I came up with these blades recently but haven’t been too successful in dating them. I see there is a copyright date of 2000 printed on all of them, but this may not relate to the manufacture date. Is someone up on these blade packages who can give me a hand? Any info would be welcome. The french is there because they were sold in Canada.
I'm curious if they shave differently based on specific dates and countries? I hear so much about that regarding DE blades. I used Atras exclusively from the early 80s up until the early 2000s. I don't remember if any of mine were made in Poland or Mexico. I never noticed any differences in the shaves with the ones I bought over that time period when I used them. But then again, when I started to buy the store-branded knockoffs (which I much later discovered were Personnas), I never noticed a difference, either.
I have the same history with the Atra razor. I think I was only a few short years into starting with one when the Lube Strip came on deck. I was young and a sucker like most of mankind for a well planned Gillette sales strategy. I used the lube strip Atra cartridges exclusively after that until I guess mid 2000 when I got bored and began exploring the many ways to get stubble off my face, I also didnt know/care anything about the cartridges I used through that time. They all seemed pretty much the same to me too. I must admit though I paid little attention to shaving in those days. It was just something I had to do. So there may have been differences, but I sure never picked up on them. I hear lots of folks refer to the ‘goo strip’ negatively. But I thought they were great. I rarely used any soaps/creams, what have you, because a briefly soaked lube strip rubbed on the face with a backwards scrubbing motion deposited all the slick I needed. Drag an Atra cartridge around, sometimes the same one for weeks, and I was as perty as they came! I realize such a reveal is pure sacrilege in these days of high priced razors, face food and cushion enhancers, but its what I did for many years. And I survived without concern. I imagine most cartridges came out of Mexico back in the day. That razor and blade plant has been there since around the 2nd World War, so they had the skills. The Polish plant, the largest razor and blade plant in the world when it opened in 2004, was quite new on the scene right when I stopped using carts. This was Proctor & Gamble’s contribution to the expansion of Gillette Global and I hear some folks say they prefer blades from there (compared to??). I might just give them a spin and try. Problem is, I do prefer almost any other shaving system over cartridge. But maybe a shot of bourbon and a cart shave might be in line. I used a Trac II twice last week because I picked up these blades and realized I had never shaved with a fixed cart in my life. Pretty cool actually over the flex head of the Atra. Who knew? I would still like to narrow down dates for these blades if possible. At least finding out when different copyright dates started appearing on the packaging or if they still say 2000? But, it seems there are no Cartgridge Gurus floating around these parts. Thanks for your comments! It got me thinking about early shaving days.
You're welcome. Yes, when I first started, there was no lube strip. I know that not from memory, but from fairly recently finding out when they introduced it on the Atra. I do always remember specifically buying Atra Plus, not that I noticed a difference, but because I wanted "latest and greatest." Back then, I thought about shaving about as much as I thought about brushing my teeth. I didn't try anything else until the Sensor came out. My father gave me one, and I used it for maybe one or 2 shaves, then went back to the Atra. The Sensor just wasn't cutting my whiskers. I assumed that in the 80s and most of the 90s that the Atras were made in the U.S., but I could be wrong. You could be right about Mexico always producing them. As far as today, find a store that doesn't have them locked up behind glass and take a look at the copyright date. Today when/if I use a cart, I definitely prefer Trac II-style over Atra, probably because it is closer to DE shaving. It's been 20 years or so since I used a genuine Gillette Atra cart -- I never used a genuine Trac II cart, though I have one unused Gillette PII cart (no lube strip) that came with the handle that I bought about 10 years ago. The Personnas are fine, and I used to buy them for about $14 for 100 -- they still are that price on eBay if you shop around. I still have about 200 in my stockpile -- and they fit on both Atra and Trac II handles. I also have a large amount of vintage Schick Super IIs. They are excellent, too. Although they are technically carts, I still feel like it's sort of an old-school shave if I use either a Trac II or Atra razor. The former has been around for over 50 years, with the latter not too far behind. Funny, but true, story: About 10 years ago, I only had one Atra handle, which I had more or less since I started shaving. My backup disappeared -- I used to keep one in my travel dop bag, but then one day it was gone. I could have left it in a hotel or something, but I doubt it since I am always very careful about those sorts of things. When I discovered it was missing, it was probably well over a year since the last trip I took, so I couldn't be absolutely sure that the trip is when it went missing. I was still using my Atra razor every day, and I wanted a backup. I checked eBay, and saw the prices. I didn't feel like dropping $50+ on one. NOS prices were through the roof. Since the carts were still being sold in stores (and still are today), I wrote an email to Gillette on why they were no longer making them. I didn't know at the time that outside the U.S., they were making the Vector, which would take Atra carts. I've since found out that the Vector is a cheap shell of a vintage Atra razor. The reply I received from Gillette is that they had moved on from the Atra -- blah blah blah. I then asked why the heck did they still sell the carts in stores? They replied that what I was seeing must be old stock, since they had stopped making them a few years before. Wrong. They have never left the shelves. If anything, that shows you how useless it is to contact Gillette with any kind of question unless it involves their latest and greatest heated gizmo razor. Anyway, I did find a backup for a decent price by getting it in an old Gillette Brush Plus set, since very few people knew to search for them. The shaving cream was old and dried up, but the brush was new but useless without being able to buy the shaving cream carts, but the Atra handle was brand-spanking new (and still is, since I haven't used it yet.) I think I paid something like $30. I've since acquired another one for a lot less.
2 interesting finds from some searches. Atra blades were at one point made in the U.S.A. Today, they are made in China, with a copyright of 2017. I couldn't find any pics of the back of the package for the current Trac II.
That is helpful! It looks like all things will eventually come from China. I see the updated patent date which helps regarding the ones I posted above. It makes me wonder what the changes are?? If they are still the ‘same old blades you’ve always used’, why a new patent? It would be interesting to search the patent. Likely it relates to making the same item with less plastic/metal/labor? That great older Atra package too! I forgot about the Just Whistle razor for ladies. They put a bend in the handle, stuffed an Atra cart on, and courted the female side to get on with switching to cartridges. That was in the very early 80s for four or five years? So these blades likely date 81-85 I’d guess - and made in the Boston plant it seems. Great items!
I like the old packaging better, too. Gillette's packaging for everything today screams, "Done on a computer." For the Ladies version, "Just Whistle," they should have gotten Lauren Bacall!
