7 O'clock Razor Collection

[pjgh]

Neither my 7 O'Clock and my GRØM have the central support sprue:



My 7 O'Clock does have a barely visible log on the top left of the top of the case (not on the GRØM):



I still think GRØM was just a brand name and not related to any military outfit.

It could, of course, NOT be related to the Poland or the Polish language as grøm translates also to Norwegian and Danish ("Escape").

 

[creamgravy]

Awesome, thanks for the info.

It could, of course, NOT be related to the Poland or the Polish language as grøm translates also to Norwegian and Danish ("Escape").

Maybe, the logo is a dead giveaway though.
When HMS Lightning was sunk in 43, the RN made sure she was replaced with the Polish Lightning.

The Grom sisters have a huge affinity with the Royal Navy and UK. It's too much of a coincidence for them not to be related.
A wet shaver on the Isle of Wight (or any WW2 ship nerd) would pay megabucks for it

I'd be tempted to fire off an email to the naval museum in Gydnia with photos/dates and ask if they have any info.

https://muzeummw.pl/en/about-the-museum-mw/

 

[pjgh]

Daft thing is, I've actually been to that museum in Gydnia!

Grom-class destroyer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Given the 'New' ran through the 1930s, yeah ... plausable it was a commemorative thing for the building of these ships. I surely can't be the only person with one of these razors, but I cannot find anything else about it ... anywhere.

I'll start the bidding at ...

 

[TobyC]

Neither my 7 O'Clock and my GRØM have the central support sprue:

View attachment 117167View attachment 117168

My 7 O'Clock does have a barely visible log on the top left of the top of the case (not on the GRØM):

View attachment 117169View attachment 117170

I still think GRØM was just a brand name and not related to any military outfit.

It could, of course, NOT be related to the Poland or the Polish language as grøm translates also to Norwegian and Danish ("Escape").

"English: occupational name for a servant or a shepherd, from Middle English grōm(e) ‘boy, servant’ (of uncertain origin), which in some places was specialized to mean ‘shepherd’."

Grom Name Meaning​

"Slovenian and Polish: nickname for a noisy or obstreperous person, from grom ‘thunder, loud noise’. Compare Grum .
German: from a short form of the medieval personal name Hieronymus ."

 

[creamgravy]

Daft thing is, I've actually been to that museum in Gydnia!

Awesome, it's on my bucket list!

Given the 'New' ran through the 1930s, yeah ... plausable it was a commemorative thing for the building of these ships. I surely can't be the only person with one of these razors, but I cannot find anything else about it ... anywhere.

The case was certainly made between 1936 and 1940, right when the ships were launched/commissioned. Definitely contact the museum, the historians would love to know about it.

I'll start the bidding at ...

(if only I was rich!)

 

[pjgh]

I'll write up something in English and have a proper translation from my Polish daughter-in-law.

 

[pjgh]

... and gone. eMail sent to their research department.

Back to these lovely 7 O'Clocks!

 

[pjgh]

@Cloobster

You showed us this picture at the top of the thread:

... and I've managed to capture the shadow of the logo once that sticker in the top right of the top of the bakelite case has worn away or been removed:

 

[pjgh]

Regarding this weird Old/New/SC/Hybrid razor ... I'm struggling to find a picture, but I had one just like it which as far as I noticed was entirely blank (head and handle). Mine came in a Rotbart box (not a tin). At the time (circa 2014?) I thought it an ugly oddity and moved it along.

I've found pictures of the one that I had @TobyC:





Short comb with raised base. There is some writing on the bottom the handle (second picture) but nothing at the top (first picture). Again, mine came in a Rotbart box (not tin).

 

[Cloobster]

I've found pictures of the one that I had @TobyC:

View attachment 117175

View attachment 117176

Short comb with raised base. There is some writing on the bottom the handle (second picture) but nothing at the top (first picture). Again, mine came in a Rotbart box (not tin).

My version has "7 o'clock" at the top of the handle and "Made in England" at the bottom

 

[Cloobster]

@Cloobster

You showed us this picture at the top of the thread:

... and I've managed to capture the shadow of the logo once that sticker in the top right of the top of the bakelite case has worn away or been removed:

That's really interesting. The sticker must have been on there for some time to "imprint" itself onto the lid.

 

[TobyC]

I've found pictures of the one that I had @TobyC:

View attachment 117175

View attachment 117176

Short comb with raised base. There is some writing on the bottom the handle (second picture) but nothing at the top (first picture). Again, mine came in a Rotbart box (not tin).

Yours had corner tits and a notched baseplate, otherwise the same,... what are the handle words?

OLD-New-Raised-flat-bottom, all it needs is a Double Ring Bulldog handle!

 

[TobyC]

My version has "7 o'clock" at the top of the handle and "Made in England" at the bottom

And a thinner handle, and the square-bottom slot.

 

[pjgh]

I'd be tempted to fire off an email to the naval museum in Gydnia with photos/dates and ask if they have any info.

https://muzeummw.pl/en/about-the-museum-mw/

Oh, okay ...

Based on our research, „GRØM” was a Polish brand of razors owned by Gilette, introduced no later than in 1932. So it had no connection whatsoever to the „Grom” class destroyers. It’s simply a coincidence, same word (thunder) used in both cases.

 

[creamgravy]

Fantastic, so no later than 1932? There must be quite a few buzzing around in Poland if it was a Gaisman product with a 8 year+ production run. Wonder if there's a RFB Rotbart version like the 7 o'clock.

Still, having a mint Grom set that was made during the same period as the destroyer is so cool

Just about finished this 7 o'clock case restoration. Milliput is so good for Bakelite repair (I need more practice at sculpting it though!)



Has anyone seen a 7 o'clock Bakelite case with handle bump stops over the usual curved sections? This was the first case mold Gillette used up until ~1935. Just wondering if pre 1935/6 7oclocks are all Rotbart made razors?

 

[pjgh]

Fantastic, so no later than 1932? There must be quite a few buzzing around in Poland if it was a Gaisman product with a 8 year+ production run.

I think it's fair to say that there must be pre-Gillette Grøm razors out there. Gillette were clever here (well, we know Gaisman was certainly very clever) in that they did not scuttle all their acquired brands insisting the market moved over to Gillette branding, but continued the legacy brand names but replaced the actual razors with their own ... and blades.