Ended up winning this small lot of Atra handles and I'm trying to correctly identify them. (All are marked "Gillette" and they all seem to have an Atra head) Please correct me where I am wrong/missing info below: Handle 1: (closest to the camera): Date code: X3 Vintage Contour handle - or Contour Plus? Does X3 in this case mean 1977 or 2000? Handle 2: (middle) Date code: D4 No idea what the handle is Does D3 here mean 1980 or 2000? Handle 3: (Furthest away) Date code: Y4 I think this is a wooden Elite handle. Does Y4 here mean 1978 or 2000? Better angle of the first razor - the Contour/Contour Plus?
The Gold pate is the Elite Limited Edition, the bottom one the standard metal version. The one in the middle one maybe a Gillette or an aftermarket handle.
Thanks! The one in the middle does at least appear to be a Gillette. Here's another shot of it from the auction photos:
A-Ha! I think I found some leads on the middle handle. It might be a "Gillette Atra Deluxe" and is being described as: "1980-1985 Gillette Atra Deluxe Model. Heavy weight brass razor with nickle plating" There are some posts and photos about it out there:
I think it is, you will know when you pick it up if it's Brass. All you need now is the Reed & Barton Atra...
I really do want an R&B Atra..it's very Darwinesque in appearance...but I want the sterling version and not the pedestrian silver plated one Btw, NICE Elites!
No idea myself. I think the Atra line was introduced in 1977 (in some markets it was called Vector or Contour)and went of this link for manufacturing years where Atra was mentioned up until the 2000's.
That's an original Atra, vintage 1977. According to the Razor Archive chart, Gillette was still making Atras in 2000. However, they didn't look like your X3. Yours is the original design, no question. I have an X4. It's a nice handle, for sure. Regarding Reed & Barton, I have a silver-plate model, and honestly don't see any need for the sterling one, for a couple reasons. One, the heads are stock Gillette, which are just plated brass, so - as good as the heads are functionally - putting one on an all-silver handle is a bit like dressing a pig in a silk hat. The industrial head design is a bit incongruous with the elegant handle, so I just don't see the need to make the handle that much more elegant by making it sterling. Two, according to reports from those who have them (obviously that doesn't include me), the sterling handles are not actually solid silver. They still have a resin core, so they're not that much heavier than the silver-plate ones.
Sir, I have lying here on my desk, the exact one in this picture. The date code, up underneath the head is: 2 on the left and H on the right side. I bought it sometime in the 60s or early 70s. I can`t find those date codes anywhere. It seems that all date codes have the letter on the left, and the # on the right. I`m at a loss (normal condition for me), my razor says Gillette on the stem and ATRA on top of the head. Bill
I've seen another 3-4 of them or so in the past year. Any chance you have the original packaging left lol? Due to lack of solid information I have ended up calling it "Atra DeLuxe"
No, I`m sorry, in the 70s (a guess), I just wasn`t thinking of saving anything like packaging. I just took a bunch of pics, if you`re interested. But you`ll have bear with because I`m not so hot on high tech android apps. I just can`t understand code #s being reversed. Bill