Love the look of the valet. I believe everything is still all original inside and may have never been used.
My cleanest find-valet auto strop
- Thread starter dynomike87
- Start date
Flintstone65
Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
Beautiful!!! Well done, sir!!!!! Last time I saw a handle shape like that on an AutoStrop it was a Brit....but the $5 price tag indicates U.S.
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations!!!
Do they shave good? They're quite common round these parts. How do they compare to Gems?
Flintstone65
Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
I can answer that. I'm a frequent Gem shaver (name the model and chances are I've shaved with it) and I was blown away by both the combination of mildness and efficiency of the Autostrops (A1, B1, B2). Now I need to clarify that I've only used earlier models which can take a de-spined Gem blade....I cannot speak to the shave the Valet models deliver using a Feather valet blade. I honestly thought that the Autostrop was just a quick pit-stop on my try-every-vintage-razor tour (i.e., RAD); but it has become one of my favorites -- definitely a "Top 5" razor, and that's from someone who has dozens of razors (I don't count them anymore because I scare myself).
The A1 and A2 models are very hard to come by and on the expensive side, but the B's, the VB1's, VC1's can be found for a reasonable price and can use a de-spined modern GEM blade -- some folks also snip the "ears" off the GEM blade to make it fit a little easier, but I've used it both ways (snipped and unsnipped) in mine without incident.
Here is a good B&B link to give you an intro to these razors....just in case you want to poke your head into the "rabbit hole"
AutoStrop/Valet Razors: A Typology in 13 Parts...just in case you want to poke your head into the "rabbit hole"
Oh gawd another one... I'm scared!
Thanks
So how does the shave compare to a Gem? Say a 1912? More/less aggressive etc?
Very nice! I wonder what that razor would cost in today's US money? Not quite a million, but who knows what the Dow Jones will do tomorrow, lol!
Flintstone65
Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
I find the Autostrops to be more efficient and less aggressive than the Gem 1912. I would say it's comparable to my Open Comb Gem Damaskeene and my Gem Junior Bar in aggression. My definition of "aggression" is the attention to technique a razor requires before it bites and/or causes irritation. Low aggression razors are tolerant of less than perfect technique....high aggression razors will punish you quickly if you're not paying attention to your technique.
Here was my first shave with my Autostrop B2....it may provide more insight:
AutoStrop B2 -- First Shave
Hope that helps.
