I bought some of these Russian Gillette Platinums a year or more ago on ebay from a UK seller. They weren't very expensive. They're OK blades maybe some folk will really like them but they're not like Swedes. They don't look like them and don't shave like them either imho. The over printing on the b...

I've got a few of those Russian Gillette Platinums. (I don't think they're the same as the new ones on the other thread and that Gordon tried, although who knows!). They've been around for a while. I bought mine off ebay very cheaply. I tried one and I thought it was at least OK - sharp and smooth e...

Gordon, I'm with you entirely on this. In quest of a modern alternative I tried a new Gillette yellow 7 O'Clock in a Merkur HD and I had a decent shave. The next day I went back to my super adjustable with a 9 shaves old Gillette Platinum Plus and it was sharper smoother and more pleasant in every w...

brz I have to disagree. I have used all the blades you mentioned and we don't have to look back as there are equal or better blades available now. Squire, thanks for striking an encouraging note. One day soon maybe I'll find the modern blade or blade/ razor combo that brings me round. I've tried al...

Scott, I think you're looking for a blade that doesn't exist any more. The only blades smoother than a Swede and sharper than a Feather are 70s-80s NOS Wilkinsons, Gillettes, Personnas & Schicks. I feel so torn sharing this with you because I wish there were a few less vintage blade treasure hunters...

Correction!! My mistake - 'Cutting Edge' actually says Gillette started manufacturing blades in France first in Paris and afterwards in Annecy. But it definitely gives a date of 1905. Other Gillette company information says Gillette had expanded manufacturing into Canada, England, France and Germany...

Well, there's folk who know way more than me on this board, but this is what I see! The first picture is a Gillette Slim Adjustable from the early to mid 1960s. Underneath the head will be a letter and a number and this will help you date it. This website tells you how: http://www.geocities.com/safe...

The French plant was in Annecy a beautiful historic city in the French Alps. Gillette opened the factory in 1905 and tried to close it in 1988. The workers protested, four of them climbed Mont Blanc and unveiled a huge banner declaring NON A GILLETTE in letters so big they could be read from passing...

FWIW my vote would be for the Q3 being a date code, two years after the O code. Reasons: 1. This is the only additional information Gillette ever put on their blades - I think. 2. The date code was always in this format. 3. If it's a date code it's just where you would expect to find it. 4. The blad...

They're available here: http://www.rasagepoulin.com/rasoir_razors.html I think this is a Canadian site? And on this USA site: http://www.highlandmenscare.com/edwin-jagger-double-edge-safety-razor-ivory-chrome-handle.html and there's a fully chromed one here - thought it looks like it has the old hea...

I've just got home from a long overseas trip using exclusively a 1956 Rocket HD 500 and it was a good experience using the same razor every day for a few months. Before I left I was using a #58 and a #66 mostly. I just got hold of a nice clean 1970 P1 Gillette Super Adjustable and I've been using th...

Haha, I'm happy to grab a couple of these next time I head in to town. I'm always happy to help you poor American's that don't have access to such great stuff ! But don't hoover them up like the Swedes, Ben: some of us live in London and these are our local shops. :-) ie please leave one for me - u...

Yes please!

You have my sympathy but the problem with posting pictures on the net is once they're out there they're out there. I like the fish signature but it's not permanent - it only took one or two seconds to rub it out. :) I promise never to use it again. http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk122/brz90/Mont...

It's the longer life of the old blades that really puzzles me - or rather the short life of the new blades. When stainless steel blades came out in 1962 they weren't much if at all sharper than carbon steel blades. They won the battle of the blades because they lasted much longer so guys could get u...

I've got a small stock of nos wilkinson sword blades that are around thirty years old and they're better than any other modern blade I've tried. They're as sharp as feathers and as smooth as gillette platinums and they last longer than any other blade. I can only get 4 or 5 shaves from many modern b...

How about roughening it up with some 200 grit wet and dry?

There's something we often forget. Feather blades are Japanese and made for that market. Japanese -- indeed most south-east Asian men -- have lighter and much finer/softer beards than anglo-saxons. What works well for them is not ideal for us. That's why I didn't feel too guilty or unmanly giving u...

The Penhaligon shaving creams are really excellent. I've got the Opus 1870 shaving cream and the EDT. But this morning I used MWF soap and then Nivea sensitive after shave balm. I sprayed a little of the Opus 1870 EDT on the blob of Nivea on my hand and then spread the mixture over my face. I got a ...

Right -- because anyone who has been to or lived in England during the summer months knows that the midgie and blue-bottle fly is a far more dominant insect there than the dreaded mozzie. :wink: Midgies -- I hate the things, but at least they don't bite like mozzies do. Yeah, right! And there are n...