Thread: Durex Straight Razor??

Thanks for the info Carl.

I love the shape of that blade and the artwork on it! Sharpen it up and keep it away from the junk! Have you tried contacting Durex to see if they have any information?

You are welcome I agree it is a nice blade ^^, I doubt very much that this durex is anything to do with this razor brand, as the razor maker has several brands. Durex the condom company was founded in 1915 though so ...

I have found some listings for carving sets with the Durex brand name. One is described to have come back from Germany with a soldier when WWII ended

Originally Posted by Cavere

I came across a box of vintage de blades made by durex and I wondered the same thing.

A Sheffield company - Darwin & Milner (primarily steel producers, tool- and die makers) also owned the 'Durex' trademark. They appear in the directories as early as 1871 and went into voluntary liquidation in 1932. THey also made - or had made for them - various items such as thermometers, rulers, slide-rules, razors, razor blades, etc. The shaving related items bore the 'Durex' mark. They established a branch in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1913 - Darwin & Milner Inc, so a lot of the Durex branded gear is also found in the US.

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by straightrazorheaven

... Durex the condom company was founded in 1915 though so ...

I'm afraid that isn't quite correct - Durex in this respect is a trademark, not a company.

The London Rubber Company was formed in 1915 though - but they sold imported condoms (among other things) not their own. That came later - they registered 'Durex' as a trademark in 1929 and that's when they began their domination of the condom market with the brand of that name. Incidentally, the word does stand for something - DUrability Reliability EXcellence!

Regards,
Neil

It may have been registered in 1929 but this doesn't mean it wasn't used before then. It was used in Germany before this date.

Quite so, but you haven't understood the post.

The first correction was of your assertion that 'Durex' was used as a name for the company that made them - it was not. The London Rubber Company made Durex condoms.

The second correction also involves your supposition that Durex was the name of the company - it was not, it was/is trademark for their condoms.

The third correction is that Durex condoms date from 1915 - they do not, they date from 1929.

Registering a word as a trademark does not automatically mean that it was never used by anyone else (before or after) - I would have thought that was pretty obvious, but it was not the point I was making. I cited the condom reference, nothing else.

I hope that makes it a bit plainer.

Regards,
Neil

Durex was a part of LRC that sold condoms founded in 1915 they were probably a subsidy company that were absorbed into the London rubber company later, then the trademark registration occurred. So there were Durex condoms before 1929

ummm, now about the razor?