The Richwood

The Gillette Richwood

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I've commenced my exploration of vintage Gillette razors with my recent acquisition of "New Standard" Gillette Richwood.

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My knowledge on the subject of vintage Gillettes is limited, but I've undertaken a little research...

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This “New Improved” open combed model is beautifully presented in a dark, "rich" wooden case with a matching blade safe.
The New Improved also came as The Bostonian, The Traveler, The Algonquin, and The Chippendale and each came with their own unique packaging.
The Richwood was also available in Gold.
Production of these razors ran from 1921 through 1929.

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The Richwood is a 3piece razor.
It is silver plated razor with a diamond pierced handle.
It's about 82mm long and a blade gap of about 0.7mm.
It's a fairly aggressive razor, about 6 on a Gillette adjustable.

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Apparently, "...it features a “channeled guard” which was designed to allow for adjustments to the blade gap (based on how far the handle was tightened against the blade) without changing the basic blade angle."

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(I forgot to remove the end for the pic above!)

Beautiful razor - they knew how to make them look nice back in the day.

If it shaves half as good as it looks, you're in for a treat

I'm not much of a DE fan, but this razor has me drooling! :drool:

That's one of the more beautiful razors I've seen. Congratulations and thank you for sharing!

Holy cow, Ben. Beautiful brushes, now great razors! i would love to see your whole collection of arsenal!!

I have to agree with you Hans, Brian and Travis she's a looker for sure!

I fear it maybe the catalyst for another AD!

(05-10-2012, 09:09 PM)celestino Wrote: Holy cow, Ben. Beautiful brushes, now great razors! i would love to see your whole collection of arsenal!!

Do we have enough bandwidth...?

I seem to be slowing getting all on display - electronically speaking... Much of my collection is out of sight to avoid chastisement from SWMBO. The Omega Ladymatic I presented her with for our wedding anniversary a couple of days ago is doing much to assist however!!!

Very beautiful set! I would love to have one of the classic named set razors in my collection. Hopefully I can explore a few more antique stores between semesters. I also second the desire to see more of your ever growing collection!

The razor is beautiful, but the set, and especially the case, just puts it way over the top of the gorgeous meter.

(05-10-2012, 09:46 PM)Tonality Wrote: Very beautiful set! I would love to have one of the classic named set razors in my collection. Hopefully I can explore a few more antique stores between semesters. I also second the desire to see more of your ever growing collection!

No antique shaving bargains to be found in my neck of the woods (Western Australia), so I've been resigned to trawling the "bay"...

Hi Ben

That is one stunningly beautiful razor

Take care, Mike

Very nice razor, it's been high on my wishlist for a couple years now.

(05-11-2012, 10:26 AM)Razor Emporium Wrote:

Thanks, Matt. This is my new wallpaper (computer, not shave den).

Beautiful pictures thank you so much for posting them.

Anyone have any tips for caring and cleaning it?

I'm concerned about using silver polish etc and we don't have "scrubbing bubbles" here in Australia, not sure what the equivalent would be (if that's the recommendation).

(05-12-2012, 09:54 PM)ben74 Wrote: Anyone have any tips for caring and cleaning it?

I'm concerned about using silver polish etc and we don't have "scrubbing bubbles" here in Australia, not sure what the equivalent would be (if that's the recommendation).

There's a trick you can do with a piece of aluminum foil, boiling water and baking soda. It removes the tarnish only. Do a search for it on google.

(05-13-2012, 09:59 PM)Razor Emporium Wrote:

(05-12-2012, 09:54 PM)ben74 Wrote: Anyone have any tips for caring and cleaning it?

I'm concerned about using silver polish etc and we don't have "scrubbing bubbles" here in Australia, not sure what the equivalent would be (if that's the recommendation).

There's a trick you can do with a piece of aluminum foil, boiling water and baking soda. It removes the tarnish only. Do a search for it on google.

Ah, yes I recall reading that somewhere myself...

3 Ag2S + 2 Al = 6 Ag + Al2S3

(silver sulphide + aluminium = silver = aluminium sulphide)

aka "THE BAKING SODA METHOD"

Did the google search, see here for detailed cleaning instructions:
http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html