Gillette Knack (1970) made in Mexico?

[Whiskers1111]

I must admit that I have been a lurker of these forums and this old man has gained much useful information from the very knowledgeable members of this great “club of steel”. I have many Gillette razors and enjoy finding and collecting them.

Last night at an auction I bought four more Gillette razors. A R3 (1971) long handle adjustable black beauty, W2 (1976) short handle BB, and two knacks, N1 (1968) Knack made in the USA and P4 (1970) made in Mexico? Both Knacks are in cases with no blades. My question is to what extent and when did Gillette manufacture these in Mexico? I was aware the Knacks was made in England but after much reading I find nil of these made in Mexico. Believe Knacks made from 1966-1975 and were they made in Mexico what years?
Sorry I’m out of town for a few days and don’t have my camera with me for photos. Be wonderful for more information on this Gillette product. Thanks

 

[mblakele]

Welcome to B&B!

The UK razor similar to the Knack was the Slim Twist or G1000 or G2000, and was a little different from the Knack. I had not heard of Knacks from Mexico, but there are more knowledgable folks than me here.

Achim has this picture for the 1974 Knack: it is in package so we cannot see the base plate, but the back of the package says "Made and Printed in USA". Possibly Gillette ran factories in both countries at the same time?

 

[mr-razor]

Welcome to B&B! Here is a 1968 Knack Made in USA. It´s the same case like yours, but I´ve never seen a Knack Made in Mexico. Great find!

 

[kingfisher]

Cool. the razor clearly states that is was manufactured in Mexico, so I guess it probably was. Never seen one of those before, though.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I've seen the red handle G1000 looking ones. I need to get one.

 

[pipskicks]

Maybe one of those made somewhere else and sent to Mexico before being shipped to the US? A bunch of others were like that.


Interesting though, there are just so many types and variations and manufacturing countries that these vintages are from!

 

[eliev]

I like the part about the "miracle plastic coating" in the instructions!

 

[Whiskers1111]

Thanks guys and Achim for helping me with this puzzle, I can see now that the hunt for Gillette razors is never ending and this only wants be to search even harder. Like to share a story from today, I called around and finally found a barber shop that hot lather shaves. I have never had this done and wanted to try which was a wonderful experience. Sad thing was I asked the owner if he collected and he replied no. Said he had many straights in frames in his shop til the fire in 1990 and he lost all. This story made me sad and I believe maybe all of us should take measures to prevent our collections from being lost from history. IMHO

 

[Krona Kruiser]

Thanks guys and Achim for helping me with this puzzle, I can see now that the hunt for Gillette razors is never ending and this only wants be to search even harder. Like to share a story from today, I called around and finally found a barber shop that hot lather shaves. I have never had this done and wanted to try which was a wonderful experience. Sad thing was I asked the owner if he collected and he replied no. Said he had many straights in frames in his shop til the fire in 1990 and he lost all. This story made me sad and I believe maybe all of us should take measures to prevent our collections from being lost from history. IMHO

.....or stolen. I've been having these fears lately.