US Military Safety Razors (some questions)

[avigo]

Hi guys. I've recently got into vintage safety razors.

I know very little about razors and the US Military. 

 

I'm interested in any models issued from WWI through the present. 

 

Is there a way to know if a model of safety razor is actual military issue?

I've seen some of the WWII Khaki kits from Gillette but most don't have any military markings.

Is there a way to tell if the razor (all pieces) are correct/original to a khaki set?

Should they have "US Property" or "US Army" etc on them somewhere? If so, where?

 

Were there any specific razors issues during WWII or Vietnam?

Is there a list of models that were issued throughout military history? Or is there a way to check by serial number?

 

Any other info anybody may have would be great too.

 

Would love to get a couple that I can actually use that use regular double or single blades.

Thanks!

[tdogchristy90]

 

 

[CPT Tuttle]

I picked this little three-piece Bakelite safety razor on-line. It's new old stock. Don't know much about it but thought it was cool!

[avigo]

22 hours ago, tdogchristy90 said:

 

 

 

thanks. Interesting post.

 

still curious though, do military razors (the correct ones in the khaki kit for example) gave specific markings? Every kit I finds seems to just be a regular Gillette razor. Just curious how to know what is military vs civilian. Can’t seem to find this info anywhere online. Thanks!

[RustyCanteen]

I don't believe you will find many (if any) WWI or WWII era razors that bear specific markings on the razor itself denoting military use. If you do find a military reference on the razor itself, it was probably a reference to civilian marketing strategies targeted to soldiers or their families.

During WWI for example, the issue safety razors I can think of only had markings on the packaging they came in; once removed they were the same as their civilian counterparts. For years I shaved with a WWII Gillette simply because it was a good razor, the new blades have gotten harder to find in the past 10 or 15 years but can still be found.

[Dogsbody]

Here's my Gillette Khaki set net to a civilian set (also Gillette) I've added some close ups so you can see the markings.

 

 

[tdogchristy90]

I don’t have it with me, but theres a great section in GI Collectors Guide that has toiletry items. Maybe someone could take a snap shot?

 

Also if memory serves correct, and other can chime in, I thought I read some where that some items that were not “government issue” but private brands were handed out by the government as “issued items”?
 

(for some reason I feel like the “star razor” sets were handed out by the gov.)
 

Likewise, most items that are private/name brand were usually sold in the PXs and bought up by GIs. So most any period items would work for a display. 

[avigo]

Thanks guys! Some really helpful stuff. There are a lot of people claiming they are selling military kits so just wanted to educate myself as much as possible