I've noticed that different models of vintage blades from the same manufacturer are often differentiated by numbers on the package. Here is one example out of many:
What do these numbers signify? The numbers on the blades on left side of the flyer are obviously the prize in the Swedish "öre" currency, but then again that rises the question of why there would be such a price difference between the lowest and the highest ranking blades. I've seen blades with numbers as low as 5 and as high as 50. The wrappers don't say anything to justify the difference in numbers or prize except that the blades are "thin" or "extra thin" and that they are of the variations "three holes", "standard slit" or "international slit". The blades to the left are also branded as "stainless".
Why would a company release a budget blade that was five times cheaper than their top blade and ten times cheaper than the top blade from the competition? I mean, today all the Lord-blades cost roughly the same, despite their differences. Were the cheap blades much cheaper to produce, or were there licensing fees that made blades with a slit more expensive than three hole blades, stainless blades more expensive than carbon steel blades and blades manufactured with a technique that made them "extra thin" more expensive than those who were just "thin". Then the expensive blades would be the equivalent of the fusion cartridges of today, that are more expensive than the public domain Trac-2 cartridges. Swedish razors almost always have studs to accommodate the three hole blades, so there couldn't have been much point for the ancient Swedes to pay a premium price for a blade with a slit, when a three hole blade would fit their razors just as well. There is a lot of inconsistency in the relation between number value and features anyway. The Matador "50"-blade in the bottom right corner of the flyer (only text, no picture) has the highest value despite being a three hole blade.
Perhaps the numbers originally were the cost of the blade, but then became obsolete from inflation, but were kept as a traditional way to differentiate between the blades and a higher number simply meant more features and higher quality? There used to be a Swedish firecracker called the "1 öre" firecracker, that kept the name even after inflation increased the price of the firecracker tenfold.
Was there then a standard that meant that for instance a "25"-blade from one manufacturer would be the equivalence in quality to a "25"-blade from another manufacturer?
Here is one more picture, that shows numbers on some of the wrappers:
What do these numbers signify? The numbers on the blades on left side of the flyer are obviously the prize in the Swedish "öre" currency, but then again that rises the question of why there would be such a price difference between the lowest and the highest ranking blades. I've seen blades with numbers as low as 5 and as high as 50. The wrappers don't say anything to justify the difference in numbers or prize except that the blades are "thin" or "extra thin" and that they are of the variations "three holes", "standard slit" or "international slit". The blades to the left are also branded as "stainless".
Why would a company release a budget blade that was five times cheaper than their top blade and ten times cheaper than the top blade from the competition? I mean, today all the Lord-blades cost roughly the same, despite their differences. Were the cheap blades much cheaper to produce, or were there licensing fees that made blades with a slit more expensive than three hole blades, stainless blades more expensive than carbon steel blades and blades manufactured with a technique that made them "extra thin" more expensive than those who were just "thin". Then the expensive blades would be the equivalent of the fusion cartridges of today, that are more expensive than the public domain Trac-2 cartridges. Swedish razors almost always have studs to accommodate the three hole blades, so there couldn't have been much point for the ancient Swedes to pay a premium price for a blade with a slit, when a three hole blade would fit their razors just as well. There is a lot of inconsistency in the relation between number value and features anyway. The Matador "50"-blade in the bottom right corner of the flyer (only text, no picture) has the highest value despite being a three hole blade.
Perhaps the numbers originally were the cost of the blade, but then became obsolete from inflation, but were kept as a traditional way to differentiate between the blades and a higher number simply meant more features and higher quality? There used to be a Swedish firecracker called the "1 öre" firecracker, that kept the name even after inflation increased the price of the firecracker tenfold.
Was there then a standard that meant that for instance a "25"-blade from one manufacturer would be the equivalence in quality to a "25"-blade from another manufacturer?
Here is one more picture, that shows numbers on some of the wrappers:
Last edited:
