1957 Gillette Blue Tip: The Gentle Shaver
Hi everyone. Just came out of the shower. One day’s beard growth, ready to go, and today we’re shaving it off with a very nice vintage razor that just arrived. This is the Gillette Blue Tip, twist to open, date code D4, fourth quarter of 1958. I’m very happy with this one.
The Blue Tip
Gillette made three Super Speed variants in this era and they designed them to cover everybody. The Blue Tip was the mild option, aimed at younger shavers or anyone with lighter beard growth. In Fatboy terms, think setting one to three. My medium flare tip (a D1 from Q1 1958, 58 grams) sits around setting four to six. The red tip, which I don’t own yet, is around setting seven to nine. So there was a version for everyone.
The Blue Tip is 46 grams. Twelve grams lighter than the regular, because the handle is aluminum. The head is still brass, coated the way Gillette always did it. Looks beautiful.
The blade gap looks narrower to my eye than on the regular version, though I wouldn’t put a hard number on it since specs vary across sources. Visually it sits tighter.
Loading the blade: twist the knob at the base, the butterfly doors flip open, drop the blade straight in, twist closed. Done. That’s where the Super Speed name comes from. Fast load, fast out.
This piece is in beautiful condition for Q4 1958. Very happy I received it.
The Kit
Soap today is Forbidden Root by BC Soaps and Shaves. Blaine is a young artisan, just turned 27 this past April 2026, and he sent this to me for testing. It arrived here in Germany in under a week. Amazing.
The base is a tallow TACL formula, very slick in my point of view. The scent reminds me of Rain Root by Noble Otter. Earthy, gentle, not too strong and not too mild. Very efficient too. I’m loading just under a gram using my Ikon Slant soap scraper and that’s plenty. It whips up fast.
Brush is the Phoenix Artisan Cruelty-Free Men’s Starcraft. Haven’t used it in a while. Very soft fiber, little backbone. Maybe a five on the scale for me, less when it’s fully wet. Big handle, very nice for the hand.
Blade: Gillette Perma-Sharp.
Bowl: Boo leather bowl by Sport Prince.
Post-shave: Nivea aftershave balm, sensitive skin formula. Simple. Works well.
First Pass
First pass. Right away it feels like there’s no blade in. Good audio feedback from the razor, but the blade feel is almost nothing. I’d put it at around 4.5 compared to a DE89 by Edwin Jagger. Very smooth, very nice.
After the first pass: roughly 80% done. A bit of stubble left in a couple of spots. Normal for a mild razor on a first pass.
The soap base performed well throughout. Yogurt-like consistency when wet, easily enough left for two more passes.
Second Pass
Re-lather, second and final pass. The Blue Tip just glides through again. Even milder than I expected. Feels like a Rockwell 6S on setting two. Very forgiving. You almost can’t feel the blade working.
Result: BBS. Perfectly smooth. One small nick, but I think there was a spot on my skin there, not the razor. No irritation anywhere else.
Aftershave: a hazelnut-sized amount of the Nivea balm. Good finish. Great shave. Loved it.
Who Is This Razor For?
Around $30 on US eBay if you’re lucky. Beginner-friendly price, beginner-friendly razor. You hardly feel the blade. If you want a gentle shave with almost no blade feel, this is your razor.
Fine hair, light beard growth, or anyone who wants something mild and forgiving from the vintage Gillette lineup. I’ll do a side-by-side with a Fatboy on setting three at some point. But after this shave I can already tell: the Blue Tip is impressive for what it is.
Amazing razor. Perfect.
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