A little more history...

So, things just keep catching my attention and I keep digging deeper into this Japanese shaving thing.

I've posted before about the history of the Feather safety razor company--they've got a long one--and I just found another interesting page.

Take a look at the Feather Single:


Look familiar? Look, perhaps, something like this:


Yep, it appears to be a Feather copy of a Schick Injector razor...maybe the L1 model? Although this one looks very similar to the N1, as well.



According to a Japanese shaving website, the Feather single was apparently introduced in 1970, and was sold until 1996. Schick kept the Injector on the market in Japan until 2000 (Japan was the last market to have Injectors on the shelves...I wish I could get my hands on one of those babies...talk about collector's items!) and the Schick blades are STILL available everywhere. Evidently, this style of razor was very popular in Japan...and understandably so.

The Schick injector is widely regarded as one of the best designed and best shaving safety razors ever. The blade loading system was super safe, and the quality of the construction is remarkable even today--the booming market in holders (helped, of course, by Corey and his Shaveblog) shows that these shavers are still worth tracking down. I myself tried one, and though I found that I preferred a Futur, I could recognize the ease of use and the relative quality of the shave.

I've always wondered if I just had the wrong Injector...

But anyway, I thought it highly intresting that Feather not only made Autostrop clones, and Tech Clones, but also Injector clones...and I bet they were pretty good.