Any info on this Tech?

[jedimojeaux]

So I won a grooming kit on eBay that came with a Gillette Tech. I'm trying to see if you guys have any idea on age, etc. The bottom base plate has nothing at all printed on it. When you take the cap off, it says "Made in England" on the top of the base. The other odd thing about it is that the handle and the head appear to be two different metals. Head is heavy, likely coated brass, but the handle is definitely solid aluminum. The only pic I currently have is posted below, I'll post more when I get home from work.

 

[jedimojeaux]

Possibly this?:
http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/Tech/1963%20Tech%20England.jpg

But for those who know, does extra mean the blade is larger? The head on mine is the same size as my other DEs.

 

[SteveWY]

I have the same thing that came in a travel set. I'm not sure what the official name is for it but it is an aluminum handle travel Tech.

 

[dcobranchi]

it is an aluminum handle travel Tech.

I don't believe that's a Travel Tech. It appears to be a full-sized handle. Probably 1960s.

 

[HisDukeNess]

This is one of my favorite razors. When i first shaved with it, i loaded it with a feather... Got sloppy "its just a tech", and got bit. Gave it a little respect and is now my go to razor. Right behind a aristocrat adjustable.
i too got it with a purchase! of a super speed which i sold... But still kept this beaut'.
from the research I've done they were produced from '63-'67 with a question mark behind the '67. It might be hard to guess the date without a blade or package.

 

[mblakele]

Possibly this?:
http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/Tech/1963%20Tech%20England.jpg

But for those who know, does extra mean the blade is larger? The head on mine is the same size as my other DEs.

Coated, I would guess. Since ca. 1959 "Super" and "Extra" have been used to indicate blade coatings designed to reduce FTC (force to cut). Gillette introduced the idea with an organosiloxane gel coating ca. 1959, probably used until 1968 on both carbon steel and stainless blades. In 1961-62 Wilkinson introduced PTFE-coated stainless blades, followed closely by ASR/Personna and Schick, and in 1963 by Gillette. Today the bulk of blades are PTFE-coated stainless, and many still use "Super" or "Extra" in their brand names.

 

[alex2363]

Coated, I would guess. Since ca. 1959 "Super" and "Extra"

Extra was used to designate the 5 EXTRA blades that were offered in the sale.

have been used to indicate blade coatings designed to reduce FTC (force to cut). Gillette introduced the idea with an organosiloxane gel coating ca. 1959, probably used until 1968 on both carbon steel and stainless blades. In 1961-62 Wilkinson introduced PTFE-coated stainless blades, followed closely by ASR/Personna and Schick, and in 1963 by Gillette. Today the bulk of blades are PTFE-coated stainless, and many still use "Super" or "Extra" in their brand names.

In 1960 Gillette used the Silicone coated Carbon Steel Super Blue blade. This process was such a high secret that Gillette applied the process in a secret room. Gillette sues Wilkinson for copyright infringement and Wilkinson had to pay Gillette a % of royalties. In 1963 Gillette recpatured DE blade market with the stainless steel blade. Stainless steel blades contain carbides that form when carbon combines with chromium. When the blades are sharpen some carbides rip out which causes jagged edges. The coatings masked this effect and prolongs the edge.

The Super Stainless Steel Blade came out in 1965 with improved alloys, smaller carbides, and better coating.

 

[mblakele]

Are you quoting a source in that post, Alex? It does not sound like your usual prose style.

Maybe I can expand on that story a bit. The silicone or organosiloxane gel coating was covered by Gillette patent US2937976, filed 1959 and issued 1960 - but with priority dating back to 1958. Achim shows http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1959 (E3) Dispenser 6 Super Blue Blades.JPG from 1959, early "Super Blue Blades" that probably had that coating. They are marked with US2544410 but that 1947 patent is for the blade pack, not the blade coating. The "Extra" and "Super" names both date from this period, hence my conclusion that they mean "coated".

Later in 1959 Gillette filed what I think of as the Fischbein patent, after its inventor: US3071856. This was for a modern PTFE (aka Teflon) coating. Some folks might call this a "submarine" patent: at the time, patent applications were secret until they were granted. This one was not granted until 1963, and meanwhile Gillette did nothing with the technology. By that time Wilkinson, Schick, and ASR/Personna had all entered the USA marked with their own PTFE-coated stainless blades, and Gillette was threatened. Wilkinson was actually first to market, but they threw away this advantage by trying to use DE blades as a loss-leader for home and garden tools. Schick, followed by Personna, made hay. Then the patent was issued: the submarine surfaced. Suddenly the companies selling coated stainless blades were on the hook for patent violations. That, anyway, is my amateur understanding of the legal bits. In any case that was about the same time Gillette brought out blades like http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1963 (I3) Dispenser 6 Gillette Stainless Blades.jpg: 1963 (I3), with both the organosiloxane gel patent and the Fischbein patent printed on them.

Despite holding that key patent, there was still a battle for the best blade. The engineers at Schick were also at work. They found a way to coat the blades more cheaply and more effectively in a reducing atmosphere: US3203829. This patent number appeared on the Schick Super Krona Comfort Edge blades, probably starting in 1962 or 1963. The next step was a platinum-chrome coating process. Gillette had one by 1966, and Schick filed US3632494 in 1967 for the Krona-Chrome and Schick Plus Platinum blades. Other blade makers also worked to improve their processes, developing their own version of platinum-chrome coating and more exotic blades like the P74.

Oh, did I hijack this thread? Sorry.

 

[jedimojeaux]

I knew I'd get the info I wanted here! After further examination, that was indeed the razor, as I have the Extra blades in the kit as well! Thanks for the info!

 

[alex2363]

Are you quoting a source in that post, Alex? It does not sound like your usual prose style.

Maybe I can expand on that story a bit. The silicone or organosiloxane gel coating was covered by Gillette patent US2937976, filed 1959 and issued 1960 - but with priority dating back to 1958. Achim shows http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1959%20(E3)%20Dispenser%206%20Super%20Blue%20Blades.JPG from 1959, early "Super Blue Blades" that probably had that coating. They are marked with US2544410 but that 1947 patent is for the blade pack, not the blade coating. The "Extra" and "Super" names both date from this period, hence my conclusion that they mean "coated".

Later in 1959 Gillette filed what I think of as the Fischbein patent, after its inventor: US3071856. This was for a modern PTFE (aka Teflon) coating. Some folks might call this a "submarine" patent: at the time, patent applications were secret until they were granted. This one was not granted until 1963, and meanwhile Gillette did nothing with the technology. By that time Wilkinson, Schick, and ASR/Personna had all entered the USA marked with their own PTFE-coated stainless blades, and Gillette was threatened. Wilkinson was actually first to market, but they threw away this advantage by trying to use DE blades as a loss-leader for home and garden tools. Schick, followed by Personna, made hay. Then the patent was issued: the submarine surfaced. Suddenly the companies selling coated stainless blades were on the hook for patent violations. That, anyway, is my amateur understanding of the legal bits. In any case that was about the same time Gillette brought out blades like http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1963 (I3) Dispenser 6 Gillette Stainless Blades.jpg: 1963 (I3), with both the organosiloxane gel patent and the Fischbein patent printed on them.

Despite holding that key patent, there was still a battle for the best blade. The engineers at Schick were also at work. They found a way to coat the blades more cheaply and more effectively in a reducing atmosphere: US3203829. This patent number appeared on the Schick Super Krona Comfort Edge blades, probably starting in 1962 or 1963. The next step was a platinum-chrome coating process. Gillette had one by 1966, and Schick filed US3632494 in 1967 for the Krona-Chrome and Schick Plus Platinum blades. Other blade makers also worked to improve their processes, developing their own version of platinum-chrome coating and more exotic blades like the P74.

Oh, did I hijack this thread? Sorry.

No , you did not hijack this thread. We all appreciate any historical perspective on Gillette or any other traditional razor history. I paraphrased the Waits compendium to some extent on my post. I forgot to include it in the post [ Porter is going to kill me on this one] I am going to read your postings again and bookmark some relevant info for future referencing. Where did you get your resources?


Wait:

 

[mblakele]

Alex, thanks for asking about sources. I cited a few sources with links in that post: mostly patents. For background I started with McKibben and then went on to read those patents, plus contemporary journalism and any other primary sources I could find. McKibben talks about the Super Blue Blades starting on p53: http://books.google.com/books?id=YCldvmXq25EC&lpg=PA14&pg=PA53. He says the Super Blue debuted in 1960, but Achim has an E3 (1959) at http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1959 (E3) Dispenser 6 Super Blue Blades.JPG - maybe pre-production or maybe test marketing? Anyway McKibben goes on to discuss the Wilkinson and Gillette coated stainless blades, starting on p56: http://books.google.com/books?id=YCldvmXq25EC&lpg=PA14&pg=PA56.

Without learning metallurgy I am not sure how to make sense of the "large carbide" story in Waits. McKibben might be referring to that "large carbides" story at the top of p57, but he seems dismissive: "Gillette officials later explained away their failure...". I suspect any problem with the steel alloy was peculiar to Gillette, not shared by Wilkinson or Schick. Unlike Gillette, Wilkinson did not have to rush their coated stainless blade to market. Schick may have had to rush a bit, but they had bought a Swedish steel company back in 1959 which probably helped (Pacific Drug Review, Vol. 71, p41 and Printer's Ink, Vol. 266, p5 both reported this). Anyway McKibben says that Gillette eventually recovered by flooding the market with their Super Stainless blades, while charging less than the competition.

Enough McKibben. Did I convince everyone that "Extra" means "coated" rather than "more blades"? A look at http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/Rasierklingen.htm shows that Achim has no "Extra" blades until 1960, about the same time the Super Blue (coated) blades came out. But Achim has plenty of older 10-packs, back to at least 1947. Achim also has http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1961 (G2) 4 Blue Gillette Blades Extra England.jpg with a 4-pack of "extra" blades. So I think the "extra = more blades" idea fails to hold up. For "extra = coated", try a search like https://www.google.com/search?q="gi...a=X&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:1955,cd_max:1965&tbm=bks and you will see some interesting matches. For example Advertising in Action, p93, 1962: "Blue Gillette Extra, as the blade is called, is said to represent a scientific 'break-through'...". Or "The new blade, Gillette Extra, has a chemical ingredient which lubricates the cutting edge" in The Indian Trade Journal, vol.219, iss.1-7, p.309 from 1962. So I conclude that those ca. 1960 "Extra Blue Blades" were coated with organosiloxane gel, just like the Super Blue blades.

Oh, and one more source: this time for the notion that Wilkinson started selling coated stainless DE blades in hardware stores instead of drugstores. That story shows up in several later books, but the best contemporary source is probably Time, vol. 80, p178, from 1962, in a story titled "Competition: Beastly Blades". Again this is snippet view, but I read that "[Wilkinson] bypassed U.S. drugstores with their blades and gave them to hardware dealers who tried to lure garden-tool customers...." The same story goes on to mention Gillette and its plans to introduce stainless blades. The complete text seems to be available at http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829515,00.html for subscribers, if anyone wants to investigate further.

 

[Laird]

I have one of those razors. The handle is short with the cylinder shaped pommel at the bottom. Handle is aluminum. I'm not sure about the material of the base plate but Dave from RestoredRazors has stated in other threads that the top caps with the Gillette logo in relief are Zamac. Mine has a date code of R1 making it the first quarter of 1971. Mine also says made in England. If you look at various photos of these razors some have diagonally sloped features on the i's and t's in the Gillette logo, and it appears later versions like mine have the i's and t's straight across the top. I'm not aware of when they made this change to the logo. These razors where often sold as "Sportsman" Techs. I have had some great BBS shaves with mine although I find it a tad on the light side. Great looking handle though. Makes a good travel razor as it's small and light (30 grams).

 

[sam o'reilly]

Isn't this the last of the all metal DE Gillette razors? Sold well into the 80s I think. I'm no expert maybe you can still buy new ones off the shelf in some far flung corner of the globe. If not, I wonder who bought the last one.

 

[alex2363]

Coated, I would guess. Since ca. 1959 "Super" and "Extra" have been used to indicate blade coatings designed to reduce FTC (force to cut). Gillette introduced the idea with an organosiloxane gel coating ca. 1959, probably used until 1968 on both carbon steel and stainless blades. In 1961-62 Wilkinson introduced PTFE-coated stainless blades, followed closely by ASR/Personna and Schick, and in 1963 by Gillette. Today the bulk of blades are PTFE-coated stainless, and many still use "Super" or "Extra" in their brand names.

In retrospect, Gillette new president Lambert made a change in the blade producing process which led to the name of Super. Gillette was just coming off the big time merger with Autostrop and the bad legal matters that followed. Gillette's name was tarnished and the new Gillette prez wanted to use his past advertising success at Listerine into Gillette. He admitted to the public that Gillette made an inferior blade referring to the Deluxe Kroman blade. He stated that Gillette would use a new process and machinery to make a better Superior blade called the Super blue blade. [Krumholz p 172/173].

 

[alex2363]

Alex, thanks for asking about sources. I cited a few sources with links in that post: mostly patents. For background I started with McKibben and then went on to read those patents, plus contemporary journalism and any other primary sources I could find. McKibben talks about the Super Blue Blades starting on p53: http://books.google.com/books?id=YCldvmXq25EC&lpg=PA14&pg=PA53. He says the Super Blue debuted in 1960, but Achim has an E3 (1959) at http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1959%20(E3)%20Dispenser%206%20Super%20Blue%20Blades.JPG - maybe pre-production or maybe test marketing?

Maybe Gillette President Ziegler over anxious approach led to an early production run. It was suppose to be early 60's.

Anyway McKibben goes on to discuss the Wilkinson and Gillette coated stainless blades, starting on p56: http://books.google.com/books?id=YCldvmXq25EC&lpg=PA14&pg=PA56.

Without learning metallurgy I am not sure how to make sense of the "large carbide" story in Waits. McKibben might be referring to that "large carbides" story at the top of p57, but he seems dismissive: "Gillette officials later explained away their failure...". I suspect any problem with the steel alloy was peculiar to Gillette, not shared by Wilkinson or Schick. Unlike Gillette, Wilkinson did not have to rush their coated stainless blade to market. Schick may have had to rush a bit, but they had bought a Swedish steel company back in 1959 which probably helped (Pacific Drug Review, Vol. 71, p41 and Printer's Ink, Vol. 266, p5 both reported this). Anyway McKibben says that Gillette eventually recovered by flooding the market with their Super Stainless blades, while charging less than the competition.

I have Mckibben's book, and i only read 2 words mentioning carbide on p 57.

Enough McKibben. Did I convince everyone that "Extra" means "coated" rather than "more blades"? A look at http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/Rasierklingen.htm shows that Achim has no "Extra" blades until 1960, about the same time the Super Blue (coated) blades came out. But Achim has plenty of older 10-packs, back to at least 1947. Achim also has http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/1961 (G2) 4 Blue Gillette Blades Extra England.jpg with a 4-pack of "extra" blades. So I think the "extra = more blades" idea fails to hold up. For "extra = coated", try a search like https://www.google.com/search?q="gi...a=X&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:1955,cd_max:1965&tbm=bks and you will see some interesting matches. For example Advertising in Action, p93, 1962: "Blue Gillette Extra, as the blade is called, is said to represent a scientific 'break-through'...". Or "The new blade, Gillette Extra, has a chemical ingredient which lubricates the cutting edge" in The Indian Trade Journal, vol.219, iss.1-7, p.309 from 1962. So I conclude that those ca. 1960 "Extra Blue Blades" were coated with organosiloxane gel, just like the Super Blue blades.

I can accept all facts and data that you have resourced and posted as relevant to your opinion. I will also bookmark as a reference. I too resourced the Extra meaning from the Krumholtz book in relevance to what Extra referred to.

Oh, and one more source: this time for the notion that Wilkinson started selling coated stainless DE blades in hardware stores instead of drugstores. That story shows up in several later books, but the best contemporary source is probably Time, vol. 80, p178, from 1962, in a story titled "Competition: Beastly Blades". Again this is snippet view, but I read that "[Wilkinson] bypassed U.S. drugstores with their blades and gave them to hardware dealers who tried to lure garden-tool customers...." The same story goes on to mention Gillette and its plans to introduce stainless blades. The complete text seems to be available at http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829515,00.html for subscribers, if anyone wants to investigate further.

I wish i could see that snipet, it shows up small.....

[/QUOTE]

 

[alex2363]

Isn't this the last of the all metal DE Gillette razors? Sold well into the 80s I think. I'm no expert maybe you can still buy new ones off the shelf in some far flung corner of the globe. If not, I wonder who bought the last one.

Yes, this was an cheap, easy to make and sell razor that actually shaved well and was very successful for Gillette.

3 Piece Tech (1938-1979)	40s Style Super Speed (1947-1954)		Razor Date Coding Begins with V-3
		1951	W
		1952	X
		1953	Y
		1954
	1955	A
	1956	B
	1957	C
	1958	D
	1959	E
	1960	F
	1961	G
	1962	H
	1963	I
	1964	J
	1965	K
	1966	L
	1967	M
	1968	N
	1969	O
	1970	P
	1971	R
	1972	S
	1973	T
	1974	U
	1975	V
	1976	W
	1977	X
	1978	Y
	1979	Z
1980	A
1981	B
1982	C
1983	D
1984	E
1985	F
1986	G
1987	H
1988	I		Two known 1988 Super Sp

 

[mblakele]

In retrospect, Gillette new president Lambert made a change in the blade producing process which led to the name of Super. Gillette was just coming off the big time merger with Autostrop and the bad legal matters that followed. Gillette's name was tarnished and the new Gillette prez wanted to use his past advertising success at Listerine into Gillette. He admitted to the public that Gillette made an inferior blade referring to the Deluxe Kroman blade. He stated that Gillette would use a new process and machinery to make a better Superior blade called the Super blue blade. [Krumholz p 172/173].

Yes, but not relevant to the 1960 Super Blue Blade. That was back in 1932, and in ads like http://books.google.com/books?id=1ScDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1-IA1&pg=PA1-IA1 the phrasing was "Blue Super-Blade" vs the 1960 "Super Blue Blade". Achim has a number of those 1930s Blue Blades at http://mr-razor.com/Rasierklingen/Rasierklingen.htm but the word "Super" does not appear on the wrapper. I think the phrase "super-blade" was only been used in advertising copy.



Compare to this 1959 example of a Super Blue Blade: the word "super" appears on the blade pack and on the blade itself.