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Personna '74 Questions

Hi All,

About a year ago I had a curiosity about trying SE shaving and grabbed two boxed (NOS) Personna ‘74 injectors on fleabay for reasonable money. There was never any real excitement associated with using these and it was always just a curiosity and my Cobra Classic satisfied my single edge desires quite adequately so I had no real reason to use the Personna. The only caveat with using the Cobra being the relatively high cost of the Feather Professional blades. For this reason the injectors spent roughly a year at the back of my wardrobe and simply got forgotten about. It wasn’t until doing a recent clear out that I noticed both of these again, so I decided it was worth opening one of these just to satisfy this curiosity and I must say, I am definitely impressed. The ’74 blade doesn’t feel like its cutting anything, but i was shocked at how close it got, especially in just one pass. I get the same ‘single pass’ result from a Muhle R41 in terms of how much hair the blade will remove, however the Personna leaves a slightly smoother finish and doesn’t feel as aggressive in when cutting. The actual handle is deceptively light and becomes a bit head-heavy with a blade installed.

My only real questions to do with these razors is 1) Where can I source replacement injector blades in the UK? As far as I’m aware these razors take pretty much any injector blade, which seem to be pretty easy to find in the USA – anyone aware of a local source closer to home? And 2) How do I remove the blade from the handle without actually inserting a new blade? Is there some sort of ‘extraction tool’ I’m not aware of? Would like to get the blade out occasionally when storing the razor and cleaning it.


Thanks,

R.
 
Sorry, I can't help you with sourcing blades but removing the blade from an injector is relatively easy, if not recommended. Take your injector and just partially insert a new blade. Really just a few mm. It will push the old one out the same distance. Then withdraw the injector and push the new blade back into the injector case. Your old blade can then be removed with a pair of needle nose pliers.

When you want to shave with the razor again, you'll have to inject two blades. The first one will go in but it will drag the edge, completely ruining the blade. So, just inject a second blade and toss the first. And you're back in business.
 
The P 74 is a legendary blade, but they haven't made them since the 60s. Your best bet is to haunt eBay and etsy, and then it will be expensive and a long search. I like the P 74 because I have 49 shaves on one. If you have a blank from an injector or a dull blade that you're planning to get rid of, then dcobranchi's suggestion is a good one. Insert the blank blade (or the dull, dud blade) as he describes. Then change the dud by just injecting normally--that way, you won't need to sacrifice one of the P 74 masterpieces. That would be a crime against shaving.
 

mswofford

Rest in Peace
There is a seller ( Phils stationary) on Amazon that has vintage NOS Personna 74 blades; limited to 1 injector per customer.
 
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