Gillette Single Rings with British Patent Numbers

mr-razor said:

I´ve posted this set in 2009, but it´s time to show it again:

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Useless shaver said:

Showing off, Achim?

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mr-razor said:

no, just for information. The old thread has lost the most of the pictures.

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GBinOZ said:

I just noticed this set here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/450761702/gillette-standard-series-single-ring

Apart from the fact that, to my eyes, the 3 blade cover portraits of KCG look slightly different, it has a serial number of E311076 on the outer barrel and and a patent of [FONT=&amp]PAT.NOV.15.04.N. on the inner barrel. Also present are the double diamong logos and the G in square. T[/FONT]he serial number places it at the end of the E series in the wiki but it is out of step with all the other black E series in that it has the N patent and the G in Square.

To me, this reinforces my suspicions that the PAT.NOV.15.04.N series were PERHAPS made in the USA (or Canada), and that this razor was produced in the US after production ceased at Leicester.

I recall that, in his article in the Gillette Blade, Marshall made no mention of the Paris factory and I suspect that this may have been because the Paris operation was defunct at the time of the formation of the English Company and that thereafter, while the sales to France were under the control of the English Company, the manufacture was being supplied by Boston. So, under this, my latest speculation, in the wiki the red series with the leading zeroes and the British patent would have been produced in Paris. The remainder, both red and black, all of which bear the PAT.NOV.15.04.N and one of which has the US signature leading blank, were made in the US for the French market. I think that the same applies to the red E series razors with the PAT.NOV.15.04.N, one of which also has the leading blank serial number.

The only other example of the PAT.NOV.15.04.N is E 45623, which is in the "Others" section of the wiki. It also bears the G in square and has the US leading blank. I think this is a second E series razor dating to 1917, but with the made in the US for the French market principal still applying.

All speculation and JMO.

Cheers, George

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GBinOZ said:

I just noticed this set here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/450761702/gillette-standard-series-single-ring

Apart from the fact that, to my eyes, the 3 blade cover portraits of KCG look slightly different, it has a serial number of E311076 on the outer barrel and and a patent of [FONT=&amp]PAT.NOV.15.04.N. on the inner barrel. Also present are the double diamong logos and the G in square. T[/FONT]he serial number places it at the end of the E series in the wiki but it is out of step with all the other black E series in that it has the N patent and the G in Square.

To me, this reinforces my suspicions that the PAT.NOV.15.04.N series were PERHAPS made in the USA (or Canada), and that this razor was produced in the US after production ceased at Leicester.

I recall that, in his article in the Gillette Blade, Marshall made no mention of the Paris factory and I suspect that this may have been because the Paris operation was defunct at the time of the formation of the English Company and that thereafter, while the sales to France were under the control of the English Company, the manufacture was being supplied by Boston. So, under this, my latest speculation, in the wiki the red series with the leading zeroes and the British patent would have been produced in Paris. The remainder, both red and black, all of which bear the PAT.NOV.15.04.N and one of which has the US signature leading blank, were made in the US for the French market. I think that the same applies to the red E series razors with the PAT.NOV.15.04.N, one of which also has the leading blank serial number.

The only other example of the PAT.NOV.15.04.N is E 45623, which is in the "Others" section of the wiki. It also bears the G in square and has the US leading blank. I think this is a second E series razor dating to 1917, but with the made in the US for the French market principal still applying.

All speculation and JMO.

Cheers, George

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alex2363 said:

But the Paris factory never had the resources to mass produce razors since it was just a make shift plant that Gillette needed in order to work the patent before the expiration date,( to offset any penalties). The courts were not fooled and didn't recognize the plant as a legit factory. Gillette may have made blades though, or a small production of razors.

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GBinOZ said:

Hi Alex,
I'm glad to see that you are keeping an eye on this thread. I recall your excellent post on the subject of French patents earlier in this thread, and I am entirely in agreement with your remarks both then and now. There are historical references to factories in Paris but I agree that the production of razors, as opposed to blades, was very short lived and I suspect that this is reflected in the Wiki with the (only) two examples in the red F series of razors with British patents contrasting the vast majority with the augmented US patent. While I formerly disagreed with Mike when he suggested this theory (sorry Mike), I now have difficulty in believing that the bulk of the examples in the F series in the wiki that bear the US+N patented razors were made anywhere but the USA. If they were produced in Leicester why wouldn't they bear the British patent as do the E and H series and the early F series?

Cheers, George

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romsitsa said:

Sorry guys, my theory was not good enough. On a closer inspection G003146 has the stumpy locating pins associated with double diamond stamped "English" ABC sets. Either ABC switched to machined combs and short pins at some point or there was a British batch of ABC heads without Gillette logos.
Maybe 003146 was produced before the double stamping and line logo was introduced.

Adam

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