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Lather Catcher Damage Concern

I have now seen a couple of old Lather catcher razors with sheared off blade stops. One a Gem and the other a CV Heljestrand second generation lather catcher, the first generation with blade stops. I have also read about this on other old lather catcher razors here on B&B.

Looking over these, they have all had the spring loaded flipper that presses on the top of the blade to hold it in position against the blade stops. I strongly suspect the blade stops have been damaged and eventually cut off by owners giving the top tab or flipper a flip so it impacts the blade repeatedly, causing it to gradually cut deeper and deeper into the blade stop notch. Remember we are dealing with a razor sharp hardened steel edge and relatively soft brass blade stops on these old razors.

If using these old razors I strongly recommend easing the flipper down on the blade to prevent potential damage to the razor. They have lasted for any where from 80 to almost 120 years or more so do not be the one responsible for destroying the usefulness of a piece of history.

Rich Wood
 
Rich, I hear your background coming through loud and clear:biggrin1: great tip. I do my very best to take care of the ones I own. Who knows maybe another 80 to 100 years of life for the ones I have in my collection
 
I agree. With the wedge blade, which has more mass to stop the "flipper" it's probably not much of an issue, but with the GEM disposable blade it's like using a steel chisel to shear off the little brass stops.
 
I agree. With the wedge blade, which has more mass to stop the "flipper" it's probably not much of an issue, but with the GEM disposable blade it's like using a steel chisel to shear off the little brass stops.

Done for enough years I suspect that even the wedge blades could do the job. After all with daily stropping they are probably removed and installed more often than the Gem blades. I note that the flapper springs are pretty strong on some of those old razors too, much stronger than necessary.
 
I just received a third razor with the same damaged blade stops problem and it is again a early wedge blade razor with the blade stops and spring loaded top flipper, a French Le Coq. There seems to be a definite problem with these old razors if used regularly by a careless owner who flipped closed the flipper so that it impacted the top of the blade regularly. Razors with the early Kampfe pivoting top blade retainer that rotated out to engage the blade appear to have a more razor friendly design.
 
Excellent advice ... just used my Ever-Ready lather catcher for the first time and the shave was BBS so I want to take care of my antique .... easing down the tab from now on. Thanks!
 
Bump. This is a too common problem on the old razors bought on Ebay and frequently is unnoticed due to poor or non existent photographs of the blade stops on the front of the razor. Definitely something to watch out for.
 
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