Punches in blades?

[chrisf8657]

Hi guys.


I remember seeing the original 3 holes for the original Gillette safety razor, but over time the thin oval punch outs (circled in red) were added to the blades.
I've never seen any razor that uses them, so what are they for?

I did see an article that showed the evolution of the blade from 3 holes to that, but no explanation was given.

Also, why did 2 of the 3 holes change from round to pyramid-ish?

 

[Shave_Rat]

http://www.shaveworld.org/home/images/ DEBladePage2010.htm

Looks like it developed due to Autostrop making a razor that fit those blades and the old gillette blades, but the old gillette razors wouldn't fit the new Autostrop/Probak blades...

 

[mblakele]

Yes, Gaisman used a similar idea with the later Valets and the Probak: trademark the shape of the cutout on the blade, and design the razor to only accept blades with the right shape. He experimented with a few different designs.

There were also oval cutouts, for example the Segal design.

 

[MachM]

My #15 Aristocrat uses the outside punched holes (see attached). Never seen one that uses the other punches though.

 

[americanarmsdealer]

Thanks for sharing, MachM. I never realized the #15 Crats were different from other Gillettes. Interesting.

 

[dcobranchi]

Also, why did 2 of the 3 holes change from round to pyramid-ish?​

I believe those were for the Goodwill razors. They have diamond-shaped studs.

 

[chrisf8657]

Excellent. Thanks for all the info!