…at least if the old ad for the Bessegg blade is to be believed. Speaking as one of the menfolk, I’m inclined to agree.

I’ve talked about Bessegg before – covering both the blades and two ads for their razor. Today we have a blade advertisement, which according to the source is from 1935. The Bessegg factory operated from 1927 until 1961, so bare minimum the advertisement cannot be older or newer than that.

A quick translation;

We menfolk don’t like to buy “cheap”. We want something good – something first class – BESSEGG

BESSEGG BLADE
“The new quality” – 25 øre per blade – Norwegian and good

Cheap, in context, don’t mean inexpensive. It means something cheaply or shoddily made. And as one of the menfolk, I can attest that I don’t want a cheap blade in my razor – but I’m more than happy to buy inexpensive blades if they are good.

For context, 25 øre in 1935 is 16 kroner and 23 øre today – or 1.52 USD / 1.40 EUR / 1.20 GBP.

Per blade.

So not cheap in the more vernacular meaning of the word either.