lather catchers?

Where have they all gone? They claimed, 90,000 produced in 1904 alone...Safety razor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that should leave at least a quarter years production in the wild from a run until 1912?
For those not familiar with lather catchers, they are typically, but not only GEM or Kampfe Star razors made pre 1912. example:YouTube - loading a lather catcher GEM razor


Kind regards,

I think that the reality is that there are probably only a couple thousand left in the wild...I've only seen two myself and I antique in half a dozen towns spread over several counties. I don't know if GEM followed the loss-leader formula of Gillette, but doing this makes it pretty easy to toss a razor into the trash in favor of a newer version at the hint of any problem with your old model. Or, more likely, it got stuffed into someone's closet until they died and then their offspring upon inspecting their estate simply tossed it into the trash. Wasn't it Robeson or Shumate that put out ten-thousand razor a DAY and how many are left in the wild?

Are you reading that article correctly? The only reference I see to 90,000 razors was Gillette's sales in 1904. The Double Ring had a production run of about 500,000, and you rarely ever see them. I could be wrong, but I doubt that there were that many Lather Catchers produced.

You may be correct in your interpretation. That begs the question, how many pre 1912 patented style lather catcher razors did they make?

Kind regards,

These were considered disposable items so most were disposed of in favor of a newer shinier model.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Soopercat

That begs the question, how many pre 1912 patented style lather catcher razors did they make?

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You're a B&B member are you not? D.Irving79 is the one to ask, because if he doesn't know, then I don't think anybody does. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoingPostal

You're a B&B member are you not? D.Irving79 is the one to ask, because if he doesn't know, then I don't think anybody does. ;)

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I think I joined there a month after joining here two years ago, if I am not mistaken. Thanks for the suggestion.

Kind regards,

I have a Gem Jr. When I bought it I was told that it was a 1911 model. The silver plating is showing significant wear but the etching or engraving is still in pretty decent shape IMO. It shaves very nicely. Unlike a DE using the lather catcher forces one to learn how to properly strech the skin. To me it seems a SE razor is a good step to take between a DE and a straight (at least if you don't want to just dive head first into straight shaving).