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Vietnam Veterans Issued Razors?

So--you see the Khaki sets, etc. from WWII. Were safety razors issued to the troops in Viet Nam in the 60's? Or had they change to cartridges by then?

Trying to figure out if my old man might have one laying around in his stuff. I could just ask, but that would be the mature way to handle it. I haven't looked through that box for 25 years, and 25 years ago I probably just would have called it junk.

Thanks.
 
Well...technically the bayonet knife..my dads friends was in special forces in the late 1960's...trained to shave at the river
 
So--you see the Khaki sets, etc. from WWII. Were safety razors issued to the troops in Viet Nam in the 60's? Or had they change to cartridges by then?

Trying to figure out if my old man might have one laying around in his stuff. I could just ask, but that would be the mature way to handle it. I haven't looked through that box for 25 years, and 25 years ago I probably just would have called it junk.

Thanks.

Gillette Khaki Sets were issued during WWI.
 

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OK, going on a weak memory here, but we got what was called a "sundry pack" each week I think. One pack (box) for each squad. The sundry pack had cigarettes, tooth paste, soap, writing paper, etc. and I think plastic razors. There was no Vietnam Army metal razor, either SE or DE or injector, issued. Some men brought their own. And, like with a lot of needed personal items, family members would send things to you and that could include razor blades for your personal razor. Out in the field we did not shave often. Many of us had moustaches which were allowed. We were young men and some barely had whiskers.
 
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Interesting link . . .

I don't think that the Army issued Slim Adjustables to soldiers in Vietnam. Most likely, a Slim would be purchased at the PX. The only mil-spec razors I've seen from WWII and newer are Techs, packaged and provided by the "lowest bidder." My father's last tour of duty before his retirement was Vietnam, and he took his trusty Super Speed with him.

I enlisted in '74, and was not issued a razor . . . my good friend Drill Sergeant took us over to the PX and we bought Trac IIs.
 
OK, going on a weak memory here, but we got what was called a "sundry pack" each week I think. One pack (box) for each squad. The sundry pack had cigarettes, tooth paste, soap, writing paper, etc. and I think plastic razors. There was no Vietnam Army metal razor, either SE or DE or injector, issued. Some men brought their own. And, like with a lot of needed personal items, family members would send things to you and that could include razor blades for your personal razor. Out in the field we did not shave often. Many of us had moustaches which were allowed. We were young men and some barely had whiskers.

Imagine the blowback that would erupt if the Government issued cigarettes to soldiers today! LOL! I watched the Exorcist III a couple nights ago and at least as recently as 1990 (seems recent to me anyway) patients were allowed to light up in their hospital room. Talk about a different age...
 
I smoked Kool Menthols in Nam. Seemed to be a Nam favorite because it was not included in the sundry pack. So, naturally, we all wanted them.

Yes, I remember smoking in my college classrooms. Nobody complained. It was more odd to not smoke back then. Fortunately for me, I quit when I turned 33. Some of my Nam buddies have COPD issues now. Not fun to watch.
 
OK, going on a weak memory here, but we got what was called a "sundry pack" each week I think. One pack (box) for each squad. The sundry pack had cigarettes, tooth paste, soap, writing paper, etc. and I think plastic razors. There was no Vietnam Army metal razor, either SE or DE or injector, issued. Some men brought their own. And, like with a lot of needed personal items, family members would send things to you and that could include razor blades for your personal razor. Out in the field we did not shave often. Many of us had moustaches which were allowed. We were young men and some barely had whiskers.
True, Jeff my Dad would take us to Ft. Dix, NJ and we always stopped at the PX....some great bargains. We had barrels, and tons of Army surplus, 45's, ammo, parts of m16 riffles (he was a guns specialist) plus battle ship grey paint that would paint over anything. He also brought over surveillance equipment, and many more classified items.
 
My Father-in-Law was in the Navy during Vietnam, and he gave me the razor he bought while he was in the service a ffew weeks ago. It was a ball end handle Tech.
 
Were safety razors issued to the troops in Viet Nam in the 60's? Or had they change to cartridges by then?

Here is some info from Wikipedia: Track 2's (no pivot) came out in 1971 and the first disposables, the Gillette Good News came out in 1976. So, the troops could have been using cartridges in Viet Nam but, I don't think they had disposables since the war ended in 1975.
I started shaving in 1975 and I remember using my father's Track 2 as my first razor. He also had an old DE but, said, "You don't want to use that old razor, the Track 2 is better." He had been DE shaving for 40 years and the Track 2 was a new novelty for him. It's funny how DE's have become more fun for me to use than the Track 2 or the Sensor that I once used from 1975 to May of 2012.
 
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Here is some info from Wikipedia: Track 2's (no pivot) came out in 1971 and the first disposables, the Gillette Good News came out in 1976. So, the troops could have been using cartridges in Viet Nam but, I don't think they had disposables since the war ended in 1975.
I started shaving in 1975 and I remember using my father's Track 2 as my first razor. He also had an old DE but, said, "You don't want to use that old razor, the Track 2 is better." He had been DE shaving for 40 years and the Track 2 was a new novelty for him. It's funny how DE's have become more fun for me to use than the Track 2 or the Sensor that I once used from 1975 to May of 2012.

I think Bic was making plastic disposable razors in the late 60's. Unfortunately I don't have first-hand experience to answer the OP's question but it is possible that the Bics could have been issued to G.I.'s in Vietnam.
 
From Wikipedia: "The next innovation came with the introduction of the Bic disposable razor in 1974."
It looks like the troops in Viet Nam could have used disposables from '74 to the end in 1975.
 
I did two tours in RVN, as a grunt. Plastic razors(I think they were black) were in the sundry packs. Most of the guys in my outfit had DEs but left them in base camp.
Shaving wasn't done much in the field.
Funny thing about those sundry packs, you'd get a new P38 can opener in each one, but only a few sheets of toilet paper. P38 could be used many times until you lost it. TP could only be used one.
 
I do not remember being issued a razor. I was a grunt too and did not shave every day. We carried razors and did shave if we were by a stream, river or some sort of water. Used bar soap.
 
What years were you there? Just curious to see when the plastic razors were first around. Do you remember if they were DE's?
I was there in 1969, 1970 and a bit of 1971.
To tell you the truth, razors were about the least of mine concerns then, and my memory isn't that good anyhow.
But I think the SP razors were single edge, sort of like the BIC disposables. I don't think I ever really used one.
 
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