The small chrome item gave no hint of its function. I stood there looking at it very closely, not ready yet to ask the auction-house staffer for the answer.
All of its moveable parts were on the top: a short handle for turning, a flat triangular clamp that pressed against a black cylinder that looked like a miniature vinyl record. The pancake-shaped item was only about 4″ to 5″ wide.
Finally, I gave up and asked the man behind the glass counter. When he told me what it was, I could see how the pieces fit together. He tried to demonstrate how it worked, but the cylinder wasn’t cooperating.
This was an item made specifically for men of an earlier generation, designed to help make their faces smoother and sweeter to the touch.
A few years earlier, I had picked up another item with the same function. I thought I knew what it was, but I was mistaken.
Can you guess what they are and what they do? Or are you as stumped as I was? Click on the first photo below for the answer.
