The (safety) blade collector

Apr. 4—GREENSBURG — Paul Whitecotton began his collection of safety razors in 2003, but he didn't know it then. The first and most nostalgic razor in his collection, his father's Gillette Super Speed, entered Whitecotton's possession after his father's passing. More than a decade later, the collection began to grow.

Whitecotton enjoyed taking ink pens apart in his childhood. He said he was always interested by them. When he was 16, his parents moved the family to a farm in Fayette County where he found a box of razors with a Seagull razor inside. He remembered being fascinated. He said the box had Gilettes and others, but the Seagull was the one that really caught and kept his attention. Today, he has the same razor, though it isn't the one he found on the farm.

"My dad passed away in 2003 and my mom asked me if I wanted any memorabilia out of the house," Whitecotton said. "I knew exactly what I wanted, I wanted dad's old razor. So I got dad's old Super Speed razor that had been his father's."

One day, three or four years ago, Whitecotton became curious about the value of his father's razor so he went online to search. It was worth about $35 on Ebay. As he scrolled through the razors for sale and his interest piqued, he began to buy them. Today, he has hundreds of vintage safety razors, perhaps even 1,000.

Lisa Whitecotton, Paul's wife, insisted that he keep all the razors in display cases to avoid clutter and to honor the collector's pursuit. Paul said Lisa supports the habit to some degree. When asked if she enjoys the collection, she said yes, to some degree.

The collection consists of electric razors, wooden-handled razors, traditional safety razors, round blade safety razors that spin when plugged in and leather stroppers to sharpen the blades. Many had lather catchers to collect the shaving soap between rinses. Gillette, Gem, Star, Ever Ready and Sputnik are a few of the brands of safety razors in Whitecotton's collection.

King Camp Gillette disrupted the grooming industry more than 100 years ago with the safety razor. Instead of visiting the barber two or three times a week to be groomed by a professional with a straight razor, men were able to safely manicure themselves. Gillette has been a staple in the industry since.

The razor personally used by Whitecotton is a 1975 Black Beauty Adjustable Short Handle.

The collection could never end, according to Whitecotton. Many companies made the same razor repeatedly with a different box or name variation. Whitecotton doesn't intend to expand his collection much more, but he will continue to trade and buy/sell in order to refine it.

"I've thought about inviting people in, like on Saturdays, to give a tour and take donations," Whitecotton said. "What I mean by donations is not money, but ... if you've got an old razor I've got cases for them!"

"You can come visit any day you want," Lisa added. "With your razor, that is."

Contact Josie Clark at josie.clark@greensburgdailynews.com or 812-651-0873.