The Aristocrat Arrives

After being away for a bit at Sport Shaving getting a refresh and a new gold plate, my 1947 Gillette Aristocrat is back home.

Gillette Aristocrat (1947) Replate Complete

I got notification today that my Aristocrat is complete and ready to ship. I am excited to get it home again. Here are the pictures I got.

Here are a couple of pictures of the razor before the replating.

Tuckaway Done and Coming Home

My New Improved has been repated with rhodium and will be coming home soon. I am looking forward to getting it back in the fold. It looks terrific. Thanks, Nick.

Gillette New Improved Being Replated

I sent off my silver New Improved to be replated with rhodium. It arrived at its destination on June 9. The expected completion will be in the window of July 7-14. As of today, I am about halfway through the wait period. Here is what it looked like when sent.

Update: July 5, 2017

It is on its way home.

Update: July 8, 2017

The Tuckaway arrived today. It is a beauty. I will be putting it into action starting Monday.

Just Received the New

I just received my Gillette New, and it is gorgeous. Special thanks to Sam Duran for the excellent job of cleaning and plating.

So, I just finished taking it on its maiden voyage. Along for the ride was:

• Proraso Shave Soap
• Van Der Hagen Badger brush
• Newly plated Gillette New razor with Derby Extra SS blade
• CWR
• Dickinson's Witch Hazel
• Aqua Velva AS

It was an excellent BBS shave with only two passes. This is one of Gillette's all-time greats.

The New - Replated

Gillette's New razor design was produced in the 1930s. Gillette introduced razors with the NEW head design in 1929, and continued to produce variants until 1940. There were three main variants of the NEW head design: De Luxe, long-comb, and short-comb. All NEW razors were three-piece double-edge designs. Mine has a short-comb and the bar handle. Razors were produced with both thick and thin bar handles, but the thick-handle design is more common. 

This is my Gillette New razor that, as you can see, has some patina on it. I decided to have it replated and just got back pictures today. I should receive it back Monday or Tuesday. The gentleman that did the replating is Sam Duran. I met him on a shaving forum Badger & Blade. He is a hobbist, restoring and replating in nickel. This is my only open comb DE razor, and even though it looked kind of yucky, I really liked the way it shaved. That is why I decided to give it new life with this referbish. I will post new pictures after it arrives. I am so excited.  Thanks, Sam, for a beautiful job.

Hard to believe, but this is the same razor.

A great design makes for a great shave.