Thick and Thin Blades

[santamariasteve]

I understand the DE safety razor blades prior to the 1940's were "thicker and heavier."

When did the first thin blades make an appearance?

Why were thinner blades introduced?

And do today's thin blades work as well in the older razors that were made from about 1904 to 1940?

Thanks for the information.

 

[mblakele]

The answer to the second question may be YMMV. Modern blades seem to work well enough for me, but some folks shim them.

For the first question, I think of this as three-hole individually-made blades vs strip-made modern blades. As I understand it the blades were made thinner as part of that shift. So that would put the change ca. 1929, when Probak and Gillette brought their very similar new blade designs to market.

If you meant the "Gillette THIN" brand specifically, Achim has these dated to 1938:

 

[talibeard]

I think DE-blades started at 0.13mm but after WWII thinner blades came into fashion; I have seen 0.06 and 0.08mm blades from the 50's and 60's. Today the standard is 0.10mm of pretty much any DE-blade and I guess you will have a hard time feeling the difference in an old razor between the old 0.13mm and the modern 0.10mm blade because of the thickness of the blade. Coatings and grinding will determine the outcome of the shave more than its thickness.