This is one of the sets @Jrdelgado sent me after removing the black oxidation from the case. I used the vinegar, salt and baking soda method and it worked out great. Then a little polishing to get the shine back. I didn't have white vinegar, but apple cider vinegar worked fine. I looked at Achim's site, @mr-razor, but couldn't find this one. The case has a smooth silver finish and you can see that the handle is different. The body of the handle is noticeably thinner and there is no knurling on the bottom ball of the handle. Also, the bottom is flat compared to other old type handles that are rounded.
There was another set he sent that had a Canadian head. Maybe they got switched by accident, but not a military case. But on the logo, it didn't say "Made In USA", it has a basket weave pattern on it. I was kind of thinking of a mix up. Still the case is a mystery.
That could be what happened. I've got a pocket set with the basket weave on it. Maybe you could compare the Canadian head with the one on MrRazor and get it sorted out.
Looks the same. Maybe the handles were switched and it belongs to the basket weave case. A Canadian civilian Old Type set possibly.
I don't know what year the tag on the inside had made in the USA on it but the first one I found is on a 1921? The research is the fun part of this hobby but the reference material is kinda difficult to come by.
This is what I found about the date code: Old Type Serial Numbers The Montreal plant began low-volume production ca. 1906-04-??, increasing through 1907. Early orders included Pocket Edition sets, some of which are still extant. During WWI most or all of the razors produced for European sale were made in Canada.The serial numbers for known Canadian razors are somewhat spotty and even contradictory. It appears that they sometimes used numbers alone and sometimes used "C" or "PC" as prefixes. While this data does not yet allow us to place a given razor in a given production year, we hope that one day it will. To this end we try to classify each razor as closely as possible. Later Old Types After mid-1921 the Boston, USA plant continued to produce the Old Type razors, but without serial numbers. In Canada the Montreal plant probably did the same.
I saw that, also this over here.... http://safetyrazors.net/gil_ser2.htm.... I did make a mistake, year could be 1905. 1905 45425-370424 100* "Pat. Mar.7.05" (Canada)
I'm thinking it's a cool handle and would add a touch of class to any razor you decided to use it on. Plus, it's over 100+ years old. I have a Fat handle tech handle that I use on my ball end tech razors because it's easier to hang on to. It's been on all the three piece heads I own.
So assuming that the handles were switched and the basket weave case has no "Made In USA" on the logo patch, this is what I come up with............ Edit: These still might not be correct............
I had one like that, but a gold one, until someone did a five finger discount on it. I did notice ABC sets didn't have "Made In USA" on the tag, but I figured I'd put the Canadian OC in this one.