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- #21
Very nice indeed - two bonus P74 blades!
Personna 74 Tungsten Blade Variants
- Thread starter Norman Gunston
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Those 20 packs of SPC blades in the original post came from my late father-in-law. Both are still intact
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- #23
Enjoy those blades! The SPC's are my favourite of the entire range - so sharp yet smoooooth!Those 20 packs of SPC blades in the original post came from my late father-in-law. Both are still intact
That may be true in some cases but the real reason they were phased out was because they last so long and customers knew it that they weren't able to sell enough to be profitable. The company had just been bought by Phillip Morris, the tobacco company, and their bright idea to cut into Gillette's grip on the market was to make the best blade possible, which is great for us but was bad for them.
I just bought some SPC in similar packaging, expensive but as its my favourite vintage blade I couldn't resist. My only worry is how the edges have held up in store over all these years, my other packs are sealed in dispensers.Wanted to add this Variant that I saw on the Bay (at more than 2 bucks per blade). I have never seen a package like this before. Notice the blade is labeled with the "74" logo
You know this definitively or merely speculating?
I have a couple hundred of all the different variants of this blade. My costs per shave is actually at or lower than the best modern blades at the one hundred packs, but I'm retired and have the time to scour the web and bid low, lose 8 or 9 times out of 10 but win often enough. Except for the first few packs I acquired I've never paid the usual asking prices. If I was still working I would never been able to spend the time and effort to run these down and go only vintage. The only blades this strategy never worked on are the Wilkinson Light Brigades. They are rarely offered and sellers never back down on their asking prices. That's why , although they're one of my two favorites, I have very few of them.
Personna 74, the ultimate razor blade – Bruce On Shaving
This is one of my sources, the others are archived magazine articles that I can't seem to copy and paste.
Bruce is hardly what historians would call a primary source, with all due respect. The entire shaving market was undergoing change as Bic introd the first disposable in 1975 and all Hell broke loose. Gillette had already introd their Trac II in 1971. These two moves more than anything "killed' the DE market according to the memoirs of a Gillette exec.
What killed the Personna 74 was in large part due to a tobacco company that didn't understand the shaving market and made a blade too long lasting to be profitable in the long run, mister contrarian. It doesn't take a mensa member to figure that out.
I'm sorry some simple facts about razor blades go contrary to your world beliefs.
They changed the package name of the blades and how they marketed them so people would think they weren't the same long lasting blades anymore and bin them sooner than they needed to before the 1975 Bic you mentioned once they realized how wrong they were.
At least I post some supporting evidence for what happened, here and on other blade threads. Until you can post something to back up what you say, which may be right, you are the one speculating.
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And yes, that more than anything killed the DE market. But what I've posted is about what killed the P74 specifically.
The facts are Personna under P. Morris had been profitable for at least five years until the FTC nixed the buyout by French owned Bic as an anti-monopoly measure. P. Morris was simply making more money in other endeavors such as Miller Beer.
Perhaps I should apply to MENSA.
Perhaps, once you explain how that explains why Personna specifically phased out only the 74s and changed how they packaged and marketed only the 74s at the time. Why do you have to go all Professor Irwin Corey with me all the time?The facts are Personna under P. Morris had been profitable for at least five years until the FTC nixed the buyout by French owned Bic as an anti-monopoly measure. P. Morris was simply making more money in other endeavors such as Miller Beer.
Perhaps I should apply to MENSA.
It's like watching the Heritage Foundation twisting the climate change consensus.
I don't know and neither do you. The difference is I don't profess to know why they dropped it.
You've claimed to know as much as I did, we are both reaching conclusions, difference is I've posted at least one source that supports mine. The DE market hasn't been killed, just greatly, close to mortally wounded at least in the western first world market. Im in agreement with you as to why/how. The P74 however, was killed.
I have the answer...
Ha! Just what we need, a little lightening up.If you're referring to the Gillette Super Stainless "Spoiler" they are great, but not the equal of the 74s,...to most men...ymmv.I have the answer...
I agree Spoilers are very good blades. Surprisingly though I like the Super Platinum Chromes better than 74's which always felt harsh to my skin no matter what razor I tried them in.
You're not alone.
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