You be the Judge – the Probak blade

As some of you might already know, the double edged blade we know and love today is not strictly speaking a Gillette invention. The whole Probak-Gillette story is complicated – as I’ve touched on six years ago and others have explained way better than me – but the long and the short is that AutoStrop Safety Razor (who owned the Probak brand) got ahead of Gillette Safety Razor Company in a patent war over slotted blades, and then negotiated a deal which saw them both being bought out by Gillette and taking over the Gillette board. As I said, it is complicated. But somewhere in the middle of it all, after the patents were filed but before Gaisman ended up in control of Gillette, Probak put out an advertisement suggesting that you – as a shaver – should be the judge of what blades were the better.

From Daily News, New York, 14th May 1930

Be the judge, the ad said. Buy a pack of Probak blades – which fitted both in Gillette’s Old three hole razor and the New slotted style – and try two blades. Compare to your old (aka Gillette) blades. And – allegedly – be so amazed by the quicker, smoother, and easier shave that you won’t go demand your money back.

In the end, it wasn’t the shavers who got to be the judge on which blade were better. In addition to being a better business men than Gillette, AutoStrop also had the patent for making cheaper and more durable blades. So when the men behind Autostrop gained control of Gillette, they brought the Probak blade with them, and the Gillette blades were quietly dropped.

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