Christy blade comparison – aka “where can I get a Christy blade today?”

I little while ago I bought a Christy razor. It’s a fun and interesting razor, fairly unique compared to modern razor. And, as I mentioned, you can’t get blades any more, as the Christy blade (which existed in a couple of variations) went out of production sometime in the late 30’s.

Some of you wondered if I couldn’t get another blade to fit.. and the answer; no, not really. And this is why:

First off, apologies for the glare in some of these pictures – taking photos of shiny blades can be difficult.

From the top: Common DE, GEM, Injector, and Christy blades.

No other blades are a good match – or even a partial match, for the Christy. It’s not just a matter of width and thickness, but more importantly of the inclined blade alignment cut-outs on the sides of the Christy.

The Christy compared to a common double edged blade.

You could trim a DE to match part of the outline of the Christy. However the slot means you can’t replicate the top part of the alignment cut-outs. And the cut-outs are also the blade stops, so there would be nothing keeping the blade in place. Nor would anything stop it from sliding too far forward.

The Christy compared to a GEM blade.

The GEM is the best candidate for conversion. But you’ll have to despine it, trim some of the top, do some very careful trimming of the length, and nibble a little for the shape of the alignment cut-outs. And even so the alignment won’t work, as the cut-outs on the GEM are too deep.

The Christy comparted to an injector blade

The injector blade seems to be a no-go from the start. Yes, you could trim a little to match the bottom of the alignment cut-outs, since the length is a good fit. But since the cut-outs are also the blade stops, you’ll have the same problems as you would with a DE.

So the question still remains; Where can I get a Christy blade today? I have this interesting old razor, and I can’t shave with it.