Recent acquisition: the one-year guarantee for 38 blades implies that I should expect about 10 shaves per blade. Anyone ever tried to do that? Or tried these blades at all?
Printing on the blades reads "Made in USA" and references US3071856 so I guess they were made sometime between 1963 and 1980. I think platinum coatings appeared ca. 1967, so that narrows it down a bit. No other markings that seem to help, but google books tells me that they were listed in the 1971 and 1973 Sears-Roebuck catalogs. The 1971 catalog actually seemed to offer 38 blades as a two-year supply, so that may place them ca. 1973. After that Sears probably noticed that the market was shifting to disposables and cartridges, not to mention electrics, and dropped the product.
My guess is ASR/Personna made these: if so they would be the generation immediately prior to the famous P74* blades. Like many vintage DE blades in slider packs, the lubrication is completely stuck and the blades will not slide. Happily the middle portion of the plastic blade pack is easy to remove, so I should be able to free the blades with mineral oil or alcohol.
The guarantee is a nice idea and I am tempted to send in the coupon. But there is a catch. If I did not like the original 38 blades, why would I want more of the same?
Printing on the blades reads "Made in USA" and references US3071856 so I guess they were made sometime between 1963 and 1980. I think platinum coatings appeared ca. 1967, so that narrows it down a bit. No other markings that seem to help, but google books tells me that they were listed in the 1971 and 1973 Sears-Roebuck catalogs. The 1971 catalog actually seemed to offer 38 blades as a two-year supply, so that may place them ca. 1973. After that Sears probably noticed that the market was shifting to disposables and cartridges, not to mention electrics, and dropped the product.
My guess is ASR/Personna made these: if so they would be the generation immediately prior to the famous P74* blades. Like many vintage DE blades in slider packs, the lubrication is completely stuck and the blades will not slide. Happily the middle portion of the plastic blade pack is easy to remove, so I should be able to free the blades with mineral oil or alcohol.
The guarantee is a nice idea and I am tempted to send in the coupon. But there is a catch. If I did not like the original 38 blades, why would I want more of the same?
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