Are these the same as Personna 74s?

[ateace]

I searched the forum to see if this had been addressed, but had no luck.

The back of the package mentions tungsten as part of the blade's makeup.

Does anyone have an idea how these compare to the original 74s?
Same thing? Not at all the same? Somewhere in between?

By the way, these blades belonged to my wife's late father.
They're just part of a nice collection of his shave gear that my mother in law
had set aside and has given to me.
I'll post the whole story in the general forum.

 

[jpakstis]

I had a bunch of those NOS packs with the exact same language, and they were P74s (especially with the mention of Tungsten on the back). Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure (which wouldn't be a big deal if you plan on using them, but obviously would be if you plan on selling them) is to open them up. The blades themselves will say "Personna 74 Tungsten" or something to that effect.

 

[ateace]

I do plan to use these blades, so I'll see what is printed on them.
Thanks for the information.

 

[man00ver]

I think the general consensus is that the "Super Platinum Chromes" are the same as the P74. I have a couple packs of them but haven't tried them out, so I can't speak from experience yet.

 

[ateace]

My favorite part is the price stickers. These 20-packs were marked down from 88 cents each to two packs for a dollar!

 

[Kostas1]

My favorite part is the price stickers. These 20-packs were marked down from 88 cents each to two packs for a dollar!

Yup...that officially goes in the "good ol' days" category.

 

[fcdiscus]

Whether they are or not- I bet they aRE GREAT BLADES TO SHAVE WITH!

 

[Nova316]

Yep they are when you take a blade out it'll say personna 74* on them. I have the same pack

 

[BroJohn]

I think the general consensus is that the "Super Platinum Chromes" are the same as the P74. I have a couple packs of them but haven't tried them out, so I can't speak from experience yet.

I have a number of these blades from the 70's that are not marked as 74*'s, but that's what they are. Even if they're not marked as 74*'s, plan on getting 10~20 shaves from them.

-- John Gehman

 

[GreekGuy]

These are not 74s. The 74s have Titanium listed in the coating, as opposed to platinum which is used in the blades that you have. The blades you have are the successor to the 74, and far superior in my opinion. They are simply much more comfortable to use. There are some packs like this that came have 74* on the blade. I believe they are Personna 74 Plus blades, which from my understanding was just a marketing gimmick, and are the same as the 74's. These were used when Personna had extra blades left but switched packaging design, so there was a period of overlap where the P74* blade was used in these packages. Some have the P74*, some have nothing written on the blade at all, just 4 arrows. Its random luck of the draw, and the result of a tooling/packaging change at the time.

What follows is my opinion which is heresy to many, but I'll go ahead and share it anyway

The 74 is one of the most revered blades ever. The stories of its legendary longness and smoothness float around the internet like some fairy tale legend. People say the p74 was so good and so long lasting that it failed because people didn't need to buy blades often enough. From everything I've read from people who used them back in the day, this is simply not the case.

The Personna 74 failed not because it lasted so long. It failed because it just wasn't as good as the competition. The other blades of this era were outstanding, and had a leg up in terms of market share. Legend goes that Phillip Morris (who owned ASR/Personna at this time) spent large amounts of money developing the blades, and that they were expensive to produce and people didn't need to buy as many because they lasted so long, so they ultimately failed.

When you could buy blades at the local store, why would you push them? Most people tossed them after a week, just like any other blade, and just as most (read, not all) people toss cartridges after some length of time. So people chose to buy the most comfortable and best performing blades, and history shows that the P74 wasn't one of them.

The tungsten in the blade has nothing to do with their performance. It sounds nice, but its irrelevant to their performance. The titanium in the coating is what made the blades last so long. Trouble is, titanium doesn't make a particularly wonderful coating. I realize a lot of people will object to this. However, I think most of the guys here who have tried a large number of the other blades from this period will agree that the Personnas last longer, but are not as smooth or as sharp as the other blades from the era.

That being said, they are obviously leaps and bounds above whats available today, but really lower in performance to other blades from this period. Yes, they may last 20-30 good shaves, but many other blades will last 10-15 spectacular shaves, and could probably be pushed closer to the P74 territory (which really is pushing it...). The biggest problem with the 74s is their price. Let's assume they last twice as long as other comparable blades from the era. They cost more than twice as much, and each once of those shaves isn't even as good, so they are an absolutely terrible value. To reiterate, you pay 3x's the price for 2x the longevity with lower performance. It doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.

I realize many people will disagree with all of this, but having tried pretty much all the "golden age" blades out there, I really think this explanation makes much more sense than the much more appealing story of legend. The 74's are the vintage version of Gillette Swedes. A good blade, but one that legend and cult has twisted beyond the actual reality, a product of internet hype that has become overrated, and not in a price for quality, law of diminishing returns kind of way, but overrated in a paying more for a name and not performance kind of way

Of course, YMMV

 

[BroJohn]

GreekGuy --

Excellent, thoughtful post above. Gives us all a bit of history.

-- John Gehman

 

[ezmike]

I'm with the GreekGuy, I was gifted a full pack of 74* by a fellow forumite and I find them to be a most uncomfortable blade. A local barber had about 15 packs of the blade posted by the original poster on display in his shop. My Uncle who is a regular customer of his knows of my obsession with wet shaving and anything related to it, so one day on a whim my Aunt asks how much he wanted for them, so at $.75 a pack I have what I feel is a much, much better blade than the famous 74*.

And by the way, I find the Gillette Platinum Plus and Schick KRONA Comfort blades far better and much more comfortable blades than the 74* as well.

There you have it, my $.02.

Mike

 

[Ray Todd]

Sorry, this is changing the subject a bit, but I've got to ask. I haven't had the chance to shave with any of the three above, but I do really like the old Gillette Super Stainless blades. Mike and Greek Guy, how do you think they compare? Are they in the same league?

 

[GreekGuy]

Sorry, this is changing the subject a bit, but I've got to ask. I haven't had the chance to shave with any of the three above, but I do really like the old Gillette Super Stainless blades. Mike and Greek Guy, how do you think they compare? Are they in the same league?

Theres actually multiple versions of the Gillette Super Stainless.

This is the first one

Revised Packaging:

Slight change:

All 3 of these are fantastic blades. They were made from the 1960's to the early 1980's. They are all "Spoilers" loosely speaking, although the first one shown is not technically a spoiler, although you can see the transition that the blade went through from the Super Stainless to the Spoiler. The Spoiler logo was added as a marketing trick. The idea being that you were "Spoiled" by using them over other blades, or that they would "Spoil" you, hence the name. They were a treat back then. Now, even more so.

This was the original Gillette stainless blade. I have some packs of them. I believe they are uncoated, hence the Gillette Stainless as opposed to Super Stainless:

I think they are good blades, but because of the lack of coating they are a little more hit and miss. You can't go wrong with spoilers in any razor. These are more of an acquired taste and finding the right razor


In the 1990's (and possibly 1980's) there were a number of Super Stainless blades whose packaging looks like this:

These blades may or may not have the French writing as well, they may just say Super Stainless. Again, these were around the time the move to carts were happening, so they are a little more iffy. The Made in France ones are fantastic. The made in Argentina ones were also very good. The Made in Mexico ones were the last ones made, and should be avoided at all cost. In fact, not only were they extremely expensive retail, they are horrendous at any price. I would be willing to bet that Gillette made them bad on purpose to help convince people to switch to carts before dropping DE blades from the US market

As a general rule of thumb, any vintage Gillette blade that is stainless is fantastic, except for the notes above. There were a lot of odd ones, only made in one year or with limited markets. They tend to be very good, but theres too many to list. By and large anything is way better than whats available today. Anything Made in England or Made in France is very good, and in some cases top of the line depending on the era. Anything made in England is usually older, and better than the USA offerings. Anything made in France is generally later, and below the USA offerings. Of course, this is generally speaking and just my preferences.


In comparison to the Personnas, I would say they are all in the same league. Many of the Gillette blades I find even better, but its personal preference really. Be advised that they are hard to find in large quantities, however, and are not cheap. Only you can say if its worth it to you or not. They do last at least twice as long as modern blades, if not 3X's as long, so there is some consolation there. I will say there are still some good blades being made today, but I really haven't found anything that is quite up to this level of performance. Of course, YMMV

 

[Blondie]

These are not 74s. The 74s have Titanium listed in the coating, as opposed to platinum which is used in the blades that you have. The blades you have are the successor to the 74, and far superior in my opinion. They are simply much more comfortable to use. There are some packs like this that came have 74* on the blade. I believe they are Personna 74 Plus blades, which from my understanding was just a marketing gimmick, and are the same as the 74's. These were used when Personna had extra blades left but switched packaging design, so there was a period of overlap where the P74* blade was used in these packages. Some have the P74*, some have nothing written on the blade at all, just 4 arrows. Its random luck of the draw, and the result of a tooling/packaging change at the time.

What follows is my opinion which is heresy to many, but I'll go ahead and share it anyway

The 74 is one of the most revered blades ever. The stories of its legendary longness and smoothness float around the internet like some fairy tale legend. People say the p74 was so good and so long lasting that it failed because people didn't need to buy blades often enough. From everything I've read from people who used them back in the day, this is simply not the case.

The Personna 74 failed not because it lasted so long. It failed because it just wasn't as good as the competition. The other blades of this era were outstanding, and had a leg up in terms of market share. Legend goes that Phillip Morris (who owned ASR/Personna at this time) spent large amounts of money developing the blades, and that they were expensive to produce and people didn't need to buy as many because they lasted so long, so they ultimately failed.

When you could buy blades at the local store, why would you push them? Most people tossed them after a week, just like any other blade, and just as most (read, not all) people toss cartridges after some length of time. So people chose to buy the most comfortable and best performing blades, and history shows that the P74 wasn't one of them.

The tungsten in the blade has nothing to do with their performance. It sounds nice, but its irrelevant to their performance. The titanium in the coating is what made the blades last so long. Trouble is, titanium doesn't make a particularly wonderful coating. I realize a lot of people will object to this. However, I think most of the guys here who have tried a large number of the other blades from this period will agree that the Personnas last longer, but are not as smooth or as sharp as the other blades from the era.

That being said, they are obviously leaps and bounds above whats available today, but really lower in performance to other blades from this period. Yes, they may last 20-30 good shaves, but many other blades will last 10-15 spectacular shaves, and could probably be pushed closer to the P74 territory (which really is pushing it...). The biggest problem with the 74s is their price. Let's assume they last twice as long as other comparable blades from the era. They cost more than twice as much, and each once of those shaves isn't even as good, so they are an absolutely terrible value. To reiterate, you pay 3x's the price for 2x the longevity with lower performance. It doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.

I realize many people will disagree with all of this, but having tried pretty much all the "golden age" blades out there, I really think this explanation makes much more sense than the much more appealing story of legend. The 74's are the vintage version of Gillette Swedes. A good blade, but one that legend and cult has twisted beyond the actual reality, a product of internet hype that has become overrated, and not in a price for quality, law of diminishing returns kind of way, but overrated in a paying more for a name and not performance kind of way

Of course, YMMV

Very well thought out post. I have to agree with you. I tried the P74 injectors, and really did not like those. I have a few of the P74 DE blades, and have one in my fat handled tech right now. Only razor I can use it in. If I switch it to a more aggressive razor, I can't stand it. They also seem rough for the first two shaves, and then get better, but why suffer through two shaves to get to a better place, when something like a Shark is more comfortable. They do have longevity though, I will give them that. Many modern production DE blades are smoother and sharper from the beginning though, and who cares about binning them after three shaves when they are so cheap.

Sorry, this is changing the subject a bit, but I've got to ask. I haven't had the chance to shave with any of the three above, but I do really like the old Gillette Super Stainless blades. Mike and Greek Guy, how do you think they compare? Are they in the same league?

I think the Super Stainless and the Schick Plus Platinum as well as the Schick Krona Comfort are just as good.

 

[Ray Todd]

Thanks for the info on the Spoilers and other varieties. I've been buying a few at a time as they come up, and I think I have at least some of all the U.S. made varieties. In fact....I like them so much that I keep them in a Pelican case and save them for special occasions! I didn't know about the English or French versions, so I've got something new for the "have to have" list now. Dangit! I guess all that money I save on cartridges has to go somewhere right?

As for the very latest ones - I still see them in stores occasionally, but the ones I've looked at are made in Russia. Just because I read so many posts that said how bad they were, I had to try them - ONCE. Couldn't finish the shave. Since most of my favorite new blades are Russian made, it does indeed seem like it almost has to be on purpose that they are so bad. Shredded beer cans come to mind.

Looks like I'm going to need to keep my eyes open for some Gillette Platinums and Schick Plus Platinum and Krona Comforts, (and the French and English Super Stainless of course), to compare to my beloved U.S. made Super Stainless blades!

 

[bakerbarber]

GreekGuy finally said what I was thinking. Somebody has to be the first one to say the emperor has no clothes.

I admit I have been disappointed by P*74 blades. Especially because I really only tried them after many packs of Spoilers and Schick Plus Platinum and Krona blades.

At first I chalked it up to poor storage of the P*74 blades I acquired. I pushed three blades as much as I could tolerate and only managed three weeks with one blade shaving six days a week.

Not one single shave I've had with a P*74 has ever been as comfortable as a Spoiler blade or vintage Schick. Not one. Granted I only tested three P*74 out of the same pack. I have a couple packs in different packaging which I presume represent packaging changes through the years.

I really want to shake my poms poms and rant and rave about P*74s because I paid much more for them than any other blades I have.

They are sharp. They do give acceptable shaves for several days/ weeks longer than any other blade. I just never really enjoyed a shave with them.

The truth is that for the money you can buy many blades that are going to be leaps and bounds more comfortable to use. You can also get so many more comfortable blades for the money. For what one P*74 costs you, you could safely toss any other blade before it becomes uncomfortable. Even at the top of any going rate a vintage Gillette Spoiler or Schick Platinum would be a better value.

There are so many modern DE blades that are inexpensive and smooth for a few shaves that there really isn't any reason other than curiosity or indulgence to splurge on any blade that is out of production.

A lot of us do like to treat ourselves and indulge in shaving luxuries though. Brushes, soaps, after shave, any other eccentric ephemera are all examples of how this hobby really is fun, and sometimes a drain on our wallets.

I am guilty of reading reviews for and against many things and not actually forming an opinion of my own until I try things for myself. I'm still chasing that dragon. Some day I'm going to find the perfect product though. You'll see..

 

[fcdiscus]

I can only speak for the p74 injector blades- but overall- I find them outstanding blades!

 

[haiti222]

1) I agree that incredible longevity and consistent decent performance is the hallmark of the P74.
2) Also, performance is such a YMMV (your mileage may vary) issue and also, I have learned that your chosen razor will radically alter the results in many cases, so that the comments of others are a useful guide to potential performance, but not a certainty.
3) With me, (using it only in mild, non-adjustable razors like the SS, Krona, and Tech), the Spoiler is just a decent blade with somewhat better than average longevity, for a Gillette. I also recognize the incredible loyalty to it among certain customers, especially in the past. Now that I am using an Adjustable Gillette Razor, I am going to retry the Spoiler in it.
4) The initial Gillette Stainless was a coated blade because of the patent number on it. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/159853-Patent-3071856

 

[ateace]

Since a link to this thread was recently created, I'll just add that I have not yet tried these "post-74" Personnas.
Once I do, I will photograph one of the blades and post here.