Altest DE "Thin Blades"

[yuppiejr]

Hi,

While cleaning out a relative's home recently my neighbor came across a pair of old DE razors and some blades that belonged to his grandfather. I helped him clean, repair and polish up both of the razors (pair of 40's style super speeds and sent him home with a quick primer on DE shaving technique and some new blades from my stash to try.

He also dropped off a few misc blades and cases, some loose but in the wrap Gem single edge, Gillette Blue Blades and a box of 50 (43 remaining) "Altest" DE "thin blades." I advised him against using any of the vintage blades he found and was going to simply sell them for him but am curious if the larger box of blades (which looks to be in good shape) might still be viable.

A loose (presumably used) blade I found among some misc open/used ones looks like blued/carbon steel and is marked:

"ALTEST"
T.M. REG US PAT OFF
Thin Blade
4/1000 of an inch

The paper wrapper says 'Made in the USA' and has a microscope graphic on the wrapper... White and blue box (I can post pics tomorrow if anyone is interested) - but no indication of a date code to figure out how old they might be.

Anyone have any idea how old these blades are and if they are viable to use? I found nothing via Google, Bing or eBay... If they are viable for use I was going to give one a test shave and if they seem to work well give them back so he can put them to use. If not I was going to liquidate them and buy him some new commercial blades to use with his vintage/heirloom razor find.

Thanks in advance!

J

 

[michiganlover]

Most non-stainless steel vintage blades are not viable.

Modern day DE blades have various blade coatings on them, that provide for a smoother shave. Depending on the age, these blades may have no coatings at all. That would make for a very rough shave.

You could try to shave with those blades, but I would expect disastrous results.

 

[yuppiejr]

Here are the pics I promised:

Looks like 42 in the wrap blades left in the box. For the first time since I've been handling DE blades I managed to cut myself while tweaking around with my camera and forgetting I'd unwrapped one of these to look at the blade edge under magnification... Nice and sharp at least and luckily I have a current tetnus shot...

I suppose now that I've already drawn blood with one there's no harm in giving these a quick test shave on the cheek/sideburns area to see how it goes. I normally start slow in these areas to get a feel for how a new blade or razor treats my face before committing to the more sensitive neck territory.

Update: did a full shave with the blade including with and against the grain passes, my face is still attached but the blades were certainly not as sharp as the Feather/Iridiums I prefer and took more work to get a good result... I think a hand stropping may have smoothed them up for a better shave but I don't think I'll use one of these again.

 

[Figs]

There's not much risk of tetanus with a shallow bleeding cut. It's puncture wounds that are dangerous - it's much harder for the bleeding and oxygen to wash out the anaerobic tetanus bacteria.

(And now you know everything I know about medicine, except to get plenty of fresh air and sunshine!)