American Safety Razor Dating Chart - Gem, Ever Ready, Kampfe Star

[Dominic]

Ok, so it's time to publish the new and final version of the dating chart. I believe I ran out of reliable sources and, in any case, it's a big advancement in respect as the previous version.
As I've expected to be it's huge! Click on it or "open in a new window" to see the original size.
Feel free to copy the image on your computer for later reference or to share it wherever you want.
Thanks to @jmudrick for the flood of invaluable pieces of information he spread on the forums and to @Ron R who first believed in this project.
Cheers!

View attachment 983760

@Ron R So, the Gem Micromatic Flying Wing Bullet Tip with guiding eye was made *only* in 1947? I ask because that’s the one I have. Thank you. (I noticed Mata has not been online in a while.)

 

[Ron R]

@Ron R So, the Gem Micromatic Flying Wing Bullet Tip with guiding eye was made *only* in 1947? I ask because that’s the one I have. Thank you. (I noticed Mata has not been online in a while.)

Oh he is around but he does not visit B&B like he use to, he was living in Argentina for a while and has moved back to Europe(Italy?) was his last message I believe. You should be able to find information here, @jeffmudrick might be able to help you if he is still around. Jeff knows shaving razors and has a large collection of them.
There about 3-4 different variants of the Gem Micromatic Flying wing, some have brass models that have the brass guiding eye, some are chromed with the guiding eye , some are chromed with no guiding eye and there is one model that has is chromed with no guiding eye and has a white plastic twist knob to open & tighten the top cap.
The all chromed no guiding eye model I have is the heaviest of all the 3 main models of Micromatic models(MMOC, MMCP, MMFW) when I measured them with the electronic scales.
The Flying wing would of been introduced earlier I'm thinking but WW2 needed a lot of brass so certain products where curtailed for a while are my thoughts.

 

[Dominic]

Oh he is around but he does not visit B&B like he use to, he was living in Argentina for a while and has moved back to Europe(Italy?) was his last message I believe. You should be able to find information here, @jeffmudrick might be able to help you if he is still around. Jeff knows shaving razors and has a large collection of them.
There about 3-4 different variants of the Gem Micromatic Flying wing, some have brass models that have the brass guiding eye, some are chromed with the guiding eye , some are chromed with no guiding eye and there is one model that has is chromed with no guiding eye and has a white plastic twist knob to open & tighten the top cap.
The all chromed no guiding eye model I have is the heaviest of all the 3 main models of Micromatic models(MMOC, MMCP, MMFW) when I measured them with the electronic scales.
The Flying wing would of been introduced earlier I'm thinking but WW2 needed a lot of brass so certain products where curtailed for a while are my thoughts.

Mine is chrome with guiding eye, no plastic.

 

[Flintstone65]

Mine is chrome with guiding eye, no plastic.

I have that one as well. I took a quick review of the Waits' Compendium of Razors, and he has the "Guiding Eye" as 1947-1948. Mr. Waits has compiled a great deal of information on an astounding number of safety razors, but given that he was trying to "cover the waterfront", he may well have a missed or misstated date here or there. He specifically quotes an ad from 1947 which talks about applying the "Guiding Eye" to one's face when using the razor. Most of the date information we have for these marvelous SE razors is from marketing ads -- which means the razor could've been manufactured in 1946, had a marketing campaign produced and placed in 1947, and then still be on the shelves in 1948....even though the "eye" was likely abandoned and several "Flying Wings" were produced without the eye.

I'm not sure I helped, or even moved the conversation any further, but at the very least, I hope I haven't made things more murky. I'm a huge fan of this razor....it's a nice blend of comfort and efficiency for me.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

For those who haven’t seen the model with the plastic knob here is mine, flanked by a standard chrome and gold plated model. The gold and chrome models have the goofy Guiding Eye, the plastic tipped one doesn’t.

 

[Jim99]

“I'm a huge fan of this razor....it's a nice blend of comfort and efficiency for me.”

I will echo that same sentiment here. I think I can easily state that the Flying Wing with the guiding eye is one of my favorite razors of any type. I get nothing but smooth, close and efficient shaves from it.

 

[HDSledge]

Posting a pic of an oil covered blade I found recently in an old cardboard blade box. I suspect 1903 is the date of manufacture but am only guessing. The Gem Z was made then according to the chart in this thread but someone noted that this blade might be pre-1900. Would love more info on the date it was produced and more pics if anyone has them.

 

[Ron R]

Posting a pic of an oil covered blade I found recently in an old cardboard blade box. I suspect 1903 is the date of manufacture but am only guessing. The Gem Z was made then according to the chart in this thread but someone noted that this blade might be pre-1900. Would love more info on the date it was produced and more pics if anyone has them.
View attachment 1445463View attachment 1445464

When you Z or Zinn on any Gem razor it is one of the earliest razors they made. Z or Zinn refers to the family who backed the Gem Cutlery razor mfg early days out of the Brooklyn NY area.

Gem Razor Models

Some of the razors that had script stamped on the top cap are oddities and rare and a lot of early brass colored razors had a gold wash to make them more appealing to the eye and finding ads for everything is hard to pin point exact dates would take extensive newspaper & magazine archive...

www.badgerandblade.com

If you go to Post #431 there is a brief historical reference to the Zinn family importance of Gem Mfg.
Have some great shaves!

 

[HDSledge]

When you Z or Zinn on any Gem razor it is one of the earliest razors they made. Z or Zinn refers to the family who backed the Gem Cutlery razor mfg early days out of the Brooklyn NY area.

Gem Razor Models

Some of the razors that had script stamped on the top cap are oddities and rare and a lot of early brass colored razors had a gold wash to make them more appealing to the eye and finding ads for everything is hard to pin point exact dates would take extensive newspaper & magazine archive...

www.badgerandblade.com

If you go to Post #431 there is a brief historical reference to the Zinn family importance of Gem Mfg.
Have some great shaves!

Very good information! Thanks very much Sir. The box contained 2 of the Z blades. Sadly one is in bad condition on the corners.

While we are on the subject, do you happen to have a link to a Kampfe blade id thread? I have two types of blades, one has 3 stars, and the other type has three stars wit Kampfe Bros stamped underneath. I suppose the plain 3 star version is the older one. Are there any other wedge blade variations for Kampfe?

 

[LJBraaten]

For a few years, a dating chart has circulated around the forums. After I went deep into the Single Edge rabbit hole I soon discovered it was largely incomplete and sometimes incorrect.
Also, Wait's "A Safety Razor Compendium" besides being a great source of information and a great starting point, it doesn't cover the many variants and it falls short when it comes to more recent times.

This chart remains a work in progress, it may contain errors and it's by no meanings complete. The more I dig, the more information comes to light. But as I considered the dating chart I've posted some time ago has beefed up enough, it was time to make it to version 1.2

Special thanks go to @Ron R for being the first who spread the chart around the forums and for his great job in testing and introducing many Gem razors, to @jmudrick who shared his immense knowledge and made a few well-needed corrections, to master collector Mr. Lorenzi for his enormous effort to display his monstrous collection at Collector's Encyclopedia.com

View attachment 978225

Yes it's getting bigger, please click to "open in a new tab" or save the chart on your computer. By Beta 1.3 I would have to post separate images lol!
Feel free to share the chart and publish it wherever you like. No TM or any rights reserved.

For anybody who loves Single Edge Razors like I do I invite you to visit the brilliant Gem Razor Models and join us for a Micromatic Monday !

Thanks for the helpful info. I’ve been studying some of the old ads to try and date my razor, and I found some confusing information. The following ad was supposedly run in the 1919 Saturday Evening Post.

I notice two things. First, it claims 39 years of experience in production of razors, which on the Gem company timeline would mean the ad is later than 1919, but more importantly too late for the razor pictured here, correct? The only thing that makes sense to me is that Gem has already merged with Star, and the Ad is fudging a bit by including the Star starting date. If we use the date 1880 as a reference point, 39 years would put that razor ad in 1919, the year of the merger. Second, that adds a little inconsistency with the dating chart, since in the ad the company still bears the premerger name, Gem Cutlery, and not Gem Safety Razor Co. Of course there could be a slight lag in the name change after the merger. What’s your take on this?

 

[Whiterook]

Thanks for the helpful info. I’ve been studying some of the old ads to try and date my razor, and I found some confusing information. The following ad was supposedly run in the 1919 Saturday Evening Post.
View attachment 1462823

I notice two things. First, it claims 39 years of experience in production of razors, which on the Gem company timeline would mean the ad is later than 1919, but more importantly too late for the razor pictured here, correct? The only thing that makes sense to me is that Gem has already merged with Star, and the Ad is fudging a bit by including the Star starting date. If we use the date 1880 as a reference point, 39 years would put that razor ad in 1919, the year of the merger. Second, that adds a little inconsistency with the dating chart, since in the ad the company still bears the premerger name, Gem Cutlery, and not Gem Safety Razor Co. Of course there could be a slight lag in the name change after the merger. What’s your take on this?

Gem is an outgrowth of Kampfe Bros, so they may be counting from 1875.

 

[Ron R]

Thanks for the helpful info. I’ve been studying some of the old ads to try and date my razor, and I found some confusing information. The following ad was supposedly run in the 1919 Saturday Evening Post.
View attachment 1462823

I notice two things. First, it claims 39 years of experience in production of razors, which on the Gem company timeline would mean the ad is later than 1919, but more importantly too late for the razor pictured here, correct? The only thing that makes sense to me is that Gem has already merged with Star, and the Ad is fudging a bit by including the Star starting date. If we use the date 1880 as a reference point, 39 years would put that razor ad in 1919, the year of the merger. Second, that adds a little inconsistency with the dating chart, since in the ad the company still bears the premerger name, Gem Cutlery, and not Gem Safety Razor Co. Of course there could be a slight lag in the name change after the merger. What’s your take on this?

That is a interesting observation on your part, there is a few ways advertisements might of construed this information of 39 years experience in razor manufacturing & blades. Jerry Reichard worked for Star(Kampfe brothers of Brooklyn NY) and then started other razor manufacturing Brands like Gem, Yankee & Ever ready razors when he quit Star MFG + adding his partner A Scheuber experiences of razor manufacturing together they accumulated 39 years of experience. Damaskeene razors where still being Mfg up to 1920 from the razor dating chart. I find this issue with Schick injectors that where built in Canada with no date codes to reference from & confusing to trying to piece together accurate dates. The Gem 1912 models are based off the Damaskeene closed comb razors with improvements over the decades but stamped Gem, Ever ready, star +Radio brand (I have seen a few). Treet brand looked similar but had a different base plate with out the closed comb. It was their way of marketing their razors world wide.

 

[JimmyCB]

Thanks for the helpful info. I’ve been studying some of the old ads to try and date my razor, and I found some confusing information. The following ad was supposedly run in the 1919 Saturday Evening Post.
View attachment 1462823

I notice two things. First, it claims 39 years of experience in production of razors, which on the Gem company timeline would mean the ad is later than 1919, but more importantly too late for the razor pictured here, correct? The only thing that makes sense to me is that Gem has already merged with Star, and the Ad is fudging a bit by including the Star starting date. If we use the date 1880 as a reference point, 39 years would put that razor ad in 1919, the year of the merger. Second, that adds a little inconsistency with the dating chart, since in the ad the company still bears the premerger name, Gem Cutlery, and not Gem Safety Razor Co. Of course there could be a slight lag in the name change after the merger. What’s your take on this?

Many thanks for your diligent work on the updated ASR date chart. A great resource for your fellow single edge enthusiasts.

 

[fmlondon]

After weeks browsing through period paper ads, catalogs, consulting private collectors, even digging through the pages of the Library of Congress, here's the long-overdue updated version of this humble work of passion. If Gillette razors are easy to date because of their serial numbers and date codes (and also for being immensely more popular, especially nowadays), the dating of Gem, Ever Ready and Star safety razors is a completely different story.

For a few years, a dating chart has circulated around the forums. After I went deep into the Single Edge rabbit hole I soon discovered it was largely incomplete and sometimes incorrect.
Also, Wait's "A Safety Razor Compendium" besides being a great source of information and a great starting point, it doesn't cover the many variants and it falls short when it comes to more recent times.

This chart remains a work in progress, it may contain errors and it's by no meanings complete. The more I dig, the more information comes to light. But as I considered the dating chart I've posted some time ago has beefed up enough, it was time to make it to version 1.2

Special thanks go to @Ron R for being the first who spread the chart around the forums and for his great job in testing and introducing many Gem razors, to @jmudrick who shared his immense knowledge and made a few well-needed corrections, to master collector Mr. Lorenzi for his enormous effort to display his monstrous collection at Collector's Encyclopedia.com

View attachment 978225

Yes it's getting bigger, please click to "open in a new tab" or save the chart on your computer. By Beta 1.3 I would have to post separate images lol!
Feel free to share the chart and publish it wherever you like. No TM or any rights reserved.

For anybody who loves Single Edge Razors like I do I invite you to visit the brilliant Gem Razor Models and join us for a Micromatic Monday !

This is great, but I have a question and a comment:

Question: Was there a Gem Junior between the Damascene era and 1938?
Comment: I last saw a new Gem razor for sale in 1994. I recall being able to get razors by sending in a dollar past 2000.

 

[steelwindmachine]

@mata_66 - I don't suppose you have a copy of the razor dating chart as a spreadsheet?

Is it a Google Sheet that you could share publicly (with permissions set for everyone else to View only)?

Printing the image has been a bit of a PITA.

 

[cpool222]

Sorry if I'm asking a questions that's been asked many times, but I have a "Combination #6" Ever Ready set and can't find anything much on it. Is there a chart of the Ever Ready razors with pictures somewhere like the chart online for Schicks at various places? Thanks

 

[mr_trent]

Sorry if I'm asking a questions that's been asked many times, but I have a "Combination #6" Ever Ready set and can't find anything much on it. Is there a chart of the Ever Ready razors with pictures somewhere like the chart online for Schicks at various places? Thanks

According to mata_66's chart, the Combination #6 would have been made between 1917-1929. I don't know if there's a chart anywhere with more detailed info, though...

 

[cpool222]

According to mata_66's chart, the Combination #6 would have been made between 1917-1929. I don't know if there's a chart anywhere with more detailed info, though...

Thanks! I see it there on 1917. I appreciate it!

 

[Feldgrun]

The incredible amount of time and research in this thread is impressive. It makes me want to pull out my SE razor collection and compare them to this list.