I’m willing to try them. Sacrificing my face for science.
Participation PIF- Let's Hammer out some shaves
- Thread starter tbhoff
- Start date
So what you're saying is we now need Vulcan, Sears, and Craftsman DE blades to compare. I wonder if Lowe's will honor the "lifetime" Craftsman guarantee on the DE blades ;-)
I did not mean to cause panic or influence anyone's opinion with this post; only to give some history that I was able to find. According to the wrappers, the blades in the PIF are the later Ardell Industries Hammer Brand blades, not the earlier ones sold under the Vulcan Hammer Brand. So you should good putting the tourniquets away.
Digging thru some older blades that were found inside an Antique desk, I discovered that I have several Craftsman Blades made in Maplewood NJ. I would love for blades to have some manufactured Year/Quarter marker on them to know they were made.
- Thread starter
- #25
Thread update:
I sent out the blades to international destinations today and have a few more people to add to the list.
I also decided to wait until people had begun receiving their blades to unwrap them due to the mention of possible corrosion in the history of this company. My outer box for the hundred is crisp and shows no influence of water whatsoever, as are all of the inner tucks and wrappers. Everything inside was dry and I dont notice any signs of corrosion on any of the blades.
My undtrained eyes notice no manufacturing or QC issues other than the fact that the outer paper wrappers are often not exactly centered and that some of the printing on the blades is less than ideal (may be common for this era though based on what I have seen on tools, etc.. The steel also seems to be thicker than modern blades and over a darker color. Double wrapped, and no wax dots. Picture taken next to an Astra SP I had snapped in half. Forgive the lousy picture quality, I'm still working in my basement.
Here's where we stand on mailing:
Mailed:
International:
Unmailed:
International: (If the mail to your address is best delivered in non-English language script, feel free to send it to me in whatever language is likely to result in the envelope being delivered and I'll print it directly on the envelope)
-
CONUS:
I sent out the blades to international destinations today and have a few more people to add to the list.
I also decided to wait until people had begun receiving their blades to unwrap them due to the mention of possible corrosion in the history of this company. My outer box for the hundred is crisp and shows no influence of water whatsoever, as are all of the inner tucks and wrappers. Everything inside was dry and I dont notice any signs of corrosion on any of the blades.
My undtrained eyes notice no manufacturing or QC issues other than the fact that the outer paper wrappers are often not exactly centered and that some of the printing on the blades is less than ideal (may be common for this era though based on what I have seen on tools, etc.. The steel also seems to be thicker than modern blades and over a darker color. Double wrapped, and no wax dots. Picture taken next to an Astra SP I had snapped in half. Forgive the lousy picture quality, I'm still working in my basement.
Here's where we stand on mailing:
Mailed:
International:
- SharpieB
- Weean
- Chard52142
Unmailed:
International: (If the mail to your address is best delivered in non-English language script, feel free to send it to me in whatever language is likely to result in the envelope being delivered and I'll print it directly on the envelope)
-
CONUS:
- jaro 101969
- OpusX
- Maradon
- BigJ
- Grundi
- Emwolf
- NicksDad
- Balthier
- Hotelmode
- Ed Gcom
Attachments
I’m in. I will try them.
Looks like there was a lawsuit between the USA against American Safety Razor and Ardell. I'm not a lawyer so I don't really know what the lawsuit was about, but there's some interesting info in the filing. Both companies make more than just DE blades, of course, but according to the filing "Based on 1988 United States sales data, ASR and Ardell market shares were, respectively, about 36 percent and 11 percent."
Here's a link to the document https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/940621/download
This document talks about the result of that lawsuit (at least I think it's the same suit) https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/947386/download
It seems Ardell is still around making fake eyelashes and stuff like that.
Here's a link to the document https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/940621/download
This document talks about the result of that lawsuit (at least I think it's the same suit) https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/947386/download
It seems Ardell is still around making fake eyelashes and stuff like that.
If anyone has problems with these blades, he should call The Curtis Center in Philadelphia , Pa.
The number is 1-215-597-7401. There a you can complain to a lawyer . But watch it because those Philadelphia lawyers are very smart.
The number is 1-215-597-7401. There a you can complain to a lawyer . But watch it because those Philadelphia lawyers are very smart.
If you still have a spot available, then I would like to be in. It has been years since I participated in something like this.
I want in too! I'll PM my address @tbhoff ! If others want in just ignore me brother.
- Thread starter
- #32
Good find on the antitrust suit. The complaint and the consent judgment are from the same case. Long story short, ASR squires Ardell and ended up with controll of a significant portion for the industrial blade market. Apparently competition to this market is largely limited by the specialized equipment necessary to put the metal spine on a single edged blade. The companies consented to a judgment against them whereby they had to transfer ownership from something like 4 of their blade spining machines to outside entities.
This is a gross simplification of the documents and from the top of my head after reading the pleadings, so don't rely on the exact accuracy of anything in my summary above.
If anyone is interested in a more detailed translation from the legalese to plain English, I should be able to do a more detailed summary this weekend.
Long story short, ASR bought Ardell and thereby controlled a large sector of the industrial blade market and could easily increase the price of industrial blades without likely consequence. Federal government said, "Hey! We don't allow anticompetitive behavior like that!" ASR and Ardell said, "Ok. Fine. You caught us. We'll get rid of some blade spining machines , but leave these Jordan company folks out of it, Ok?
- Thread starter
- #33
Update- International all mailed. Two test runs on packaging have been sent out as well to be sure that everything arrives all safe and sound before I mail out all of the CONUS ones.
International: (If the mail to your address is best delivered in non-English language script, feel free to send it to me in whatever language is likely to result in the envelope being delivered and I'll print it directly on the envelope)
CONUS:
Still have enough blades to accept a few more if anyone else is still interested.
International: (If the mail to your address is best delivered in non-English language script, feel free to send it to me in whatever language is likely to result in the envelope being delivered and I'll print it directly on the envelope)
- SharpieB
- Weean
- Chard52142
CONUS:
- jaro 101969
- OpusX
- Maradon
- BigJ
- Grundi
- Emwolf
- NicksDad
- Balthier
- Hotelmode
- Ed Gcom
- Cheff455
- Billski
- TheBigL
- FarmerTan
Still have enough blades to accept a few more if anyone else is still interested.
I love the looks of those wrappers. Cool vibe.If I had a Hammer... oh wait ... I DO have a Hammer... a NOS Hammer Brand Blade!! What!! Blades arrived today, safe and sound!! I will Hammer Out Some Shaves starting Monday!!
View attachment 1157235
Thank you, @tbhoff, for the chance to try these!!
- Thread starter
- #36
View attachment 1157235
Thank you, @tbhoff, for the chance to try these!!
Looks like one of the packaging test runs arrived today
. Once the I hear from the other, I'll start shipping out the blades to everyone else.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Wow, mine have already made it across the Atlantic - that's a lot quicker than the blades sent by @Grundi in the early days of the pandemic!
Quite timely, too. I just finished a Nacet this morning, so I've already loaded up a Hammer ready for Thursday morning and I'll be sure to report back.
Thanks again, @tbhoff
Quite timely, too. I just finished a Nacet this morning, so I've already loaded up a Hammer ready for Thursday morning and I'll be sure to report back.
Thanks again, @tbhoff
Hammered Out Shaves #1 And #2
TL;DR: a step into yesteryear, decent vintage shaves, feels a little different then modern blades
Equipment: Vintage is as vintage does; in the spirit of these NOS Hammer Brand blades, I've been using my Birth Year/Quarter Gillette Slim on 4. I can just imagine someone 50+ years ago, loading one of these up in a similar razor.
Hammer Shaves: so far, the shaves have been good, SAS+, but I can feel a slight difference in the edge of the blade. To me, it seems that the edge on the modern blades are a bit finer than these. That said, my first Hammer Brand Blade is doing a good job on my whiskers.
Truing The Edge: I acquired a Fedtro Blade Sharpener from Etsy that I'm going to pass this blade thru and see how tomorrow's shave is effected.
TL;DR: a step into yesteryear, decent vintage shaves, feels a little different then modern blades
Equipment: Vintage is as vintage does; in the spirit of these NOS Hammer Brand blades, I've been using my Birth Year/Quarter Gillette Slim on 4. I can just imagine someone 50+ years ago, loading one of these up in a similar razor.
Hammer Shaves: so far, the shaves have been good, SAS+, but I can feel a slight difference in the edge of the blade. To me, it seems that the edge on the modern blades are a bit finer than these. That said, my first Hammer Brand Blade is doing a good job on my whiskers.
Truing The Edge: I acquired a Fedtro Blade Sharpener from Etsy that I'm going to pass this blade thru and see how tomorrow's shave is effected.
- Thread starter
- #39
- Thread starter
- #40
I had also tried two shaves with a Hammer. I had also decided to try it in my Slim as well (prior to seeing that this was your choice). I started on 3 which was quite mild. Second shave was on four, but I expect that I'll be gradually be cranking that number up.
I had not used any vintage blades before this, and they definitely feel "different" than modern blades to me as well. The blades are definitely thicker than modern blades.
These blades feel incredibly "smooth" to me- hardly any blade feel at all. I definitely don't think these would fall into the "sharper" category of blades that I usually use, but they certainly don't feel like a "dull" blade to me either. VERY audible feedback when using these for me.
I am going to see how long I can stretch this out, since they are marketed as "EXTRA TOUGH-longer lasting edges." I wonder if it's just marketing or has something to do with the actual grind of the edge.
I find that i get DFS with 3 passes in all of my non-problem areas (the areas right below my jawline that are very thick and grow completely horizontal with an occasional area), but SAS + with any less. Haven't been able to get BBS on the problem areas even with more passes, I'm thinking this may be at least partially due to a less than ideal angle.
Best part about this is, they seem almost impossible to cut or irritate, even with multiple passes (I tried 4 on the second shave, I don't usually do more than two due to sensitivity issues).
I am interested to see how these perform over time and dialed in to the best setting on the slim.
I just remembered that this Sunday evening, I quickly tested a single pass with my RR german 37 just to blast through a few days of stubble and it worked great for that as well (my standard end of the weekend pass so that Monday morning isn't a complete PITA).
