2 Gillettes in a flea mall find

[Hydguy]

So I had to take my folks' Bichon to Auburn for chemo (found out that they consider him to be in 'remission', but he still has 4 more visits to go), so I hit a big flea mall, and found 2 pre date code Gillettes, one a 3 piece, the other a Speed Shave. $5 each. Also grabbed a nice vintage bowl to try and make into a lather bowl using epoxied washers to create some texture.
The Speed Shave looks like it can be refurbed (yea, costs more than it's worth, but it's an option). It operates just fine, but I'll have to scrub it up good to really decide what routh to take.. A rhodium Speed Shave maybe??

The 3 piece is another story. It was put together, and even had an OLD chromed blade in it, an it apparently was in a very damp place.
The handle is serviceable, but I'm not sure if the cap and base plate are too far gone.
Before I start soaking the parts in CLR, I wanted to find out if anyone has revived a razor this bad...
So, without further adieu, here are the pics.. I'd really feedback about possible saving the cap and base plate of the 3 piece.

 

[Whiterook]

I see the Y on your Super Speed, but I can't make out the quarter. It's a 1953 model. I am thinking a lot of that scale on the 1938- 1945 Tech is from the blade and it might come out better than you think. Please let us know how well they clean up.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Everything looks like it might be fine after some scrubbing. The worst are the cap and base from the three piece ball end. I’m pretty sure all that rust is just on the surface from old corroded blades. If it’s just a big pile of surface blade rust and can be removed the razor should be serviceable

 

[Hydguy]

Thanks for the input, guys..
I'll soak the parts in CLR for a bit and see what happens.

Any idea what model it is?

I see the Y on your Super Speed, but I can't make out the quarter. It's a 1953 model. I am thinking a lot of that scale on the 1938- 1945 Tech is from the blade and it might come out better than you think. Please let us know how well they clean up.

I'm not sure that's a Y.. but I will start cleaning it up and see if it is, or if it's just a really good light effect...
Either way,if it cleans up nice, it will look good with the '52 I picked up last Friday, and my Dad's '76 when I get it back from getting the doors and guard re-plated.

 

[Hachet]

Those will clean up nicely!

Be gentle with them. Hit with WD-40 and let it break up over night. Then do that a few more times (not necessarily overnight) until they just look gray and tarnished (no corrosion).

Then you can use some Dawn dish soap and warm water with a rag or soft toothbrush to deep clean them.

Vinegar is a great way to shine them up. Soak in vinegar for a good while and it will remove patina, especially with some work using a rag.

Finally, you can use some Flitz to polish them up!

I bet those babies shine!

 

[Hydguy]

Okay, I just scrubbed the Super Speed with soap and tap hot water. It is a Y code, but the quarter is pretty much gone. Might be a 1, but I can't tell for sure. Need to hit it with a metal polish and see how good it turns out, but it looks like the doors really could use a re-plating to be a serviceable razor. But polishing will determine my next step.

The Tech: Already looking better!! Just soaked the cap and base plate while I scrubbed the Super Speed, and gave the base plate a quick scrub, and a lot of the rust came off, so I'm super hopeful the cap is the same.
I'll leave then parts for a little longer and then scrub them.
Not sure how long I should let them sit before I could run into problems. Any guidance on that is appreciated.

 

[Old Hippie]

Yeah, you're already out the five bucks, so they either clean up or they don't. My guess is they'll clean up just fine! Maybe not showroom quality, but there is a special buzz you get from shaving with a razor you've brought back from the dead.

O.H.

 

[ouchyfoot]

I wouldn’t leave them soaking in CLR for too long. Give them a good scrubbing and maybe soak some more in water and dish soap. See how everything comes out before moving on to other abrasive options.
(Post some progress pics) ... makes us feel useful.

 

[AdamAZ]

Luckily, nickel plating and brass do not rust. I would be really interested to see how they clean up. Best of luck.

 

[Hydguy]

I wouldn’t leave them soaking in CLR for too long. Give them a good scrubbing and maybe soak some more in water and dish soap. See how everything comes out before moving on to other abrasive options.
(Post some progress pics) ... makes us feel useful.

I took them out and scrubbed them..

The Super Speed is a Y1. So a '53 First Quarter.

The Tech already looks loads better, but some of the plating is toast, as you will see in the following pics.

But they are perfect candidates to get refinished, and even though I'll never get as much out of them as I put in, I'd rather have nive, usable razors than paperweights.

Here are the post soak and scrub in CLR pics:

 

[Hydguy]

And here is the Super Speed:

 

[ouchyfoot]

Its some sort of a ball end Tech.
Here’s a couple pics of my post war Ball End Tech. The only real difference are the shape of the lather slots in the base plate.

 

[Hydguy]

Its some sort of a ball end Tech.
Here’s a couple pics of my post war Ball End Tech. The only real difference are the shape of the lather slots in the base plate.
View attachment 1130032

View attachment 1130037

Beautiful!!!!

 

[AdamAZ]

Nice work!

I have multiple Tech razors that I found for $5.00 and maybe someday I will find someone locally to PIF to. For now I enjoy just using them as they are great shaving razors!

 

[Hydguy]

I forgot pics of the top side of the cap...

 

[Hydguy]

Besides Razor Emporium, where else can I get these stripped and replated? I saw a thread in the last 2 days that had another member talking about getting 2 razors back from a place, but can't find it now, and I can't find it in my browser history...

 

[ajkel64]

They came up pretty good. I would be tempted to try them out as is. Pretty good value for what you paid.

 

[dmshaver]

I wouldn't get either replated. I think you can find pristine Techs for less than the cost of replating. The Tech, by the way, is a Prewar tech, it's a smooth shaver! If you decide to replate, I suggest going to Razorplate.com or Backroadsgold. Many years of many terrible customer problems with Razor Emporium, search B & B & you'll find out for yourself. Not only poor plating & refurbishing, stay away from buying any refurbished razors from them also. They overcharge by 3x - 4x. Highway robbery.

 

[Invicta]

Okay, I just scrubbed the Super Speed with soap and tap hot water. It is a Y code, but the quarter is pretty much gone. Might be a 1, but I can't tell for sure.

The Tech: Already looking better!! Just soaked the cap and base plate while I scrubbed the Super Speed, and gave the base plate a quick scrub, and a lot of the rust came off, so I'm super hopeful the cap is the same.
I'll leave then parts for a little longer and then scrub them.
Not sure how long I should let them sit before I could run into problems. Any guidance on that is appreciated.

Those razors cleaned up reasonably well to be able to be put into use; join the Superspeed Saturday club for instance. A light application of metal polish or Brasso may get a better result on the cap and brass doors respectively.
I don't think plating the Tech would be worthwhile but the Superspeed may be worthy of consideration.

 

[Sir Lurkalot]

So I had to take my folks' Bichon to Auburn for chemo (found out that they consider him to be in 'remission', but he still has 4 more visits to go), so I hit a big flea mall, and found 2 pre date code Gillettes, one a 3 piece, the other a Speed Shave. $5 each. Also grabbed a nice vintage bowl to try and make into a lather bowl using epoxied washers to create some texture.
The Speed Shave looks like it can be refurbed (yea, costs more than it's worth, but it's an option). It operates just fine, but I'll have to scrub it up good to really decide what routh to take.. A rhodium Speed Shave maybe??

The 3 piece is another story. It was put together, and even had an OLD chromed blade in it, an it apparently was in a very damp place.
The handle is serviceable, but I'm not sure if the cap and base plate are too far gone.
Before I start soaking the parts in CLR, I wanted to find out if anyone has revived a razor this bad...
So, without further adieu, here are the pics.. I'd really feedback about possible saving the cap and base plate of the 3 piece.

View attachment 1129986
View attachment 1129987

View attachment 1129988

View attachment 1129989

View attachment 1129990

Thanks for saving these bits of history from the landfill.