The RAREST Gillette Razor - So Rare I Don't Even Own One! Razor Archive: 40's Techmatic

I’m Matt Pisarcik, founder of Razor Emporium, welcome to our channel!
At Razor Emporium, we believe in empowering men and women to practice traditional grooming using quality new and vintage shaving supplies. Our business is made up of three core areas, Service, Retail, and Education.
Our service technicians restore, repair, and revamp your treasured shaving items, bringing them back to their original glory. Our downtown Phoenix, AZ lobby allows shavers to experience quality products before buying. And our educational resources are wide and always expanding. Who patented the safety razor in 1895, it was not a King G Gillette Safety Razor, the first Gillette patent was filed in 1904.
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[@user-jo5cx2fx2p]

Matt, I was going to buy myself one Gillette Techmatic razor but I just don't remember why I didn't buy one.! But in 1969/70 when I was in College then I bought myself one Gillette G2 Made in Germany twin blade cartridge razor with the plastic case which I have today still in mint condition and also use it randomly. But the blade keeps on sliding from the position while shaving. So mostly I use Gillette Fusion5 power razor. That gives great shaves. Then I have a 1970 Gillette Adjustable DE Razor USA with a black handle which I purchased while in College. Finally I have my Grandfather's 1959 Gillette Adjustable DE Executive set gold razor USA in mint conditipn. Thanlyou.

[@Shaverboy516]

Awesome video Matt, you should definitely be a curator at a Gillette museum, the history behind these razors is fascinating, well done;)

[@nicholsceramiccoating8284]

So from being around the Akron area a couple of hints for you might be the fact that at one time there were about 10 rubber tire companies around the area, and of course the biggest is Goodyear. There was alot of VERY affluential people who called Akron home. Also there were steel mills in the area including Timken, the Timken Roller Bearings. So I guess it wouldn't surprise me to test out a new razor in an area that would have money to spend

[@piecetoyou8285]

They were the guys back then ,no computers to work out the technology needed for the functions of these razors to work great, just great technicians and engineers.

[@JohnHartConductor]

Wow. What an amazing piece of Gillette history. I think owning a prototype is even cooler than having a production one!

[@BrandonIslander]

Matt thanks for the video, amazing history on this razor! I've really enjoyed watching your razor archive series over the last few years and your enthusiasm for Gillette history is second to none

[@RonnieYates]

Exceptional video Matt. Great historical details and enthusiasm! I learned a bunch of new stuff on this one.

[@jimharmony5027]

Love these historical videos. They're just fun. Thanks for sharing, Matt!!

[@milothegamer1949]

Those camera movements at around 4:12 were great

[@amirandasantos]

Congratulations for another amazing presentation. Always interesting themes you bring. And your presence and comunication skills are great too. Always a pleasure to ear an to see your new clips! Great!

[@koosk41]

Your archive series has been quite incredible and so interesting. This must have felt like your Holy Grail moment, and thank-you ever so much for the hard work you put in. TEN YEARS to bring us this 🏆

[@myblueskynight]

Fantastic video Matt! I love the Razor Archive Series! Amazing razor concept!👍👍👍

[@johncerra359]

Fantastic video! I felt like I was watching the History Channel. Your knowledge of Gillette and the evolution of its various razor designs is truly amazing. Thanks for making this, I really enjoyed it.

[@ranchboyfrank1358]

Matt I thoroughly enjoy your passion and your desire to educate us out here who desire more and more info on how it all started, grew, changed, improved and yes even failed…Thank you. My Best Frank

[@christopherbuja3387]

Cool as always to hear these history tidbits- and clearly you can see your passion for the subject! I like the “stories” of razors and Im trying to resist just buying whatever cool fancy razor the youtubers are showcasing at the moment and focus on acquiring ones that have particular significance- like the birthyear razors i bought from RE not too long ago! Thanks- keep up the good work!

[@sergiodezarlo7875]

Great episode, Matt. You ended a dispute that lasted years between my friends and me. Thanks a lot. 😊👍 Greetings from Milan, Italy.

[@billybjollocks4051]

Nice, mild shave 😁 ... Very easy to see why it failed commercially, though; the design was definitely over-thought. It is a thing of beauty in the hand ... absolutely love it. Thanks for the video, Matt ... Nice surprise in my inbox this morning 👍🏻

[@markdelapaz5573]

I love these videos. It's so cool to see the history of the DE razor. I love the DE and I really appreciate the tech that went into it.

[@SIGSOLO]

Wow!! Fantastic razor and story!! Thanks for sharing and caring!! 🤜💥🤛

[@briced.hornback1062]

I really enjoyed this video! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@BarbaTradicional]

Absolutely great video! We could notice Matt's excitement as well!

[@Juraberg]

Hi Matt. Thanks a lot for this extraordinary show-off of the 1947 Techmatic that I had never heard of before. 👍🏼

[@michaeldamisch1367]

Again something new learned, thank you Matt. Stay safe and shaved 😉🪒💈

[@ThePenskeman]

Thanks Matt ! Love your videos !

[@JMac.]

I never even knew this razor was a thing, learned a lot in this one.. thanks for sharing Matt, I enjoyed it!

[@rjwrightrw30]

Cool bit of shave history. Thanks for all the work you've done for our niche.

[@cashau2965]

...one of the best vids on razor history with many implications on present day razors...👍👍👍

[@Deadbuck73]

Such a great video! Very cool presentation as always… and as I watched all I could think was… how’s it going to shave? Can’t wait to see you take it for a spin! Thank You for your continued mission of all things razors!

[@terrym1065]

Matt👍👍 Amazing history lesson, 10 yr in the making, wow that's a lot of research. Clever design but no cigar in the end, too bad they terminated the project though. So this is the culprit, the predecessor to the cartridge razor...if I find one, I'll give it to you. Really enjoy these archive series videos, I'm sure you're getting low on material to present but hope to see many more. Great video, well done, thanks. See ya next time. Enjoy!

[@miket00123]

Really enjoy the history of the Gillette razors. Seeing the prototypes was amazing. Thanks for sharing.

[@OG_Jack]

Very interesting! Love learning new "stuff" about razors.

[@trevorhirst5096]

Very cool. Never heard of this. The ingenuity and innovations they made on all of these razors is insane

[@davidleonard1278]

Great video Matt. Never heard of that razor before.

[@hughswanzy8871]

Thanks for sharing! Cool!

[@vintagerazorsinc.7797]

WOW - what an amazing video, Matt - thanks so much for sharing, tons of info that I did not have!! …Incidentally - I did shave with mine 🥰 It shaves wonderfully, exactly like a NEW/Hybrid Tech, smooth and mild. Blades in one of my injectors are S3 (1947) 👍

[@DrRonP]

Great historical info Matt!

[@aumkar2]

Fantastic history Matt!

[@shindoo2]

Great video, I learned something.

[@Tobins_throwbacks]

Epic! Thanks for sharing!

[@Tom854]

Very, very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@leroyottersberg7151]

Definitely got educated with the video on the Techmatic. Gillette did try the injector system again in the 70s with the TRAC II injector razor. Even with Telly Savalas as a spokesman it lasted 3-4 years. The Twinjector was a better design than their DE attempt, but using the TRAC II as a baseline was interesting.

[@pauldenali6367]

Thanks for this whole video series. As I read "King Gillette The Man and His Wonderful Shaving Device" it was fun to follow along through your archive series seeing examples of the actual razors. Your knowledge and thorough research is much appreciated.

[@RazorEmporium]

Glad you enjoyed it! Fantastic book!

[@karlk9316]

Thank you for mentioning and providing the title of this book.

[@bTome9123]

Thanks for the history lesson. Might have to drop into an antique store. Would like to see a shave with that razor.

[@brianerskine3046]

Wow that's awesome great video very interesting about this razor 🪒have a wonderful day 💈

[@chewbacca7856]

Great video. Love learning about Gillette.

[@BetterEveryShave]

Very interesting stuff, Matt. I am not motivated to collect vintage razors myself but I still find it fascinating to see the evolution of shaving technology, both from a materials and engineering perspective and from a market and financial one as well. Thanks for sharing your passion and knowledge.

[@tbelding]

In many ways, it was a disturbing journey in the materials and engineering sides. For example, the original Gillette "Old" had handles that constantly cracked. Same with the later 'Fat Handle' - some of those cracked as well. They used copper tubes, which were simply cut off of larger pieces of tubing, and then rammed the machined handle 'nuts' into the tubes. Basically, an interference fit. The problem came from their lack of gap between the friction/interference point and the end of the tube itself. With it being right to the edge of the cut on the tubing, microfractures in the copper turned into splits. (Turning the base into a reverse cone shape would have done the job) So, they used good materials, but poor engineering. (My father, a mechanical design engineer for 40 some years, went over those. ) Almost everyone used brass until WW-II, then aluminum (often not very good) some steel, poorer and poorer plating, more and more zinc and less and less copper, and so forth. Even some of the better brands (now) are using poorer molds, or very worn molds with poor tolerances, rather than making new (expensive) molds. Even the Chinese brands, like Baili, who had decent razors early on, now have much lighter, crappier razors. Dollar tree has some Rapira knock-off razors, and their anvil curvature doesn't exist, as such. The blades (I'll be trying one in an hour or so) appear to be reasonably good quality, but the head and anvil are horrible. Janky plating, bad curvature, not wide enough, etc. The blade sticks _straight_ out. I bought three to test, and they all have that issue. So, if you want a violently aggressive shave, they'll do it! You might as well use a shavette. (I used one of those for the first time last shave. After 35+ years of DE shaving, I didn't have a real problem shaving one handed with it on both sides of my face, but I'd need a lot of practice to feel comfortable with it. ) I will say this - they clamped the blade VERY well, with no blade drift, and both sides had equal amounts of blade. (A more expensive razor that a friend had bought was MUCH more destructive and badly built) So, basically, early on they used really good materials, and not so good engineering, okay materials and good engineering by the late 60's (the Schick Krona.. mmm), and garbage materials and poor engineering by the 2020's. I'm expecting any day now to buy one in the store that upon getting wet, starts to pest. (zinkpest) It'll probably be stamped GILLETTE.

[@BetterEveryShave]

@@tbelding thanks for this. It's interesting that the legacy lives on due to the quality of the materials, despite the workmanship. I haven't had great luck with early razors and rarely shave with one. I keep the ones I have because they are interesting to look at, but I doubt I buy any more. I have a small collection of modern SE and DE razors that I get fabulous results with. Maybe something particularly interesting will come out someday, or I'll get a wild hair and treat myself to something spendy. Hard to say. For now, I am happy with what I have.

[@tbelding]

@@BetterEveryShave - spendy would be something like a Gillette Adjustable series. The Gillette techs and TTO's are almost all solid performers. If you have one, you just about have everything in that line type.

[@Daniel-qr1zf]

Glad to see the video, Matt. When's IdLatherBeShaving coming back?

[@RazorEmporium]

Not sure 🤔

[@myersb68]

Great video!!! As far as super-rare razors, it seems the Nickel Serial Toggle is equally rare. I'm only aware of 3 of them, including mine.

[@bigdave3847]

Coolio! Thanks for the education.

[@DE_Razor_Shaving]

Woah, very interesting! 😮👌🏼

[@123456am8]

Wow, what a great video, thanks Matt ! Super Neat to learn the origins of the blade dispenser / injector are with Schick on the battlefield of WW1. And like a lot of your audience, I'm disappointed with the extinction of the DE system in favour of injectors and cartridges, but discovering the 'missing link' in that evolution is really satisfying. Once again, THANKS!

[@mikedecherd8666]

Very cool, thanks

[@northlight1908]

Cool video and explanation of Gillette's first "system" razor. Your explanation of why Gillette moved away from DE razors toward cartridges makes sense in light of this history.

[@tbelding]

I haven't watched the video, but the short explanation that's easy to understand is that a Gen X or Y 'Business Management' twit said "We're only making 200% profit on these razors. If we shut it down, we can increase the production of our 2,000% profit throwaways, where we still have patents!". (I say this as someone who is IN that age group) Basically, their patents on the stainless steel blades expired.

[@kerrysmith536]

Wow! $10 in 1940 is how much today? $206.51 !!! Thanks, Matt. Great video.

[@tbelding]

Sort of. You'll have to keep in mind that there are more things today to spend money on, so those calculations are really variable.

[@anthonylowder6687]

Matt that was one of the most interesting and best videos I have ever seen and I was thinking of the same thing when you did the demonstration of sliding a regular blade in the razor head and it worked but Im pretty sure that one would have to be very careful not to cut their fingers in loading and unloading the blade by hand as you did. I was wondering do you have in the Razor Emporium collection the original very first Gillette razor that was invented? I would and I’m sure a lot of others would love to see you doing a shave or even say a showdown with that razor and a Gillette Super Speed of the same time period….either would be awesome!!

[@RazorEmporium]

Yes we have a Pat appl'd for double ring

[@paladin4570]

Excellent video. Great facts. As a teenager I used both the injector and the looped continuous blade razors but stopped all experimenting when I received a Gold Ambassador as a Christmas present. One note, Col. Shick would have been in a time warp to have been loading a .308 cartridge in anything in 1922 as it was not introduced until the 1950’s. Great job.

[@RazorEmporium]

Yes I realize I said the wrong round 😂

[@tbelding]

Right. He had to have used the .454. No, wait, he probably used the Enfield, right? *ducks*

[@johnmeyer8098]

Great video Matt. I wasn’t aware that Gillette even persuade the idea of an injector blade system. It is a very good example of how much your competition changes your business. What would you say the value of those razors are? I will now keep a eye out for one. Thanks again for passing these historic facts along.

[@RazorEmporium]

In the thousands.

[@odysseusjak]

That's awesome!

[@shalpher844]

Sweet! Always interesting to see how companies like Gillette, seeking a market niche edge, will go with R&D.

[@TypewriterASMR23]

Amazing! Great video. This raises an important question: are there other Gillette razors/inventions that never made it past the prototype stage?

[@RazorEmporium]

Yes

[@spanishfly7709]

Yes there is Gillette has over 4,000 patents so many never made it to production.

[@tolaras2]

Hey Matt ! Great video 👍 Gillette did put to the market the King C Gillette de razor, couple of years ago, and the heritage before that . I understand your explanation about the open source blade market, and the system that Gillette wants to bond us with but my guts want a new Fatboy out there, a new Black Beauty!

[@kingsford73]

You're going to have to do a shaving video with that prototype, and IF you can get your hands on an original........what a shave comparison video that would be.

[@kimheymans6662]

8/22 is my bday :) couple of years off obviously ;) Great video!

[@donaldvanwinkle1143]

Rare for sure but my rarest one is from my Grandfather when he was issued a Gillette and 5 blades in the Army. A bakeliyte handle 3 piece. I use it im ny rotation weekly.

[@WolfRanger2008]

Sorry. I know nothing about nothing but I would appreciate winning that T-shirt. Very, fine historical presentation today.

[@dtboice]

I came upon a WWI gold service set. I have only seen one other and his has the interior printing in gold, mine is in silver. Have you ever seen or heard about a gold service set?

[@rokoshrokosh]

Hi Matt, that was a fascinating video and clearly had the guys at Gillette thinking about what would eventually become the cartridge industry. But I’m not convinced about this razor, not sure about alignment issues or even proper clamping. Something the Schick avoided with their thicker than DE blade. I think this razor was just doomed to failure. But great to watch🥂

[@RazorEmporium]

Congratulations You've won the comment contest for this video. Please send [e-mail] your Name and Address and T-shirt Size and we will ship that out to you! Thank you - Dj@RazorEmporium

[@charlespreiss3426]

If this is the start of cartridge razors then I say a plague upon it!!!! Lol. Very interesting stuff!!!

[@thescentslessshaver8600]

If I lived in Akron, OH, I would take a week off of work and visit every antique store in town!!!! 😂😂😂

[@RobVespa]

So... razors are like Pokemon? The collector bug. It's science, Kyle. It doesn't matter what it is. At least razors are less expensive than, say, motorcycles.

[@brianmiller7871]

Awesome video. I’ve been researching Gillette razors for a while and I have never heard of those razors! Do you think this is more rare than a 1950 NDC razor?

[@RazorEmporium]

Yes

[@michaelgreenberg4026]

I went down the rabbit hole of collecting razors 2 or 3 months ago...early on I saw something somewhere (don't know where) where there was a razor that had a hole on top of head. It looked like junk then. If I only know what I know now

[@audized]

Great Video! BTW..Gillette is back making double edge razors, or they are contracting them out under Gillette branding

[@RazorEmporium]

The latter

[@CripplerSS74]

Living in Michigan gives a little hope one may pop up lol

[@SVTeel]

Coming from a gun guy, The rifle Schick used was a 30-06, not 308. The 308 didn't make an appearance until 1952.

[@RazorEmporium]

You're right :) thx

[@kelvarnsen]

So was there another device that was used to remove blades? Because it seems like any speed and safety you might gain from using the loading device would be cancelled out by how difficult it would be to remove a used blade from that razor.

[@lawr5764]

Wish I'd heard about THIS one before I moved away from AKRON, Oh.

[@ivyleague3224]

That's a really cool razor, whats the price range for one of those

[@gilmore42]

time for rex to recreate it

[@Tristin471]

Not going to lie, I totally thought that you were going to talk about the Gillette Toggle because of how expensive they go for on the internet.

[@RazorEmporium]

Expensive and rare don't always go hand in hand. Toggles were made in the tens of thousands. Not rare at all.

[@Tristin471]

@@RazorEmporium Very true. I didn’t realize that the Toggle was so common. When you first said Techmatic, I couldn’t believe it because I thought you were talking about the late 60s Techmatic lol

[@tbelding]

I don't want a techmatic. I'd feel like I couldn't use it, and I refuse to have one that can't be used. I even had a 19 (teens) silver razor gold welded so I could use it again. (cracked)

[@davep9096]

SHAVE VID SHAVE VID SHAVE VID SHAVE VID SHAVE VID! You just have to do a shave with this razor!

[@jasonwomack4064]

A $10 razor sales tested in Akron. What were they thinking? That's like trying to sell pulled pork at a vegan convention.

[@smiff9577]

So is this the last razor archive video?

[@RazorEmporium]

We are considering doing cartridge razors next cause we are out of American DEs. Thoughts?

[@smiff9577]

@@RazorEmporium If you’re here to teach I’m here to learn. 🤓

[@markferguson3365]

And I thought the rarest razor was the bottom dial! Wow!

[@RazorEmporium]

No- those seem to come for sale every few months. These every few years.

[@Susichea]

I have one and will sell it on eBay but let me know it’s exactly what you have in hands

[@raiceemendoza7787]

Merun aq ganyan how much po

[@chrisspertos9784]

What is this razor's price in the wild?!

[@RazorEmporium]

Anything.

[@ebear4015]

I came across one within our family from WW1(I believe). It works exactly like this. How can it be verified?

[@RazorEmporium]

Send me a pic. [e-mail]

[@ebear4015]

@@RazorEmporium A family member is having it looked at. I don't have it in my possession.

[@The_One_BABA]

Matt did you ever get one?

[@RazorEmporium]

No.

[@tomassalazar2798]

A guy named sinatra lennon has 2 thats his youtube name his real name is brian jepson he lives in austin texas

[@shaftwood]

Shaving systems have always been about making money and not necessarily about providing a better shave.

[@RobVespa]

This is important - Let it be known that when a product "fails" for a company, that absolutely doesn't mean the product is bad. In fact, some of the best products ever released have been failures. Granted, this particular razor may be a lemon. Ha. I haven't finished watching the video. Case in point, any number of motorcycles. For example: Hello and apologies, Honda. RIP Pacific Coast, the automatic flavors you've released over the decades, and, well, it's too sad to continue. Here's a popular one: BetaMax. The purchasing (or, in some cases, not purchasing) public, bad business decisions, the current socio/economic situation, and/or just plain bad luck are often the culprits behind product failures. Edit: This message brought to you in part from the Captain Obvious and No One Asked For This corporations.

[@WilfredForbert]

"The year is 1922/1923 and colonel Jacob Schick is on the front lines of Word War I..." You need to study up on your history, Matt.

[@RazorEmporium]

Yes I know I mis spoke. WW1 ended 1918. Schick patented the injector 1922.

[@manfrommeeteetse3880]

The System Razor aka The Big Ripoff or in Latin, Screwjobus Maximus!

[@Waldemarvonanhalt]

We really don't have to go begging Gillette to make new runs of safety razors. All of those designs have expired copyright/patents so it's all open source now. It's a ball in India/China/Vietnam's court now IMO.

[@RazorEmporium]

Many many tto razors already made now - none are up to the level of Gillette in my opinion.

[@Waldemarvonanhalt]

@@RazorEmporium Oh, definitely. They're not stamping or machining parts, but if safety razors ever were to become a big enough thing to make it financially feasible they'd be the ones doing it.

[@livewireblanco]

Ok Matt, your razor historical knowledge is profound, but your military history knowledge is lacking!

[@RazorEmporium]

I know I know. I said 308 when I meant 30-06. And I said 1922 when Schick filed patent on the injector whereas WW1 ended 1918.... I do these videos without notes or scripts and often in a single take lol

[@livewireblanco]

@@RazorEmporium it's all good! All that Gillette knowledge takes up a lot of room! Keep up the good work! 👍

[@spanishfly7709]

Oh no wonder I have a techmatic my family was living down in Ohio before coming to Michigan. My dad uncle had a... new razor that came right at the time my dad was in grade school it was givin to him when he got out the army in 61 he didn't like it but kept it and gave it to me when I started shave in 96 my dad passed in 98 but I still have his black handle Gillette with the numbers at the top of the handle. Not sure if I'll sell but I will share a pic of it.

[@borbetomagus]

I can only wonder how many survived and if it's long past when Akron estate sales might have had any. Hopefully most produced ones aren't in land fills. Were you able to identify how many were sold in Akron? I live within 30 minutes of the area, but finding one in an Akron antique or flea-market would be a crap shoot. At first I thought the blades were proprietary (since you didn't want to load the razor), but maybe you didn't want to marr-up any period blades. I still don't understand how new blades replaced old blades, since one end appears closed. If you have a shave video with this razor I hope you can better demonstrate how new blades replace used ones. In the meantime, I'll have to look at patents applications between 1940-1945 that were associated (or possibly related) with the razor or blade magazine -- 2299416, 2348303, 2363908, 2377388, 2392432, 2392433, 2392869, 2397890, 2424260. (Thanks to the individuals who found them!) I've only briefly looked at 239790, which might be of most interest overall. Looking at the cap thickness, I can only wonder how long the threading would hold up long-term. I'm still confused why Gillette came out with (essentially) rebranded Edwin Jagger DE89 clones (Heritage and King C Gillette). It's especially confusing why Gillette would describe the 'King C Gillette' razor as 'A single blade razor designed for edging sideburns and strong beard lines to help you achieve your perfect look'. What exactly was Gillette's reasoning for releasing these safety razors? If they don't re-introduce a (hopefully better quality) adjustable safety razor, I'd guess they don't want their cartridge customers to know (or remember) one could once (and still) get a single razor that would better adapt to one's skill or beard growth with replacement blades costing much, much less than their current cartridge offerings.