swedish gilletes
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A lot of folks hold the opinion that the Swedish Gillette was the best blade, but I think most are of the opinion that the Feather is the sharpest blade.
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"Swedish" Gillettes:
The Swedes are amazing. Not as aggressively sharp or harsh as the Feathers. But still very sharp. They are marked by the smoothness of the shaves they deliver and their amazing longevity. I think Dave (DIrving) eked out 30 shaves from one blade and I know that I used one blade, very, very comfortably for nearly 20 shaves. Really. Not a fish story.
+1. Swedes are as sharp as they need to be w/o being severe. Some of the best balance between sharpness and smoothness.
Chances are that the Gillette's you got in the sampler pack are "Swedes". I got my first pack that way and after going through two other brands from the sampler selection I tried the Swedes and I haven't looked back. They were and are the best blade I have ever used.
Hey guys,
I have got 14 X 5 packets of the Swedish Gillettes from back in the days when I used a DE. If somebody will make me an offer I can not refuse, I can put them in a Jiffy bag and post them. I purchased them a couple of years ago and I have no idea what they cost.
If you want to split them that's OK, but I would prefer to send just one Jiffy bag because of postage cost.
The blades are as new, but I have thrown the blue cards away to save space in my shaving box. Send me a pm if you are interested.
They are smoother than Feather blades, not quite as sharp and less likely to give nicks whilst still giving a close smooth shave.
I have got 14 X 5 packets of the Swedish Gillettes from back in the days when I used a DE. If somebody will make me an offer I can not refuse, I can put them in a Jiffy bag and post them. I purchased them a couple of years ago and I have no idea what they cost.
If you want to split them that's OK, but I would prefer to send just one Jiffy bag because of postage cost.
The blades are as new, but I have thrown the blue cards away to save space in my shaving box. Send me a pm if you are interested.
They are smoother than Feather blades, not quite as sharp and less likely to give nicks whilst still giving a close smooth shave.
My advice is not to use them. You'll just be sad that you can't get any more. Swedes weren't a revelation in any one way and I used them without a thought for ages, but they were really good precisely because of this ordinariness. Sort of like, perfection by default. All the other blades I've tried have had "character", whereas Swedes were just blades, in the same way a Biro's just a pen, but is actually a design icon.
When they were a current production blade (as of last year) they were perhaps the smoothest and longest lasting blade of all currently produced, altho some are of the opinion that the quality had gone downhill on them just a bit in their last days of manufacture. There are still a lot of these floating around in people's medicine cabinets, so the chances are good that you could pick some up, if you don't mind paying through the nose for them.
Now that they are technically NOS blades, when compared to other NOS blades they are only so-so, a middle of the pack blade.
I saw 125 for sale recently. Started at $1 per, last I looked the price was .80 per. Not a bad price as I seem to recall they were .85 per blade normally.
I do regret that they are so difficult to get these days.
I just looked the price up on the internet and found some at £4.50 for 5 that $7.40 for 5. At that price they are expensive .
When these blades became popular, I tried ringing Gillette in England to find out in which Country they were manufactured.
The back of the cardboard wrapping said they were distributed from a list of Countries, one of which was Sweden and some how they then were always known as the Swedish Gillettes. usually you could buy them on Alta Vista.
Gillette after having had some of its secrets (the double edged razor) stolen has become very guarded with information. They don't have a factory in Sweden and I doubt if it is Swedish steel. Whatever, they are very comfortable blades to use, but not in the same league as a good Sheffield open razor.
When these blades became popular, I tried ringing Gillette in England to find out in which Country they were manufactured.
The back of the cardboard wrapping said they were distributed from a list of Countries, one of which was Sweden and some how they then were always known as the Swedish Gillettes. usually you could buy them on Alta Vista.
Gillette after having had some of its secrets (the double edged razor) stolen has become very guarded with information. They don't have a factory in Sweden and I doubt if it is Swedish steel. Whatever, they are very comfortable blades to use, but not in the same league as a good Sheffield open razor.
I have a couple of those in Nicosia, Cyprus - in a house my wife inherited from her Aunt. They must have belonged to her Uncle and could be, I guess, 50 years old.
Would they be of interest?
They were manufactured in Lodz, Poland. Gillette retooled the plant for cartridge production, and shifted DE production to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Yes of course. If they are in in any sort of decent condition, I will clean them up and sharpen them for you and you can either use them or sell them on the
forum. Send me a pm if you want. No charge as long as you use any money you make for a good cause.
Thanks Dex, I had always thought it was in Eastern Europe. Whatever, the factory made great razor blades.
Next time I am in Nicosia I will try to remember to bring them back. I feel no urge to try a cut-throat! I would be happy to send them to you and never see them again, if you can convert them to cash for charity.
They are both in their original boxes, though those boxes are showing their age. I found them in a table in the garage that had formerly been used by the old man as a desk.
