Thanks! Good information.
Schick Krona Questions
- Thread starter CGW409
- Start date
I have recently acquired a Shick Krona.
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The baseplace has the codes 1-3 on top row and 0-M on the bottom row. It also says "Made in USA" and "Patent Pending", The base of the handle is all black plastic and has an inverted raised triangle with "Schick" running through the triangle. The head of the razor has Schick and Krona and depending on how you look at the head, either Krona or Schick will be upside down. Black plastic handle and knob with a chrome ring separating them.
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The baseplace has the codes 1-3 on top row and 0-M on the bottom row. It also says "Made in USA" and "Patent Pending", The base of the handle is all black plastic and has an inverted raised triangle with "Schick" running through the triangle. The head of the razor has Schick and Krona and depending on how you look at the head, either Krona or Schick will be upside down. Black plastic handle and knob with a chrome ring separating them.
I was very pleased to see that "Patents Pending" example from Ender78, because it shows the one-ply design from the 1967 patents. I think we can now place those to a fairly narrow period: the patents were pending from February 1967 through April 1968. Schick might have been a little slow switching the markings in 1968, but I feel confident saying that a Krona with "patents pending" was made 1967-68. Lacking other indications, we can say that single-ply razors without "patents pending" are 1968 or later. After that we have to rely on hints from the packaging: bar codes, addresses, etc.
For the two-ply design, we can probably also say that the "M-5" style with the shorter knob is 1964-65. That suggests that two-ply razors with the longer knob style and the 'x-M' marking style are 1965-67.
Aside from this it seems pretty clear that the codes are not very useful, but here is another update anyhow. Do folks think there is any benefit to moving this table to the wiki? I am leaning against it myself: the data does not seem to tell us much.
For the two-ply design, we can probably also say that the "M-5" style with the shorter knob is 1964-65. That suggests that two-ply razors with the longer knob style and the 'x-M' marking style are 1965-67.
Aside from this it seems pretty clear that the codes are not very useful, but here is another update anyhow. Do folks think there is any benefit to moving this table to the wiki? I am leaning against it myself: the data does not seem to tell us much.
| Member!!Brand!!Knob!!Doors!!Baseplate!!Code Top Row (Left-to-Right)!!Code - Bottom Row (Left-to-Right)!!Weight (g)!!Case/Packaging/Notes |
|---|
| |Schick||black, raised triangle logo||Schick - Schick||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||3-3||9-M||38||Yellow plastic case. "O" under center bar. One-ply design. |
| |Schick||black||Schick - (blank)||PATENTS PENDING||4-2||3-M||?|| |
| |Schick||metallic, painted/printed triangle logo||(blank)||Triangle logo on right, MADE/IN/U.S.A. on left||3-2||6-M||50||"A" under center bar. |
| |Schick||black||Schick - Schick||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||2-2||5-M||?||NOS in package: bar code, yellow plastic case, and Plus Platinum blades. |
| |Schick||black||SCHICK - KRONA||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A. / PATENTS PENDING||2-3||1-M||38||- |
| |Schick||metallic||(blank)||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||1-2||6-M||52||- |
| |Schick||metallic||(blank)||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||1-2||M-5||54||Opposite order for "M-5". Packaging copyright 1965. Two-ply design. |
| |Eversharp||metallic, eagle logo||(blank)||eagle logo - EVERSHARP||4-2||6-M||51||Two-ply design. |
| |Schick||metallic gold-tone, triangle logo||(blank)||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||1-2||M-5||54||Yellow plastic case. Two-ply design. |
| |Schick||metallic||(blank)||Triangle logo on left, MADE/IN/U.S.A. on right||1-2||M-5||55||Opposite order for "M-5". Packaging copyright 1965. "Printed in USA M-64-132". |
| |Schick||black||Schick - Schick||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||2-2||4-M||?||"A" under center bar. |
| |Schick||black, raised triangle logo||Schick® - Schick||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A. / PATENTS PENDING||3-3||1-M||?||No letter under center bar. |
| | Eversharp ||metallic, eagle logo||(blank)||eagle logo - EVERSHARP||4-2||6-M||50||"A" under center bar. Two-ply design. |
| |Schick||black, triangle logo||Schick - Schick||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||1-2||4-M||?||? |
| |Schick||black, triangle logo||Schick - Krona||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||4-8||3-M||?||One-ply design. |
| |Schick||black, triangle logo||Schick - Krona||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||4-9||3-M||?||One-ply design. |
| |Schick||black, raised triangle logo||Schick® - Schick||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.||2-3||1-M||?||? |
| |Schick||metallic, longer style, triangle logo||(blank)||Triangle logo on right, MADE/IN/U.S.A. on left||4-2||6-M||?||"A" under center bar. Two-ply design. |
| |Schick||metallic, shorter style, triangle logo||(blank)||Triangle logo on right, MADE/IN/U.S.A. on left||1-4||M-5||?||No letter under center bar. Two-ply design. |
| |Schick||black, triangle logo||Schick - Krona||SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A. / PATENTS PENDING||1-3||0-M||?||One-ply design. |
I think we should put it up on Wiki.. if more information is found it could be added to the Wiki.
Put it on the wiki. The information allows new owners to have some sense of identity with the Krona that is taken for granted with the amount of information available with Gillette razors.
1. Brushed nickel. Long plastic knob. Schick on one door, Krona on the other. Raised triangle logo on knob. 2-3 9-M. Patents pending. Single center bar.
2. Same except looks like 3-3 3 (or 8)-M
3. Brushed nickel. Short metal knob. Blank doors. Logo sticker on bottom of knob.1-1 M-5. Triangle logo and made in USA on bottom of head. Double center bar.
4. Gold. Short metal handle. Blank doors. Logo sticker on knob.1-2 M-5. Logo and made in USA. Double center bar. No end caps.
As a note, both plastic knob versions have long knobs with a metal ring between the knob and handle where the short metal knob versions have no ring.
2. Same except looks like 3-3 3 (or 8)-M
3. Brushed nickel. Short metal knob. Blank doors. Logo sticker on bottom of knob.1-1 M-5. Triangle logo and made in USA on bottom of head. Double center bar.
4. Gold. Short metal handle. Blank doors. Logo sticker on knob.1-2 M-5. Logo and made in USA. Double center bar. No end caps.
As a note, both plastic knob versions have long knobs with a metal ring between the knob and handle where the short metal knob versions have no ring.
I also think that the gold version was marketed in 1976 in a bicentennial set.
It is more than likely Schick produced a stockpile of these razors and could draw off of them for several years and by the mid 1970s Trac IIs were becoming dominant in the market so additional production never became necessary.
You are both right, I think. We know about at least one example of that set: original thread at http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...n-1776-1976-Bicentennial-Celebration-Set-5LBS. It would have been marketed ca. 1976, but the razor is clearly the pre-1967 two-ply design. It even appears to have the shorter knob style and the "M-5" code, implying that it was made very early. So either everything we have deduced about the manufacturing dates is wrong, or Schick stockpiled these gold Kronas sometime ca. 1964-65.
The evidence from packaging, patent dates, etc. seems reasonably strong, so I tend toward the stockpile theory.
I've received a Krona today. It weighs 38g and has "1-3", "9-M", "SCHICK - MADE IN U.S.A.", "PATENTS PENDING", "SCHICK KRONA door", "triangle logo Black knob".
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With all the talk of numbers,dates, etc., do they all shave pretty much the same?
They shave close to the same. There may be some slight balance differences between the EverSharp and the Schick due to the issue of total weight, but if you use a Krona you know what to expect because they were not made long enough for radical changes like the barrels on Super Speeds over the years.
Today I noticed another historical detail that might interest some folks following this thread. In Printer's Ink, Vol. 266, p5: "Schick, which has been buying much of its steel from Sweden, recently purchased Matadorverken, a well-known Swedish manufacturer of double-edged blades." And in Pacific Drug Review, Vol. 71, p41: "The Schick Safety Razor Co. has purchased the Swedish Steel Manufacturing Co. and the Matadorverken A.B., both of Halmstad, Sweden, it was announced during the month. The latter firm is the largest Swedish double-edge razor blade...". Google dates both sources to 1959, the year before the first carbon-steel Krona injector blades were introduced. It seems reasonable to suppose that this was connected to the Krona name. And now that Schick owned a DE blade factory, it would be a shame to leave it idle.
Placing this a little more closely is LIFE 1959-06-08 p3, which lists Halmstad alongside Milford, Toronto, NYC, and LA. The ad is for the injector, and tries to position DE razors as old-fashioned and obsolete. The illustration features a recognizable Gillette adjustable, calling it an "old-style razor". It probably took a few more years to bring in the Krona DE strategy.
Placing this a little more closely is LIFE 1959-06-08 p3, which lists Halmstad alongside Milford, Toronto, NYC, and LA. The ad is for the injector, and tries to position DE razors as old-fashioned and obsolete. The illustration features a recognizable Gillette adjustable, calling it an "old-style razor". It probably took a few more years to bring in the Krona DE strategy.
Thought I would bring this up again with another photo set with instructions.
After further investigations, I truly believe that the code that we can see behind some packages (Ex:M-62-101C) refer to the year of production. I've seen many NOS Krona with M-69 (Sometime it's a T- ) printed on the packaging and with a discount coupon expiring in 1969, I've also seen the same packaging with M-71 on it and a copyright from 1971 as you can see on the picture below:
Sometime you will see M-64 on the packaging but a copiright from 1965 on case, my guess is that the packaging were simply produced before the case or vice versa. I have a NOS Tech here with 1966 printed on the packaging and a 1965 date code on the razor (You don't just toss 100 000 packagings, only because the year is wrong by a digit ).
Sometime you will see M-64 on the packaging but a copiright from 1965 on case, my guess is that the packaging were simply produced before the case or vice versa. I have a NOS Tech here with 1966 printed on the packaging and a 1965 date code on the razor (You don't just toss 100 000 packagings, only because the year is wrong by a digit ).
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After comparing several NOS Krona packagings with dates printed on them, I'm positive that we can put a time zone on the several variations of this razor.
Shick Variations:
1. Metal Knob + Smooth doors would be between 1964-1966.
2. The Gold Krona '76 Executive Travel Case that was thought to be from 1976 is in fact a 1965. I have 3 of these travel cases and I was lucky to enough to get one with the original booklet, there is a Copyright 1965 printed on it. I can even tell you that the cost for a complete '76 Executive travel case was 17.50$ + .25 cents sales tax hahah
3. Plastic Knob + Smooth doors would 1966-1967
4. Plastic knob + SCHICK KRONA doors would be between 1968-1971. I found several of these with Copiright from 1968, 1969 and 1971.
5. Plastic knob + Schick Schick doors would be between 1972-1974. Several of these were found with Mail-in-rebate expiring in these years.
I also saw a version of the from the mid 70's with a smooth door and Schick on the other one but I can't put a time zone on that one.
Shick Variations:
1. Metal Knob + Smooth doors would be between 1964-1966.
2. The Gold Krona '76 Executive Travel Case that was thought to be from 1976 is in fact a 1965. I have 3 of these travel cases and I was lucky to enough to get one with the original booklet, there is a Copyright 1965 printed on it. I can even tell you that the cost for a complete '76 Executive travel case was 17.50$ + .25 cents sales tax hahah
3. Plastic Knob + Smooth doors would 1966-1967
4. Plastic knob + SCHICK KRONA doors would be between 1968-1971. I found several of these with Copiright from 1968, 1969 and 1971.
5. Plastic knob + Schick Schick doors would be between 1972-1974. Several of these were found with Mail-in-rebate expiring in these years.
I also saw a version of the from the mid 70's with a smooth door and Schick on the other one but I can't put a time zone on that one.
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Thanks - that is pretty close to what I have in the wiki right now, but your timeline is based on examples where mine was more speculative. I agree with you that the M years on printed materials look pretty reliable, although I think there might be cases where Schick stockpiled printed materials for a year or so.
I would also mention the short metal knob ca. 1964-65 vs the longer metal knob ca. 1966. And we can place the "patents pending" variation pretty closely to 1967-68, along with the head redesign from two-ply to single-ply.
Which head design do you see in the examples of the plastic knob and smooth doors that you place at 1966-67? I would like to figure out whether the change to the plastic knob coincides with the patent one-ply design, or perhaps predates it.
I would also mention the short metal knob ca. 1964-65 vs the longer metal knob ca. 1966. And we can place the "patents pending" variation pretty closely to 1967-68, along with the head redesign from two-ply to single-ply.
Which head design do you see in the examples of the plastic knob and smooth doors that you place at 1966-67? I would like to figure out whether the change to the plastic knob coincides with the patent one-ply design, or perhaps predates it.
I agree with you about the 1966 Metal Knob version as I've seen some Eversharp Krona with M-66 on the packaging. My bet is that The Smooth doors + plastic knob was a transition between the previous version and the newest one, they probably had a stock of smooth doors left over and used them until the 'SCHICK KRONA' ones.
I took pictures of the Gold Krona Executive Booklet:
I took pictures of the Gold Krona Executive Booklet:
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3 advertising from 1965 and 1967
This is a very interesting thread. I am getting my first Krona next week in the mail. After reading this I am even more excited to receive it and try it out. Mine will have the Schick Krona on the head and the plastic knob. I think it is probably one of the first run Kronas. Thanks for all the great info.
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