avigo Posted October 10, 2020 Share #1 Posted October 10, 2020 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdogchristy90 Posted October 10, 2020 Share #2 Posted October 10, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPT Tuttle Posted October 11, 2020 Share #3 Posted October 11, 2020 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avigo Posted October 11, 2020 Author Share #4 Posted October 11, 2020 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted October 13, 2020 Share #5 Posted October 13, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsbody Posted October 14, 2020 Share #6 Posted October 14, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdogchristy90 Posted October 14, 2020 Share #7 Posted October 14, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avigo Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share #8 Posted October 14, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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