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Strange Question of the Day: Vintage Gillette's!

If your cutting yourself on the blade tabs, it's a problem with the manufacturing of the blades not the blade design.
The end tabs shouldn't be sharp, the should be blunt and deburred.
I cut myself on occasion handling blades but I don't blame the blade, it is after all "razor" sharp and would be much good if it wasn't.
But I can't recall ever cutting myself with the end tabs.
 
I get more cuts from those tabs, mostly on my ears, than I ever have from the sharp edge of a blade. I probably am just being careless. I really enjoy my Futur as it completely covers the tabs. Many modern razors cover most, but not all, of the tabs.

eric.
 
S

siouxsie

If your cutting yourself on the blade tabs, it's a problem with the manufacturing of the blades not the blade design.
The end tabs shouldn't be sharp, the should be blunt and deburred.
I cut myself on occasion handling blades but I don't blame the blade, it is after all "razor" sharp and would be much good if it wasn't.
But I can't recall ever cutting myself with the end tabs.

You know I was thinking that too, but for some reason, it does not take too much contact to cause bleeding when I shave E-W or W-E under the nose. These cuts bleed too, even if insignificant. It's happened with different blades I'm sure, because I think I've done it about 4-5 times over the last couple years.
 
1 solution.
Masking tape.
Take a roll of 1/2 masking tape, cut 2-1/8th inch strips in fold them over the offending tabs.
 
The original gillette blades (three hole) had rounded ends.
In 1928 Autostrop was successfully selling razor blades that fit Gillettes.
The Autostrop design had aligning pins that fit into the four notches made by the little wings on the end of the blade, which were pretty rectangular, with the end wings.
Gillette then basically copied the Autostrop design, and was sued.
It was so nasty, and so appeared that Gillette would lose, that Gillette bought Autostrop outright.
Minor additional changes were made in the blade history to accomodate other head designs, including the addition of the 2, then 4 vertical slots, and the changing of the hole design.
The last change came in 1933, when indents were added to the four corners we spoke of earlier.
The DE blade shape has pretty much remained unchanged since then.
The flat end "wings" were actually advertised by Gillette as a "feature" that provided a more sure grip when changing blades than the previously rounded ends as provided on the 1904 - 1928 model.

EDIT: It was Autostrop NOT Probak.

Excellent history, thanks! I thought microsoft was the only one who crushed competitors:001_rolle
 
Ok, here is the strange question of the day. On vintage Gillette razors, the blade almost seems too big for the razor, and the "blade tabs" (I don't know the proper term for these) significantly hang off past the ends of the razor. These result in a significantly sharp edge that can cut into your nose if you are really sloppy, or just not at all paying attention. :blush::blushing:

I have several newer razors (a Lord Tech with the Merkur like head, and a Muhle R89), and these are designed differently so as to cover the entire blade, so these "blade tabs" don't hang out past the end of the razor.

So a question for the Vintage Gillette experts: Why in your estimation were the Vintage Gillette's designed in this manner?

Is there some benefit I am missing? Were blades shorter at some point in history? Is it just a result of the constant reworking of the DE blade?

I would consider this "feature" to be a flaw in the design. :lol::lol:

I noticed this before, too, but never thought to ask the question.
 
I think I got myself with the end tab on the ear once. Then I didn't do it again.

If I had to guess, the blades have stayed that way because of tradition, inertia and because it looks good.

I like to think that the exposed tabs were of small matter to the general shaving population when DE shaving was the rule. To the guys who fought World Wars with no body armor, thought a seat belt was a drink sitting next to you while you drove, and probably would have tarred and feathered anybody who sued a restaurant for serving really hot coffee, naked blade tabs were probably not too intimidating.

Nowadays, we should cover them up.
 
If your cutting yourself on the blade tabs, it's a problem with the manufacturing of the blades not the blade design.
The end tabs shouldn't be sharp, the should be blunt and deburred.

:confused1 Bob, given the thickness of a blade, I doubt we'll reap the benefits of any edge machining under the circumstances described.
 
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:confused1 Bob, given the thickness of a blade, I doubt we'll feel the benefits of any edge machining under the circumstances described.

I'm a head shaver and I shave around my ears all the time and I've never cut myself with the tabs, I also change the blades by holding the tabs and again I've never cut myself.
I conclude that they blades that I use don't have sharp edges on the end tabs and those people that do cut themselves are using blades with end tabs that are sharp.
I have in front of me several used blades and the ends are blunt and the corners on the tabs are rounded over.
 
Looking at that picture makes me convinced they are there because without them, the blade couldn't hold itself together. They couldn't make the blade wider, because they would then stick over the combs of the open combs and the bars of the other razors. So they had to add on tabs to the end. And when life gives you lemons, you sell it as lemonade!

I don't think that's it because I do not see a reason to have made the slot that wide. They could have just made the slot extend to the two far posts. The tabs are about as wide as the extension of the slot beyond the post. So it doesn't look like they added any more material to bridge the slot than there would have been if they stopped the slot at the post in the first place.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I don't think that's it because I do not see a reason to have made the slot that wide. They could have just made the slot extend to the two far posts. The tabs are about as wide as the extension of the slot beyond the post. So it doesn't look like they added any more material to bridge the slot than there would have been if they stopped the slot at the post in the first place.

They had to have the slots that wide in order to fit in the Probak razors made in 1929.
 
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