Newer than NOS. A Gillette employee "borrowed" a full factory 'blade safe' (I don't know what they called them, but it's what they stored blades in before packaging them). It sat out in his garage for the next fifty years and ended up on eBay. I don't rember what I paid for it. A couple hundred I think. It's a unique piece of Gillette history, and I doubt I'll ever see another one.
When my latest order from Connaught arrives I will have 6 years of daily shaves available with GEM SE SS blades. With Injector blades on hand about an additional 2 years of daily shaves. And after that world disaster and DE blades. So I'm fairly confident now I will see out the shave apocalypse. So all that remains is the brush apocalypse. I was just pondering this morning. I always seem to like obscure things that are not necassarily economically viable and go out of business.
Yeah, I'll do that tomorrow afternoon/later today. Gotta dig it out of one of my shaving "storage/den overflow" boxes.
So you're the one. Did they shave okay? I remember reading the sellers description and thinking that long sitting in a garage couldn't be good on the edges.
I wish the closing were not true. I love those blades and have less than 100 left. I'll be sure to stock up on them.
Here is some history: The American Safety Razor Company, founded in the early 20th century (1906) by a merging of the Gem Safety Razor Co. and Ever-Ready, has been the principal competitor to Gillette for a century and more. At various times, incarnations of the ASR have produced PAL, GEM, and Bump-Fighter razors and the Treet, PAL, and Personna brands of blades. They currently own the Bond-America Israel Blades, Inc. company as well, that manufactures some of the Personna-branded DE blades. The company produces a wide range of blades and cutting tools. The Kampfe brothers, who patented the first safety razor in the US, formed a manufacturing company in 1875. They make the "Star" razor. It was the first safety razor made in the United States. The Star Razor's revolutionary design won national and international awards for design and craftsmanship. In 1898, after working for the Kampfe Brothers for 23 years, an employee, Jerry Reichard, left to form the Gem Cutlery company, later renamed the Gem Safety Razor Company. Its first product, the Gem Safety Razor, borrowed heavily from the Star Razor in design but soon outpaced the Star and became one of the world's most famous razor and blades ever made. Reichard, the founder of Gem -- left again to form the Yankee company, which was soon renamed the Ever-Ready Company. Ever-Ready and Gem quickly re-merged as the American Safety Razor Company, in 1906. In 1919, they absorbed the Star brand as well. The company purchased the PAL blade company in 1953. Philip Morris purchased the company in 1960. Philip Morris purchased Burma-Vita company (makers of Burma-Shave) in 1968. ASR bought the Burma-Shave brand from Philip Morris in 1979, after a management buyout of ASR from Philip Morris in 1976. BUILDING ON 135+ YEARS OF INNOVATION In 1875 the Kampfe brothers applied for a patent for their new hair removal invention, coining the term “safety razor” and starting a shaving revolution that continues to this day. Unlike the straight razors of the past, which are cumbersome, difficult to maintain, and has an exposed edge, the Kampfe’s Star Razor included a safety guard that served to both protect the shaver from the bare blade and to help them achieve the optimal shaving angle. The brothers formed American Safety Razor to market their products, molding the company into a dominant player in the early 20th century shaving market with their Ever-Ready brand and acquisitions of other major brands such as Gem, Pal, and Burma Shave. In the coming decades, ASR added industrial and medical blade products to its portfolio and continued to innovate in wet shaving, achieving a number of firsts in North America and worldwide including the first stainless steel razor blades, the first guarded blades, the first female disposable razor, and the legendary tungsten steel double edge blades that remain a highly sought after collectors’ item to this day. In late 2010, ASR was acquired by Energizer Holdings, the owner of the Schick and Wilkinson razor brands. It is now known as the Private Brands Group – a division of Energizer Personal Care. Today, Private Brands Group produces over two billion blades each year.
Fantastic. They were coated in oil...still are as a matter of fact. No rust at all. They are in better shape than nos packs of super blues I've tried.
Well, whether or not Personna blades survive I think I need to order a bunch just in case. You can never have to many blades
For reference, I've used a couple of hundred blades out of that thing in the last 2 or 3 years. In the last picture, showing the sides, the variations in color/smudges is dust sticking to the oil coating on the blades.
Suppose the blades are still pristine, would they really be worth $1.50 per blade? (Not being sarcastic, just a newbie without a clue wondering if they could possibly be worthwhile to more experienced shavers? Collectors?)
