So far the consensus is that it is a Gillette New Short Comb, probably from the late 1930's. They said the handle likely has cracks as that is what usually happens. You already knew about all of this, however, so nothing new discovered so far.Pokey wrote: ↑Sun Apr 03, 2022 9:39 amThanks, Dan. I poked around on the web last night and found they were made in USA, England, and Canada over time.
There were two different top caps made, one with a full length rail and one with two shorter tabs to hold the blade. There were short and log comb models, this one is a short comb model. Some had a ball end handles and others had a cylinder end.
One issue the handles had was when they were assembled, the top hourglass portion and the ball end portion were over- tightened on the knurled part. So, if the razor was dropped, over time the handles would crack. Mine has cracks at both ends, but it’s still mechanically sound. (razoremporium.com sells repro handles) One of the corner teeth on the comb is cracked from being dropped. (but not bent) Despite being made from copper and brass it’s lighter than my “modern” razors.
There was another one for sale with a case, blade holder, and 3 old blades for $42 USD. The end teeth of the comb were bent on that one, and knowing what I know now, I’ll bet the handle was cracked, too. This one was $15 USD.(With some USA made blade already installed!)
I was thinking of going back to look at the other one with the thought of canabalizing both to make one good one, but I think all of the parts are damaged on both. I'd end up with a lot of broken parts. These aren't collectable, so no sense trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
I had my Tech re-plated with gold like it was when new. It was not expensive and looks amazing.