Black Beauty RR Date Code

**bakerbk73** · 06-13-2012, 04:12 PM

Click image for larger version.

Name: Gillette RR Date code.jpg
Views: 136
Size: 60.2 KB
ID: 250869

Does anyone know why this razor has a date code of "RR".

**bakerbk73** · 06-13-2012, 04:28 PM

Everything I find on it says "mistake", but there are several people out there asking the same question. I have trouble believing that there would be that many razors with the same error. There's no "AA", "BB" or any other double letter code that I can find anywhere. I'm sure that there is a valid answer out there somewhere, just nothing so far.

**mctmatt** · 06-13-2012, 04:55 PM

It is a 1971 Gillette Super Adjustable and yes it is a stamping error, but remember that this were machined stamped and they probably stamped many thousands before this error was actually caught. Same thing happens when minting coins, but their value is much much greater. There is one on ebay right now with an asking bid of $61 and he describes it as Super Rare....It is rare but I am not willing to say it is Super Rare.

**bakerbk73** · 06-13-2012, 05:24 PM

Judging by the fact that this question has been asked several times, "super rare" might be a stretch. Thanks for getting back to me. Out of curiosity, how do we know that it's an error?

**mctmatt** · 06-13-2012, 05:44 PM

Because one of the R should be a number indicating the 3 month quarter it was made in. 1 is Jan - March, 2 is April - June, 3 is July - Sept, and 4 is Oct - Dec.

**bakerbk73** · 06-13-2012, 06:09 PM

I realize that date codes are normally a combination of a letter and number, my question is really: was this an error or was it on purpose, maybe to denote something else? If it was an error, how do we know that it was an error? I guess I'm asking for the info source.

**mctmatt** · 06-13-2012, 06:25 PM

You can always contact Gillette or just do a search on google Gillette Date Code and see what shows up. I don't know the name of the law but I think most manufactures in the USA have to have Date Codes on their product.

**bakerbk73** · 06-13-2012, 06:32 PM

Ok, thanks for giving it a shot. Maybe someone out there knows what the beginnings of the mysterious RR date code are.

**amishmotorboat** · 06-13-2012, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by bakerbk73

Ok, thanks for giving it a shot. Maybe someone out there knows what the beginnings of the mysterious RR date code are.

Not sure if this was directly responsible for the RR date code or not, but they started off that year with a screw up in their system. In previous years, they omitted "Q" from the sequence, but somehow somebody forgot and started stamping first quarter razors with Q-1. They quickly changed that back to the "R". It's not hard to imagine a furious message from higher up instructing them to change all the wrong stamps to 'Rs', resulting in yet another screw up.
But this is just a guess, without any evidence that it went down that way at all.

Unless you count as evidence that it's an R, and not a 7, or an F, you know? Like, at what point in time did someone run around changing stamps with a mitfull of R's?

**bakerbk73** · 06-13-2012, 08:00 PM

It's just weird that no one seems to know why this one particular year ended up with a double letter instead of the normal letter/number. They seemed to stamp some with Q's (on accident?), then some with RR's (another accident?), then back to the normal date stamping that we're all familiar with. If that's the best explanation, that works for me... but it would be nice to know for sure what the answer to this little mystery is.

**BBrad** · 06-14-2012, 03:46 AM

The Q date code error took place over 40 years ago now . . . finding someone still working for Gillette (after ownership changes) who remembers what really happened is not likely! Although the codes are not in the planned sequence, they still identify a time period adequately enough for their quality control needs at that time . . . it's not like the error triggered a product recall or a meltdown of Gillette's stock prices! Once past, it was quickly forgotten except for a chuckle or two by some old-timers in the lunchroom whenever somebody young made a mistake . . .

The RR explanation as a secondary mistake to "correct" the Q error makes sense . . . Occam's razor, anyone?

**the beav** · 06-14-2012, 05:57 AM

Originally Posted by amishmotorboat

Not sure if this was directly responsible for the RR date code or not, but they started off that year with a screw up in their system. In previous years, they omitted "Q" from the sequence, but somehow somebody forgot and started stamping first quarter razors with Q-1. They quickly changed that back to the "R". It's not hard to imagine a furious message from higher up instructing them to change all the wrong stamps to 'Rs', resulting in yet another screw up.
But this is just a guess, without any evidence that it went down that way at all.

Unless you count as evidence that it's an R, and not a 7, or an F, you know? Like, at what point in time did someone run around changing stamps with a mitfull of R's?

This was my first thought as well. At any rate, you might like to look through this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...ht=Q+date+code

That's an interesting razor to own--congratulations!

**bakerbk73** · 06-14-2012, 02:30 PM

It must have been someone's first week at the Gillette factory. Thank you gentlemen for chiming in. Until a better explanation is offered, a rough month at the factory seems reasonable to me.

**KipNoxzema** · 07-10-2012, 05:47 PM

All the other codes are well documented. You can find all kinds of Black Beauties out there ,but the fact is this R-R is rare. It's not a matter of reading the code wrong, as the photos point out conclusively.
It's the same circumstance as when the mint stamps one specific error on a bunch of coins. The coins go in circulation before they catch it and they fetch a high price. And so are these R-R Black Beauty razors. I doubt Gillette or the stamping operator would want anyone to know about the error.