What was the difference?
Gillette Blue Razor Blades: Std. Extra. Super
- Thread starter Atinofpeas
- Start date
The standard blue blades were the uncoated blued carbon steel blades that were Gillette's flagship in the '30s through '50s. The Super Blue is the same blade with a coating for additional smoothness (silicone at first, PTFE at the end of production) in the USA. Blue Extra (bleue extra, blaue extra) were the super blue blades made in Europe.
The "blue" name must have had some cachet in Europe. Mr. Razor's site (highly recommended, and I believe he is a B&B member) shows some French stainless blades. They were not blued, but they were called Silver Bleue. (He dates them in the '60s, but I think the logo text styling dates them to no earlier than the mid-'70s.)
The "blue" name must have had some cachet in Europe. Mr. Razor's site (highly recommended, and I believe he is a B&B member) shows some French stainless blades. They were not blued, but they were called Silver Bleue. (He dates them in the '60s, but I think the logo text styling dates them to no earlier than the mid-'70s.)
pdieten gave an excellent summary. I would only add that later on the carbon steel Blue Blades were coated and they shave like a dream. I have a few from 1975. I do not know when the plain Blue Blades started being coated, but I would imagine late 60's.
