Vintage Gillette Adjustable Safety Razors
When I first started shaving with a traditional, double-edge (DE), safety razor, I saw and heard great things about Gillette’s vintage adjustable razors. The common names for these razors are — “Fatboy,” “Slim,” and “Black Beauty.”[1]
For those of us who might not know about these razors, Gillette introduced adjustable razors in the 1950’s. These razors have a dial which allows the shaver to fine-tune the closeness of the shave. The dial ranges from 1 (least blade exposure) to 9 (most blade exposure) with a distinctive “click” locking the setting in place. There’s a knob on the bottom of the razor handle that the shaver twists to open the head (TTO) and load the blade. Once the head’s been closed, there’s an additional ¼ turn to lock the blade in place.
Another interesting thing about these razors (and a lot of vintage Gillettes) is they’re stamped with a “date code” on the bottom plate.[2] The date code is a letter indicating the year and a number identifying which quarter within that year the razor was made. For example, in the image below, the date code is J-3 which means it was manufactured in the third quarter of 1964.[3]
As I progressed in my delight and fatuation with DE shaving (some would say obsession, but then I just point them to KenSurfs, KevyShaves, or PaulH), I started looking for vintage safety razors every time my wife and I visited an antique store, flea market, or estate sale. More often than not, I’d leave empty handed.
And then, finally, after months of searching I finally found a vintage Gillette “Fatboy.”
The Gillette 195 Adjustable One-Piece Razor (aka, the “Fatboy”) was introduced in 1958 and was in production until 1961. It originally retailed for $1.95, thus the name. It’s brass with nickel plating and has a red indicator for dialing in the settings. The razor is 88mm long and the handle is 11.5mm in diameter. The head measures 43.3mm wide and 10.5mm high. It weighs in at 80 grams.[4]
The “Fatboy” I found was in fair shape — some of the brass was showing, some of the paint on the numbers of the dial had faded or worn off, and it was moderately gunky. But the twist-to-open (TTO) worked fine as did the dial to change the blade gap. I purchased it for ten dollars and sent it off to Razor Emporium for their Tune Up Service.
The codes for my “Fatboy” are F-1. This means it from the first quarter of 1960. This razor is almost 60 years old and works perfectly.
After getting my “Fatboy” and using it for a while, I thought I was set for life. But then I watched one of Matt’s videos on Razor Emporium’s YouTube channel. I think he was doing a comparison shave between a newer razor and the Slim Adjustable. While I don’t recall all of the details, I remember him saying that he used a Slim Adjustable as his “go-to” razor. Add to that all of the other YouTube wetshavers having one in their shave dens, and well, I wanted to get one, too.
My wife and I had recently found a gold mine of antique shops kind of accidentally. We went to an antique and craft mall to look for some specific things. The mall was in a huge three story building that reminded me a lot of a school gymnasium (I think it probably was). After we purchased our items and started to leave, we discovered a whole other section behind the building. This section reminded me of an old school (to which the gym belonged). Each “classroom” was a different store front. It was so cool! After checking through several stores, I discovered this throwback shop. The whole aesthetic was from the mid-to-late 1940’s to the mid 1950’s. And there, in the old, wood and glass counter, were several Gillette adjustable safety razors, including a couple of “Slims.”
Gillette introduced the “Slim” in 1961 as the Slim Adjustable Razor (“Slim” was dropped later when they stopped making the 195 Adjustable) and had an original list price of $1.50 (later modified to $1.79). It was in production until 1968. As one would expect by the name, everything about the “Slim” was slimmer than the “Fatboy.” It’s brass with nickel plating and has a dark grey or black indicator for dialing in the blade settings. The razor is 90.5mm long and the handle is 10mm in diameter. The head measures 43.3mm wide (same as the “Fatboy”) and 10mm high. It weighs 70 grams.
One of the razors was in fairly good condition over all — the TTO worked flawlessly as did the dial to alter the blade gap. While all of the paint was gone from the numbers, there was very little brass showing. I don’t remember exactly what I paid for it but it was less than fifteen dollars.
According to Razor Emporium, “The Slim Adjustable was made cheaper, more durable, and was able to be made in larger quantities than any adjustable razor before. We find Slim Adjustable have less mechanical troubles, less clicker erosion, and are better shavers than its older counterparts.” In other words, if you’re wanting to get a vintage Gillette adjustable razor, go with the Slim Adjustable.
The codes of my Slim Adjustable are H-3; meaning it’s from the third quarter of 1962. It’s 57 years old and my favorite of all my vintage adjustable razors.
The next vintage adjustable razor I wanted was the one with the black handle. I tried for years to find one of these razors in the wild (antique stores, etc.), but never did. It wasn’t until I watched a Kevy Shaves video that I tried a different approach.
The “Black Beauty” was introduced in 1968 as the Gillette Adjustable Razor Super-84. The following year, Gillette introduced a longer version — the Super-109. The numbers correspond to the length of the handles (84mm and 109mm). They were sold at the same time, so the customer had a choice between the shorter or longer handle. Eventually, they were both repackaged as the Super Adjustable (Short) and Super Adjustable (Long). It has a brass head with nickel plating and a black dial indicator. The handle is made from anodized aluminum and resin. The Super-84 is slightly longer than the Slim Adjustable it replaced (roughly 94mm) and weighs less (67g). The Super-84 ended production in 1975 and the Super-109 in 1976.[5]
I logged into my eBay account and searched for Gillette Black Beauty. After looking through different razors, I happened upon one that appeared to be in nice shape and the top bid was in my budget. I set a limit for myself and placed a bid. I’ve bid on several things on eBay and never won anything, so I wasn’t holding my breath. To my surprise, I won it! I paid less than $20 for it. The nickel was just about flawless and the paint was only slightly faded on the numbers. The TTO opens perfectly and the click mechanism of the dial is spot on, too.
The date codes for my Super-84 are P-2. This means my razor was made in the second quarter of 1970. It’s almost 50 years old and provides an incredibly smooth shave.
While all of these razors are basically the same — TTO head, head opening knob at the bottom, and a dial to adjust the shave from 1-9 — the blade gap for these razors are different. Below is a chart showing the difference:[6]
Setting
|
195 Adjustable
|
Slim Adjustable
|
Super-84
|
1
|
.011
|
.015
|
.018
|
2
|
.015
|
.017
|
.024
|
3
|
.017
|
.022
|
.026
|
4
|
.019
|
.025
|
.028
|
5
|
.025
|
.027
|
.031
|
6
|
.030
|
.030
|
.035
|
7
|
.033
|
.034
|
.038
|
8
|
.035
|
.036
|
.042
|
9
|
.037
|
.039
|
.045
|
Well, there you have it! Those are my vintage Gillette adjustable razors and the stories behind them. Like so many other “wet-shavers,” I’d love to know the complete history of these razors — from where they were sold, who were the first owners, how they were passed onto the next owner, all the way until they arrived in my possession.
Until next time, friends.
~~~
In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
_________
[1] I’ve seen “Black Beauty” refer to either the Super-84, the Super-109, or the Super Adjustable. But “Black Beauty” should really go with the Super Adjustable as it has a black plastic bottom plate.
[2] The date codes for the “Black Beauty” aren’t found on the bottom plate since it’s plastic. Instead, they’re found on the inside of the razor’s head on the blade tray.
[3] The letters are duplicated, obviously, because some razors have been discontinued and new razors take their place. So, when one looks at the date code charts, one will find the letter “J” used in the years 1919, 1939, 1964, and 1989.
[4] There are two different websites I used for the information in this post — Gillette Adjustable Razors and Razor Emporium. If you’re needing to know anything about vintage razors, you won’t go wrong with these websites.
[5] The Super Adjustable — the true “Black Beauty,” the one with the black plastic bottom plate — was released the following year, in 1978. Gillette stopped production of this razor in 1988. This was the last adjustable razor Gillette ever made; truly, the end of an era.
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