For today's Vintage Shave of The Day, I decided to go with a rare and misunderstood razor from Gillette's history: the Nickel Toggle. The toggle series was originally released in 1956 in the form of a 1-5 Gold toggle with a serial number, only some 5,000 units were originally produced. Later, as Gillette was experimenting with the 1 through 5 versus 1 through 9 numbering on the adjustment band, a nickel variation was packaged and released both in 1958 and 1960. This example is a mint condition Christmas 1958 version, complete with unopened blades, instructions, warranty card and price tag. (See more photos here)
Paired with our new Connecticut Yankee soap and WSP Monarch brush, I got an amazing shave! The Yankee soap was based on the original 1840 JB Williams & Co tallow based soap with the famous citronella smell. Finished off with the refreshing balm feel from the Proraso "White" Anti-Irritation, it performed beautifully!