This is part 2 of 2 in our introduction of the American Button Company pocket razor contracted by The Gillette Safety Razor Co. In this thread, we focus on the cases themselves. Part one (Razors) focused on the razors. It is a joint project of Len (Oldguy) and myself and is meant to introduce these fine little razors to the members of B&B who may not be familiar with them. Len did most of the grunt work of taking photos, writing the material, and provided much of the information. And I helped with revising and writing some of the information and did the formatting. We hope that you enjoy the fruits of our labor.
CASE DESIGNS AND MATERIALS
The cases came in six different patterns:
1) Empire
2) Flower
3) Shell
4) Basket Weave
5) Plain
6) Leather
As with the razors, the metal cases came in either silver or gold. But unlike the razors, some cases have a Gunmetal finish and there is even a rarely seen leather case.
The Empire case in silver
The Flower case in silver
The Shell case in silver
The Basket Weave case in Gunmetal finish
The Plain case in silver
And the rare Leather case
CASE VARIATIONS
Easily Confused Case Styles
Gillette made cases for their pocket edition razor with a very similar design to the American Button Company cases that are often confused with cases actually made by the American Button Company. The American Button Company cases are identifiable by the following features:
1) An imprint of patent dates on the bottom of the case. Cases made by Gillette do not have this imprint, but American Button Company cases do have it. The imprint with the patent dates looks like this:
2) American Button Company cases have a patch with the Gillette trademark diamond logo, but lack the "Made in USA" stitching. Cases with a patch that have the "Made in USA" stitching were made by Gillette. In the first photo, note the patch with the Made in USA stitching absent. And in the second photo, note the patch with the Made in USA stitching present. The first is an American Button Company case and the second is made by Gillette. Finally, in the third photo, there is another case that completely lacks the patch, which means it was made by Gillette and is not an American Button Company case.
Patch w/ no "Made in USA:"
Patch w/ "Made in USA:"
No patch:
Case Thicknesses
American Button Company cases came in two different thicknesses. Note that in the photo below, the Basket Weave case on the left is thicker than the Empire case on the right.
Engravings
Most of the cases (Empire, Shell, Flower, Basket Weave) had a space in the center that allowed the owner to have their initials or name engraved. Some chose to have it engraved and others did not. Note that in the photo below, the top Flower case is not engraved whereas the bottom one is engraved.
Opening Styles:
There are three opening mechanisms to the American Button Company cases:
1) Latch
2) Push button w/ 4 rivets. Top two are joined by another piece.
3) Push button w/ 4 rivets
Here is one with a latch (*note* The latch for the Gillette made cases have no rivets at all but appear to be spot welded instead):
One with four rivets. Note the rivets on the top differ in this case from the following photo:
One with four rivets, but without the piece connecting the two at the top:
As this thread evolves, additions are very welcome as well as pointing out any errors.
CASE DESIGNS AND MATERIALS
The cases came in six different patterns:
1) Empire
2) Flower
3) Shell
4) Basket Weave
5) Plain
6) Leather
As with the razors, the metal cases came in either silver or gold. But unlike the razors, some cases have a Gunmetal finish and there is even a rarely seen leather case.
The Empire case in silver
The Flower case in silver
The Shell case in silver
The Basket Weave case in Gunmetal finish
The Plain case in silver
And the rare Leather case
CASE VARIATIONS
Easily Confused Case Styles
Gillette made cases for their pocket edition razor with a very similar design to the American Button Company cases that are often confused with cases actually made by the American Button Company. The American Button Company cases are identifiable by the following features:
1) An imprint of patent dates on the bottom of the case. Cases made by Gillette do not have this imprint, but American Button Company cases do have it. The imprint with the patent dates looks like this:
2) American Button Company cases have a patch with the Gillette trademark diamond logo, but lack the "Made in USA" stitching. Cases with a patch that have the "Made in USA" stitching were made by Gillette. In the first photo, note the patch with the Made in USA stitching absent. And in the second photo, note the patch with the Made in USA stitching present. The first is an American Button Company case and the second is made by Gillette. Finally, in the third photo, there is another case that completely lacks the patch, which means it was made by Gillette and is not an American Button Company case.
Patch w/ no "Made in USA:"
Patch w/ "Made in USA:"
No patch:
Case Thicknesses
American Button Company cases came in two different thicknesses. Note that in the photo below, the Basket Weave case on the left is thicker than the Empire case on the right.
Engravings
Most of the cases (Empire, Shell, Flower, Basket Weave) had a space in the center that allowed the owner to have their initials or name engraved. Some chose to have it engraved and others did not. Note that in the photo below, the top Flower case is not engraved whereas the bottom one is engraved.
Opening Styles:
There are three opening mechanisms to the American Button Company cases:
1) Latch
2) Push button w/ 4 rivets. Top two are joined by another piece.
3) Push button w/ 4 rivets
Here is one with a latch (*note* The latch for the Gillette made cases have no rivets at all but appear to be spot welded instead):
One with four rivets. Note the rivets on the top differ in this case from the following photo:
One with four rivets, but without the piece connecting the two at the top:
As this thread evolves, additions are very welcome as well as pointing out any errors.
Last edited: