FYI, Personna had a history of backward wrapping blades. It is unclear if they are seconds or a different blade than what is on the wrapper, or even the correct blade, but the backward wrapper was put on to sell it as another type of blade (i.e. P74 sold as hospital blade). Vintage Personna Hospital Blades - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/vintage-personna-hospital-blades.302473/
Personna 74- Was it worth it?
- Thread starter John87
- Start date
Thanks for the info.
I bought this random lot of blades the past October. I bought it mainly for the Personna 74 but it came with another dispenser of Personna Super Stainless. Price for the lot was €9+€3 shipping:
These are not commonly seen. They are both Made in England in the 70's. I don't know if they are the same blades as their US counterparts. Any way last Sunday I finally shaved with the Personna 74 and by now the blade has already three shaves under it's belt. Their fame is due to the extreme longevity but I can dare to say they are extraordinary blades. Sharp, smooth, as @Mouser defined them in another post, they are otherworldly.
Are they worth it? Sure they are at the price I've paid for them (€1.20 per blade if I also consider the Super Stainless in the lot).
I would gladly pay up to €2.00 per blade. Otherwise there are other great blades available for less. I particularly like the British Super Silvers (British Spoilers?) and I usually can find them for less than €0.50 per blade.
These are not commonly seen. They are both Made in England in the 70's. I don't know if they are the same blades as their US counterparts. Any way last Sunday I finally shaved with the Personna 74 and by now the blade has already three shaves under it's belt. Their fame is due to the extreme longevity but I can dare to say they are extraordinary blades. Sharp, smooth, as @Mouser defined them in another post, they are otherworldly.
Are they worth it? Sure they are at the price I've paid for them (€1.20 per blade if I also consider the Super Stainless in the lot).
I would gladly pay up to €2.00 per blade. Otherwise there are other great blades available for less. I particularly like the British Super Silvers (British Spoilers?) and I usually can find them for less than €0.50 per blade.
Wow! It never occurred to me that the 74s would be packaged differently over the pond but it should have, I've seen it with other blades. The only time I've seen them wrapped are the several I have of the sample introductory singles that were distributed in newspapers I believe. Ill post a photo of one later. As to the Personna Super Stainless, the only difference is the stamping on the blades. The made in US ones are done in a purple signage while the British are black and different style of lettering but no difference in performance, both are great.I bought this random lot of blades the past October. I bought it mainly for the Personna 74 but it came with another dispenser of Personna Super Stainless. Price for the lot was €9+€3 shipping:
These are not commonly seen. They are both Made in England in the 70's. I don't know if they are the same blades as their US counterparts. Any way last Sunday I finally shaved with the Personna 74 and by now the blade has already three shaves under it's belt. Their fame is due to the extreme longevity but I can dare to say they are extraordinary blades. Sharp, smooth, as @Mouser defined them in another post, they are otherworldly.
Are they worth it? Sure they are at the price I've paid for them (€1.20 per blade if I also consider the Super Stainless in the lot).
I would gladly pay up to €2.00 per blade. Otherwise there are other great blades available for less. I particularly like the British Super Silvers (British Spoilers?) and I usually can find them for less than €0.50 per blade.
View attachment 1208448
This was in a plain white sealed plastic.
This is like how my British "74" looks like:
Under the flap it reads:
"Made under licence of Phillip Morris Inc.
Owners of the registered trade mark
Personna International U.K.
The great thing I've learned today by the pics you have posted is that "74" stands for the element number of Tungsten on the periodical table! I would have never guessed it!
I picked up a few packs of Fay‘s drugstore blades recently. They are actually P74s. Cost worked out to about $1/blade. Not bad for 35-40 shaves.
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I had a single tuck of the 74’s and can state unequivocally that they were the greatest blades I’ve ever used. Buttery smooth, yet wickedly sharp AND long-lasting.
Clearly the people that have used them think they are worth the price. That's all that matters, not what it cost them. The only vintage blade that I have used thus far is the Schick platinum. I didn't pay a lot for them but they are somewhat deceptive. They fell dull on the face but the shaves I got from was excellent and it was tough to know when to change because they felt the same on the 10th shave as they did on the first. Certainly a different experience than what I'm used to with modern blades.
All I use are vintage blades. Once I experienced how much better they are, and there's a reason for that, I made a project of getting them at costs per shave as low or lower than modern. Its a tedious process and if I was still working I may have never gone down that path but it was worth it. My last haul of the P74s was an offering of 20, bid situation. I stumbled on them and I guess no one else did. I won them for $11.99 including shipping. A few days later same seller put up another 20, this time no bidding, for $99.99, went in a day or two.
I bought this random lot of blades the past October. I bought it mainly for the Personna 74 but it came with another dispenser of Personna Super Stainless. Price for the lot was €9+€3 shipping:
These are not commonly seen. They are both Made in England in the 70's. I don't know if they are the same blades as their US counterparts. Any way last Sunday I finally shaved with the Personna 74 and by now the blade has already three shaves under it's belt. Their fame is due to the extreme longevity but I can dare to say they are extraordinary blades. Sharp, smooth, as @Mouser defined them in another post, they are otherworldly.
Are they worth it? Sure they are at the price I've paid for them (€1.20 per blade if I also consider the Super Stainless in the lot).
I would gladly pay up to €2.00 per blade. Otherwise there are other great blades available for less. I particularly like the British Super Silvers (British Spoilers?) and I usually can find them for less than €0.50 per blade.
View attachment 1208448
The Made In England Gillette Super Silver blades are SUPERB! I personally think they fly under the radar!
Vr
Matt
Agreed. In my experience, the English Super Silvers are at the top of the tree for sharpness. In addition to the excellent blades discussed in this thread, which for each I fortunately have a stash, I also rate very highly the Gillette English Platinum Royal:
I have a bunch of these blades, but I have never tried to take one the distance. How many shaves do you guys get from these Gillette Super Silvers?
Thanks!
Vr
Matt
Thanks!
Vr
Matt
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