I got this American Red Cross Tech Razor today and was surprises to see it had an aluminum handle. It looks like it is NOS, I thought everyone might enjoy seeing it.
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That would be a fairly late model Tech, as "Gillette" is stamped into the head, rather than being just embossed on like it was on earlier Techs.
Is there a date code underneath the head?
If I recall correctly, the 1970's era Tech's did in fact have aluminum handles.
Yes it does have a date code, it is stamp M 2.
That's pretty nice for a giveaway. Most likely if they give out razors now they're a plastic throw away.
Len
I would suspect that's not the original razor. I've had several of these Red Cross sets dated as late as 66 with the identical box, and they've all been nickel/brass with the etched head. OTOH, the one in Achim's pic has a different logo, so who knows? Probably put whatever they had lying around in that box.
I've seen a lot of them for sale, but I've never seen an aluminum one. When did Gillette start making alum. handled Tech's? I thought it was later than the Red Cross campaign, like late 70's. That's why I was suspect about its originality. Of course, I may be wrong as usual.
They are probably in good shape because they were never given out. You can be sure that the Red Cross had thousands of these razors stockpiled for disaster preparedness. How they made it out into the vintage marketplace is another question.Gillette gave zillions of these away throught the Red Cross to mostly military and perhaps disaster victims during the 60's, or earlier, and IIRC up to the early 70's. I've had ones from '63 to about '69. So there were a lot of them going to Nam and elsewhere.
In my limited experience with them, the razors, if not the boxes, always seem to be in really good shape for some reason. Strange.
Suppose you were stranded in an earthquake zone, and a benevolent person gave you a brand-spanking new razor. You're going to think to yourself "Hmmmmm, let's see. My house is destroyed. My wife is dead. My kids are missing. My leg is broken. I haven't had any food or water for three days. I THINK I'LL Go SHAVE! ... Then again, maybe not."
Gillette to this day still sends young adults free razors in the mail on their 18th birthday.
DOH!!! Where was the mailing list sign-up when I hit 18?