Gillette 'Swedes'...a dilemma

[bernards66]

I thought I had used up all the 'Swedes' I had, but apparently not. I opened a box of Gillette Platinums that I was sure contained the Annesy blades and was stunned when I read the back of the package card; yep, 'Oslo', 'Stockholm' and the rest. This was good news BUT, two of the dispensers I tried were jammed ( these are 10 packs ) and the blades would not budge. Even when I broke open the plastic dispenser it was like the blades were fused together. The only other time I've ever seen anything like this was a couple of packs of Personna 74s I had and those blades were from the 1970s whilst these, presumably, are from the 1990s or even a little later. Has anyone else had this experience, and if so, is there any way to salvage the blades? The third dispenser I tried worked okay and I'm hoping that the rest will likewise, but so far, I have at least 20 Swedes that I can not use.
Regards,
Gordon

[brothers]

Gordon, I've not had that experience with blades, but if I did, I'd soak the fused blades in a solvent for a few days. I have no idea what solvent I'd use, other than those I have readily at hand: water, rubbing alcohol, lacquer thinner, enamel reducer, WD-40 (this would be my first go-to after water), and even ethanol (EverClear). I'd start with water and work my way through them from the weakest to the strongest until they came apart.

PS, just out of curiosity, I have some Annessey blades. Are these inferior to the others you mention?

[Bob in TX]

Can't help, but good luck Gordon!

[Gene]

When the plastic dispenser Bleue blades surfaced and went around a couple of years ago they tended to stick together, too.

I seem to recall somebody mentioning that mineral oil might work.

I just found a fresh pack of those in my stash - got to break them out soon.

[BeatlesFan]

Yes, this has happened to me both with vintage Personnas and vintage Gillette blades.

I am much too impatient to try a solvent, or mineral oil, or whatever.

This is how I've handled it:

Break the case (try needle nose pliers first, if not, grab a hammer).

Remove blades. Separate blades with tweezers.

Store blades individually using wax paper, or, if the bottom of the case is still intact, return all the blades to the remnants of the case.

You might also just try fishing the top one out with tweezers ... sometimes works.

Or just give up and go use your Personna Hospital Use blades!

[churchilllafemme]

I was able to separate blades with a similar problem by soaking them in a very thin baking soda paste.

[yomuppet]

I've had good luck with a hair dryer and tweezers, or very thin screwdriver prying at the ends (the non-sharp edges)

[bernards66]

Hmmm....these suckers seem too tightly fused together to pry apart I'm afraid so I guess I'll have to try some of the solvent suggestions kindly offered above....sigh.

Gary, Well, personal opinions vary, of course, but I always thought that the 'Swedes' were even a little better than the Annesy ones. The latter were the last Gillette Platinums in the white plastic dispensers that Gillette actually told the buyer where exactly the blades were made. The earlier versions were made in the US. Sometime in the '80s manufacturing was switched to Annesy, France even for blades sold in the US. I remember buying them in the local supermarket and noting that they were now made in France ( I usually used Wilkinsons so I don't know exactly when this shift happened ). After the manufacturing was moved away from Annesy the situation got murky. From then on Gillette only printed what were presumably main distribution points on the packaging, never where the blades were actually made. By then, the ones offered in the US were crap; from either Mexico or India and the European situation was mixed. We don't know where the 'Swedes' were actually made ( and believe me, we tried to find out ) but they were only sold in Scandinavia, the British Isles, and oddly in Greece. Elsewhere in Europe different blades were sold although the packaging looked the same except for the fine print on the back. One bunch listed cities including Madrid, Lisbon, and Milan for example. These blades were okay but definitely not up to the standard of the Swedes. Another rarer batch included Koningsberg and other east European burgs on the back. These blade were pretty bad. We think that the actual Swedes were probably made in Poland or possibly the Czech Republic but we could never find out for certain. The versions made in the US, in Annesy, France, and the Swedes were all very good blades but to me, the Swedes were, perhaps, the best of them. The very last of the plastic cased Gillette Platinums simply listed 'Surrey, England' on the back of the card, and these, we believe, were the first of the ones coming out of that plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. Sigh...I know...a long winded answer to a simple question.
Regards,
Gordon

[brothers]

Very informative Gordon. Thanks for taking the time to explain.

[Rufust445]

When the plastic dispenser Bleue blades surfaced and went around a couple of years ago they tended to stick together, too.

I seem to recall somebody mentioning that mineral oil might work.

I just found a fresh pack of those in my stash - got to break them out soon.

I recently found a partial pack of Bleue Extra blades in the back of my stash. I could just barely budge the top blade in the stack.
Before breaking the plastic dispenser apart, I tried my small pocket pen knife, with a blade about 1½ in. long and 7/32 in. wide.
Going into the center slot of the blade stack, I was able to separate the top blade from the rest of the stack enough to slide it out.

I've been using a few of the Bleue Extras, and they give a nice smooth shave. This mornining I tried a Gillette Spoiler from one
of two ten packs also found in the back of my stash. The blade slid out of the metal dispenser no problem The Spoilers are
coded U4, not quite 40 years old. The Bleue Extras are from the '80's. Go figure.

[Gene]

Rufus, I see Spoilers around - keep thinking I should try them.

Are they good?

[Rufust445]

Rufus, I see Spoilers around - keep thinking I should try them.

Are they good?

Spoilers are good, but no better if as good as the Bleue Extra. I've been going through my stash lately to find and use up
vintage blades, including some Wilkinson Super Sword Edge. Not much point in saving them longer, also reduces space
required for the stash. These blades are good, but since trying some Personna Labs, I see no reason to further pursue
vintage blades, especially at today's prices. I picked and chose some of these vintage blades a few years ago when I got
back in to DE shaving, most of them in the 20-50¢ per blade range, usually from a seller on eBay not too knowledgeable
about DE shaving.

Currently I'm using mostly Treet Durasharp carbon blades, before the edge on those can deteriorate faster than on
stainless blades. I also have a 100 pack of Shark SS to use up. When the time comes to buy more blades, they will
be Personna Labs.

As always with blades, YMMV.

[Squire]

Gordon try acetone or your wife's nail polish remover.

[bernards66]

Squire, Really?...well, okay I know we have some of the latter around for sure.
Regards,
Gordon

[Squire]

That's right Gordon, acetone. Absent rust what's sticking blades together is dried glue, oil or other coating(s) which should be dissolvable in acetone which is also the solvent used in nail polish remover.