I recently found an old Gillette blade case with three of these in it........and an old Thin in just it's wax paper. I'm wondering if I should try one or keep them all as just something to decorate my den.
I have Krumholz's Guide to American Razor Blades that should date the exact year. I'll dig it out soon and see what he has to say.
Aren't those blades dated like the razors? F3 in the second picture meaning it was made in 1935 because it does not have a dispenser?
According to the reference book I was talking about, you are correct...1935. "1930 was termed Year A and every year thereafter was consecutively lettered."
You know, I just noticed, these old blades are quite a bit narrower than todays blades. My current blades don't fit in the vintage case.
So long as they're not visibly rusted or overly pitted, I'd give them a go after some water glass stropping. Just don't expect the shave to be as comfortable as a modern stainless coated blade. The rest, I'd display.
I can tell you that I have had both good and not so good experiences using vintage blades. If you want my 2 cents, I say put them aside for decoration. You never know how they've been stored etc for 80 plus years. An area with higher humidity would cause damage without ever opening the blades.
I would inspect the edges with a jeweler's loupe first. There may be rust on the edge that is not visible to the naked eye. That shave was memorably bad. Learn from my mistakes.
