I saw these and wondered what they are and what razors would use them?
Are they the same as modern SE Blades?
Are they the same as modern SE Blades?
Vintage Blades, PAL hollow ground
- Thread starter imatabor
- Start date
I would have to see the blade to know for sure. I am pretty sure someone here might know for sure. I would GUESS it's for a PAL injector razor. BUT since it's hollow ground it might be a "Wedge" blade? I am not sure unless I can see the blade.
- Thread starter
- #3
There was a picture on the box.
That's an SE blade, sure enough--probably carbon steel.
Yes, I think these are the equivalent of vintage SE blades. I am just guessing but they could have been used in either a Wilkinson Sword Empire or a Valet Auto Strop. Ok, I'm done guessing now, let's wait for the experts to reply 
- Thread starter
- #6
I thought that is what it looked like but was thrown by the "Hollow Ground" thing.
- Thread starter
- #7
I was hoping a Wilkinsons sword blade.
They look like an exact match for modern Gem blades.
Hollow ground is just a term to describe how the blade was sharpened:
The top illustration is hollow ground (from www canadianwoodworking com)
-jim
Look like regular single edge blades to me, aside from how they've been sharpened. Should fit any Gem or Ever Ready Razor. If they're carbon steel, though, I'd be careful about actually using them. What can I say? I had a bad experience! Lol!
Carbon steel blades shave beautifully, simply are softer steel, subject to rust, and uncoated. They do however provide a great shave for their limited life span.
Another neat thing about carbon steel blades, is they are easy to restore to perfection with stropping and even re-sharpening with all the vintage sharpeners. Takes less than 30 seconds in most cases to restore the blades.
I get what you're saying, DonMac. I've had great shaves from modern Treet carbon steel blades. But I also tried to shave with very old Gillette Blue blades that came with an Old Type I got at an antique store. The experience was unique, short lived, and painful.
Some of the vintage carbon steel blades are not very good for shaving, because the razor edge has degraded over the years. Even if they superficially look ok, depending upon how they have been stored determines their sharpness and ability to provide a perfect shave. I have examined a number of vintage carbon blades that look like brand new to the naked eye, but under my microscope the cutting edge is severely damaged.
The good thing is they can easily be restored. The bad thing, is that it's more of a hobby to restore the blades, considering the cost of some of the vintage blade sharpeners and stroppers. It's certainly not cost effective to restore blades. I do it for the enjoyment of resurrecting an antique blade, or just plain fun, not that it's financially practical.
I have expanded my shaving hobby to now have many sharpeners, stroppers, and a variety of other devices where I can literally restore any blade to like new performance within a couple of minutes.
The only exception is the modern single edge stainless blades. I can restore them to a very nice usable condition, however they are not quite as sharp as when brand new. At this point I can take a hardware store single edge box cutter blade and within two minutes turn it into a nice shaving blade that would be the equivalent of a quality new blade with a couple of shaves on it.
I am still working on my technique and process for the single edge blades, as it's not quite 100% yet.
Last edited:
These are Carbon Steel Single Edge Blades .....They will fit any SE Razor that takes Modern GEM Blades for sure.....
Billy
Billy
+1.
Vintage carbon blades rarely are good for shaving, even if they look good.
I would be curious to see what a vintage carbon blade, in good condition, looks like under a microscope.
Of interest is that I rarely come across old carbon single edge blades like the ones pictured in the first post without rust. I have no idea why, but it seems single edge blades were more prone to rust. Or maybe they weren't kept in the best of conditions. But it does seem rather strange how much better the double edge carbons have seemed to hold up over time vs the single edge.
I have only used double edge carbons, and own quite a few. Durex, Blu Strike, Walthams, PAL and Gillette Blue & Super Blue. I never recommend them because it seems on average they are much disliked in comparison to modern blades. However, despite what feels like a bit of tug at first, they produce a clean shave. Somehow I've never cut myself and never ended up with razor burn when using a carbon blade.
I have only used double edge carbons, and own quite a few. Durex, Blu Strike, Walthams, PAL and Gillette Blue & Super Blue. I never recommend them because it seems on average they are much disliked in comparison to modern blades. However, despite what feels like a bit of tug at first, they produce a clean shave. Somehow I've never cut myself and never ended up with razor burn when using a carbon blade.
Greetings from Canada,
Four days ago, with four days of beard growth, I tried a Pal Hollow Ground razor blade for the first time. Today, again after four days of beard growth, I tried this blade again. I noticed quite a bit of tugging today, which I did not notice on the first shave. I hadn't completely dried the blade after the first shave so maybe it had indeed rusted a little. During today's shave I noticed a few things of note: firstly, the shave went "slowly", the hair came off a little bit each pass as per usual but just a little more slowly than I'm used to. Secondly, the shave seemed like it was going to end "rough", that there was going to be some irritation. Thirdly, despite my thinking things were going "rough", I didn't cut myself at all, which I usually end up doing at least once or twice. Fourthly, the shave ended up being very smooth and irritation free, actually quite a good shave! Finally, would I use it again? Only if I had to, not really by choice. Think I'll stick with my Gillette Yellows!
Four days ago, with four days of beard growth, I tried a Pal Hollow Ground razor blade for the first time. Today, again after four days of beard growth, I tried this blade again. I noticed quite a bit of tugging today, which I did not notice on the first shave. I hadn't completely dried the blade after the first shave so maybe it had indeed rusted a little. During today's shave I noticed a few things of note: firstly, the shave went "slowly", the hair came off a little bit each pass as per usual but just a little more slowly than I'm used to. Secondly, the shave seemed like it was going to end "rough", that there was going to be some irritation. Thirdly, despite my thinking things were going "rough", I didn't cut myself at all, which I usually end up doing at least once or twice. Fourthly, the shave ended up being very smooth and irritation free, actually quite a good shave! Finally, would I use it again? Only if I had to, not really by choice. Think I'll stick with my Gillette Yellows!
That's pretty much the same shaving experience as with new manufacture Pal blades too. They're only sold as single-edge Gem-style blades now though.
Similar threads
