgh]

"One offs" are not unknown in the manuf. world as imperfect humans operate imperfect machines. Sometimes they are very valuable ...

Do you own a Tech "hybrid", pjgh?

I mentioned above, a load of Damaskeenes made it through with 1902 stamped on the base (rather than 1912 - the Damaskeene is the 1912; 1912s are actually 1919s). I've seen 1912s with mis-stamped heads where the backs did not align with the cut out ...

... and that gives me pause for thought here.

Does anyone know how the dye for these would be made up? By that, I mean the metal shape that cuts out the base from sheet metal for it to then go down the line for bending and shaping, and presumably stamping? I thought the stamp might be an integral part of the dye, but thinking about that 1912, the stamping might well be done further down the line.

In this case, it's possible (probable?) that the 'New' stamp was left in the machine when they switched over to making the Tech.

I worked in food packaging once and when the lines switched over, there's always be a dozen or so boxes or bags that were the new thing on the outside yet the former product still dropping through the machine on the inside. We'd discard those. It was dried cereals that we processed. I'm sure some would get out and M&S Premium brand would actually be a Netto Basics in the inside < truth be told, there was actually not a lot of difference, if any with some lines.

... so yes, a kinda hybrid New/Tech. It'd be even cooler if it was solid bar one side and combed the other.

 

[Dave-the-rave]

7 O'Clock was certainly Valet. I have one. It's very likely that the flat bottom was a design outside of Gillette - they bought it and used it. Rather than stamping out the competition: 7 O'Clock, GROM, Minora, etc; they simply continued the brand names and applied a uniform set of products across the ranges. Sound marketing.

Yes a design outside of Gillette. That was always my understanding, so the flat bottom isn't technically a NEW at all. I like the flat bottom and don't like other NEW's. I don't find them comfortable ATG.

 

[Dave-the-rave]

I mentioned above, a load of Damaskeenes made it through with 1902 stamped on the base (rather than 1912 - the Damaskeene is the 1912; 1912s are actually 1919s). I've seen 1912s with mis-stamped heads where the backs did not align with the cut out ...

... and that gives me pause for thought here.

Does anyone know how the dye for these would be made up? By that, I mean the metal shape that cuts out the base from sheet metal for it to then go down the line for bending and shaping, and presumably stamping? I thought the stamp might be an integral part of the dye, but thinking about that 1912, the stamping might well be done further down the line.

In this case, it's possible (probable?) that the 'New' stamp was left in the machine when they switched over to making the Tech.

I worked in food packaging once and when the lines switched over, there's always be a dozen or so boxes or bags that were the new thing on the outside yet the former product still dropping through the machine on the inside. We'd discard those. It was dried cereals that we processed. I'm sure some would get out and M&S Premium brand would actually be a Netto Basics in the inside < truth be told, there was actually not a lot of difference, if any with some lines.

... so yes, a kinda hybrid New/Tech. It'd be even cooler if it was solid bar one side and combed the other.

I worked in a few press shops years ago. The tool that stamps the markings could be incorporated into any stage of the production. It could have been part of another tool or done separately.

 

[pjgh]

Autostrop ... the company that became Valet: https://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/community/index.php?threads/autostrop-7-oclock.25467/

 

[TobyC]

I mentioned above, a load of Damaskeenes made it through with 1902 stamped on the base (rather than 1912 - the Damaskeene is the 1912; 1912s are actually 1919s). I've seen 1912s with mis-stamped heads where the backs did not align with the cut out ...

... and that gives me pause for thought here.

Does anyone know how the dye for these would be made up? By that, I mean the metal shape that cuts out the base from sheet metal for it to then go down the line for bending and shaping, and presumably stamping? I thought the stamp might be an integral part of the dye, but thinking about that 1912, the stamping might well be done further down the line.

In this case, it's possible (probable?) that the 'New' stamp was left in the machine when they switched over to making the Tech.

I worked in food packaging once and when the lines switched over, there's always be a dozen or so boxes or bags that were the new thing on the outside yet the former product still dropping through the machine on the inside. We'd discard those. It was dried cereals that we processed. I'm sure some would get out and M&S Premium brand would actually be a Netto Basics in the inside < truth be told, there was actually not a lot of difference, if any with some lines.

... so yes, a kinda hybrid New/Tech. It'd be even cooler if it was solid bar one side and combed the other.

Judging from this (and there are others that I cant find at the moment, at B&B) I'd say a long strip of brass was run under a roller that pressed the lettering on before it was die cut to the pattern and then press formed to shape, but that's just my WAG.

Mis-Stamped EverReady

I picked up an Ever-Ready today, having recently used a Gem 1912 the first time with excellent results. When I got it home and looked more closely, I saw that the placement of the brand name is off kilter on both sides. I am not sure at this point what model this is but I was interested in...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[pjgh]

Yeah, that's the 1912 I had in mind showing that the stamping was done after the outline was cut with the dye. Dave seemed to suggest this is possible with the Gilettes.

 

[pjgh]

The other tiny details here is that the stamp on the Tech does not look (exactly) like the stamp I have on other Techs [which are slightly smaller/shorter] and is also different to the stamp on the New razors that I have, which always stuck me as looking more like MAJE IN ENGLAND. The Tech is definitely MADE IN ENGLAND.

 

[ajc347]

The lettering on the bottom of the plate is not as uncommon as you might think, Paul.

It occurs in this type of Tech Set (which is often referred to as a travel set, although I don't know why).




I believe the handle you have is a NEW handle that has been matched with a later Tech head.

I'm the photo below, you can see further evidence of the difference of this baseplate to the normal baseplate on the right.



There is a an extra ridge on it which is the design used on ball-end Tech.

The top caps are also very slightly different in this model and, again, resemble the design of the later ball end Tech.

 

[pjgh]

A-ha! And here we go ... brilliant, Andy! I'm not saying it's a one-off or even rare, just that I spotted the difference and then could not find another example in my own collection or even online. But, here we have another ...

Yet, you have a MAJE IN ENGLAND. Oh yes, you're right! An extra rigde on the comb as per the ball end Tech. I can confirm that. Yes, my handle is more commonly seen on the New ... in fact, I have a couple of those coming to me shortly

So, we're looking at the entirely other end of the era ...

Not a New > Tech transition, but a flat bottom > diamond base Tech with the orientation of the stamp being in the same place as (also) the diamond base Tech (ball end).

Clinking the baseplate against a common piece of metal, it is most certainly of the flat bottom vintage with a different sound to the diamond base Tech. Top cap, too, the diamond base is a semitone higher (haha!) and a slightly longer unthreaded part on the top cap as per other flat bottom Techs, not the shorter unthreaded section like the diamond base Tech.

Same comb as the diamond base Tech. Well spotted! What a chase! Vintage razor archeology at its most fun ...

So, best guess is this is a certifiable variant of the flat bottom fitting in towards the end of the run and incorporating the diamond base comb.

 

[ajc347]

There are also variations in the use of the font used in stamping ‘Made in England', Paul.

The usual version is in the left, whilst the less common version is on the right in the picture below.

 

[pjgh]

Yeah, I've got a smattering of both which made typology a little difficult.