09-14-2021, 05:54 PM
(09-14-2021, 05:40 PM)TobyC Wrote:(09-14-2021, 01:58 PM)Old Sarge Wrote: Apologize for jumping into this established thread, but there are a number of interesting posts that piqued my interest!
Below is a pic of a GEM Jr w/ black baton handle that I just picked up online, of all places from a used book store in Utah. Notice that it has a cap on the end and the scaling all the way to the bottom. Here are some thoughts based on previous posts...please remember that I am a vintage SE noob, thus likely will say something stupid so please set me straight!!!
Previous posts speculate that the Treet razor had the capped baton handles, while the GEM Jr's had open. Notice that this razor came in The Parade box and that the box has a cutout to fit the baton handle. Since this came from a book store that has a few non-book items for sale and since the razor is in such good condition, purely anecdotal but I'm feeling that this is the original box for this razor. Wouldn't ASR have been the owner of all brands producing baton handles at this time and at the factory they could possibly just grab whatever handle was available at the time of manufacture? Kind of like what the major vintage unmentionable company was known for doing from time to time.
Looking at the different photos on the post, it would appear that the capped baton handles all had the scaling down to the bottom of the handle. While the uncapped handles had a smooth band at the bottom. There was one photo (TobyC) with a Gem Jr showing scaling down to the bottom with no cap and a clearly unfinished inside to the handle. I wold speculate that this one lost it's cap during it's life journey. This is just a hunch as I've not seen what other uncapped handles look like from that perspective. If others had pictures of uncapped handles, this might strengthen this hunch. Thoughts?
I struggled a bit to attach the below photos, particularly finding the correct size to fit the forum. Does anyone know the size limitation? For example, if the below pics post correctly, they were sized at 806x605 pixels which allowed for the posting of the complete photo and nearly edge to edge. Thanks for any advice!
I am going to agree that that appears to be a correct all original Parade GEM Jr.
The problem we have is that there is no good single source of information where we can go and look it up.
The GEM Jr. "The Parade" with the baton handle was made in 1943. The Treet razor didn't become an American Safety Razor Corporation Inc. product until 1948, so parts sharing is unlikely.
The handles may have come from an outside vendor, I have no idea.
That's some quality knowledge, TobyC!
Bryan, FNG-SE