Gillette OC with American Eagle case, id anyone?

wazza

wazza

a dog got personality
Hello,

A friend of mine in the US gifted this to me as an Christmas gift. I think it's really cool, love the tin with the eagle sprawled out on the front. The plan is to get the razor replated at some point. Althought I'm going to give it a clean laters and see how it looks, may just leave it as is, as the patina adds character.
Anyways, I dont have any info regarding the razor and I've only ever seen one online once. Anybody help in identifying the razor and age?
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PLANofMAN

PLANofMAN

Retro Razor Junkie
It is a U.S. Service Set, issued during the United State's participation in The Great War (WWI). They came in a cloth "Khaki Set" and the metal set that you have.

The razor's manufacture date will be sometime during America's participation in that war. So, 1917-1918 thereabouts.

Edit:
Here's some more information.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1153449

Edit 2: Double checked my info, and those sets were made from 1917-1919. Use the serial numbers below to date your razor.

1917

D516475‑D999999
E1‑E449207

1918

E449208‑E999999
F1‑F999999
G1‑G999999
H1‑H999999
J1‑J7344

1919

J7345‑J999999
K1‑K927216

All J serial numbered razors were wartime production.
 
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wazza

wazza

a dog got personality
wazza

wazza

a dog got personality
image.jpeg
image.jpeg

Just looking at the head theres a serial number printed, looks to be 'P629777'
 
PLANofMAN

PLANofMAN

Retro Razor Junkie
wazza said:
Hmmm mine appears to be P. Maybe some body had it stamed their selves.
Click to expand...
More likely the razor and case are not a match. The razor (head at least) dates from 1921. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

On the bright side, that is the type of razor that was included with those sets, even if the dating makes it a mismatch. The original owner could have dropped the razor, broken off some teeth and bought a replacement for his set. It's more common than one would think.
 
wazza

wazza

a dog got personality
PLANofMAN said:
More likely the razor and case are not a match. The razor (head at least) dates from 1921. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

On the bright side, that is the type of razor that was included with those sets, even if the dating makes it a mismatch. The original owner could have dropped the razor, broken off some teeth and bought a replacement for his set. It's more common than one would think.
Click to expand...
Ah I did suspect that could be the case prior to this thread, until I saw the photos on the other site.
No worries at all though, it looks legit and I still plan on cleaning the razor up at some point.
Cheers for all of the help though, you've helped a bunch.
 
PLANofMAN

PLANofMAN

Retro Razor Junkie
I was getting my information from the Badger & Blade wiki, so some of it could be wrong. I've proved it wrong on dates on several occasions. Their dates for the travel tech were wrong on both the start and end production dates. It is possible that Gillette made these sets for several years after the war.

These were not military issue sets. They were sold to the public with the theme of giving one to a serving man so he could use it whilst he was away. Thus, both the Army and the Navy symbols on the case.
 
wazza

wazza

a dog got personality
Ah yeah, never thought about looking there.
Even if its wrong I guess that it puts you onto a scent as Im not too clued up on Gillette history and dates. Well, I've read a bunch but it doesnt stay in the noggin for long.
At least the razor is the same same but different.
 
johnus

johnus

Well-Known Member
May just be my experiences, but there does seem to be a different in shaves between the prewar years/war years and those made after WW1.
 
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