Please Contact Us with any corrections or updates. The blade system adopted in 1931 is still in use today, and was used on razors as well after 1950. Gillette Blade Date Codes (and earlier lot systems) were imprinted on one side of the blade as a series of letters and/ or numbers, or on the cartridge. The letter represents the year, found on the chart below, and the number 1-4 correspond with the quarter of the year. They are found in the top left and right corners on the underside of razor guards, both 3 peice and 1 piece models.
Gillette Date Codes were used from January 1951 until 2001. There were no razor serial numbers from 1931 until 1951. These serial numbers were on the top of the guard, or sometimes the inner barrel. This corresponds to the time King Gillette was directly associated with the business, and may have been at his insistence.
Razor Serial Numbers were impressed on all Gillette razors from 1904 until 1921, and on deluxe models from 1921 until 1931 (except for a period in 1927-28).
