I saw this Super Speed on the internet, and I noticed there's a very peculiar '+ +' stamp on the underside of the head. Anybody seen this before/know what it's about?
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What's up with this? (Red Tip Super Speed: + +
- Thread starter SpaceCuddles358
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Hi,
Lots of them have that. Mine does. The Blue Tips are marked with 'O' instead of '+'. Must have been a production marking for assembly so the correct plate was attached to the correct handle. Heavy vs Light vs Regular as they were making three variants of the Super Speed at the same time.
Earlier ones are not marked, and they must have had some 'oops' happen, and so marked the easy-to-mix-up plates.
Stan
Lots of them have that. Mine does. The Blue Tips are marked with 'O' instead of '+'. Must have been a production marking for assembly so the correct plate was attached to the correct handle. Heavy vs Light vs Regular as they were making three variants of the Super Speed at the same time.
Earlier ones are not marked, and they must have had some 'oops' happen, and so marked the easy-to-mix-up plates.
Stan
Interesting explanation, Stan. Makes better sense to me than the conjecture I've seen before about the "++" being slightly more aggressive than the unmarked Red Tip. The first Red Tip I owned had the + marking, but I didn't think anything of it until after I sold it. I had replaced it with an unmarked model that I found with absolutely perfect paint and plating. My + had chipped paint on the bottom edge of the TTO and a couple of plating pits on one of the silo doors. Without shaving with the two of them head to head, I couldn't say definitively that they shaved differently at all. I kinda wish I would have before I sold my first one, though. Just to know for sure.
As a bit of a side note, I wonder if the Blue Tips are all marked with the "O"? Mine has them. It would be interesting to know if anyone has an unmarked one.
My current Red Tip is a B2, and my Blue Tip is a C4.
As a bit of a side note, I wonder if the Blue Tips are all marked with the "O"? Mine has them. It would be interesting to know if anyone has an unmarked one.
My current Red Tip is a B2, and my Blue Tip is a C4.
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Hi,
I had to call my wife and ask her to dig them out and tell me. I am at apt in TX and she is at the farm in NC. My Red Tip is E1 and Blue Tip is A3.
I have worked in R+D for decades and we are always tinkering with markings so manufacturing can keep similar looking but different parts straight.
Stan
I had to call my wife and ask her to dig them out and tell me. I am at apt in TX and she is at the farm in NC. My Red Tip is E1 and Blue Tip is A3.
I have worked in R+D for decades and we are always tinkering with markings so manufacturing can keep similar looking but different parts straight.
Stan
Another idea that comes up at one-year intervals: I agree that it was probably done to reduce factory errors. At http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/304385-Red-Tip-Variations I asked if anyone had a C-2 or later without the plus symbol, and got no takers. Anyone have one now?
If the plus marks started ca. C-1, that means Gillette produced the Red Tip for something like 12-24 months before introducing the extra markings. Later on, starting ca. D-1, the red tips lost a couple of grams but still kept the plus marks.
On the wiki, Gillette Red Tip Super Speed tries to collect some of this data.
If the plus marks started ca. C-1, that means Gillette produced the Red Tip for something like 12-24 months before introducing the extra markings. Later on, starting ca. D-1, the red tips lost a couple of grams but still kept the plus marks.
On the wiki, Gillette Red Tip Super Speed tries to collect some of this data.
Interesting. I have a minty D-1.
- Thread starter
- #7
Yes, I have one currently. Here she is. Was replated with a matte finish, but I still don't seen anything that might indicate past '++' markings.
- Thread starter
- #8
Wait, nvm, I didn't read correctly. It's a B-4
- Thread starter
- #9
What do you mean by "R+D"?
Research and Development?
Hi,
Yes, Research and Development.
I can see where some plates could get crossed up during manufacturing. If they made a few thousand Red Tips with Standard plates, then those Red Tips would be milder than they ought to be. Then, once the gaffe were discovered, and the '+' marks added to avoid future mistakes, we would have reports later on that the '+' means more aggressive.
I could go on to describe thousands of crossed parts 'oops' I have seen, but that would take up all of the remaining B+B server space!
Stan
- Thread starter
- #12
I can see, assuming one or two even made it out of the factory unnoticed, those being extremely rare/valuable. Although, I bet it would be incredibly difficult know if you even had one (aside from manually weighing them).
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