3-piec razor with a 3-piece handle

[Magruder]

I just got home from the flea market with an old 3-piece open comb Gillette. While fooling around with it, the handle separated into 3 pieces: there's the main shaft, then at the top is a half-inch piece that screws on to the head, and at the bottom is another half-inch piece (more or less) with the ball end.

Both of the small pieces have projections -- male ends -- that fit into the main piece of the handle.

What's a good way to put this thing back together? Epoxy?

And I'm trying to figure out when this thing was made. There's no date code, which puts it between 1931 and 1950. Does anyone know when they stopped making the open-comb razors?

Edit: whoops, misspelled the thread title, and it looks like I can't edit that part. Oh well.

 

[castlecraver]

I had the same problem with one of mine, and I pretty much called it a loss, since aside from spot-welding the thing, I couldn't think of a way to get the shaft attached to the screw end snugly enough that I could unscrew it without being too careful. It wasn't that great of a razor anyway. I tried superglue, but it only held for a little while and was still a little "loose." It looked to me like it was caused by a small crack in the handle, which would have made just about any repair job I did from the adhesive angle subpar.

 

[Jim]

A jeweler or gunsmith could silver solder the handle together-

An epoxy would be the glue of choice for that job-rough up the mating parts first and degrease with a solvent such as naphtha or acetone.

If its a NEW model razor its well worth it as they are fine shavers.

Good luck

 

[Magruder]

After a little study, I found out why the pieces have separated. There's a crack in the main part of the handle.

I'll give the epoxy a try. It's already broken, so there's not much to lose. Would I have paid $2.95 for this razor if I had known it was broken? You're darn right I would have. Hadn't seen this type before.

The handle from the Tech has the same threads, so I WILL be able to shave with it. Maybe not with the original handle, but I'll be able to give it a try. An old Gillette head, and a Tech handle -- should I call it FrankenRazor?

On the way home after Thanksgiving we stopped at the Jesse James Antique Mall in St Joseph, Missouri. (The same building houses the Jesse James Internet Service. I love that name. What a blend of the old and the new.) I found two more razors of the same type, brass, open comb, no date code or serial number, and both of these also had cracks in the handle, so the the handle separates into its three sections. This must be a common problem.

This answers a question I've had: where all the older Gillettes, from the 30's and earlier? In wandering the flea markets and browsing eBay I've seen quite a few from the 50's and later; where are the earlier razors? Most likely they just made a lot more of the later ones, but I would also guess that the older ones weren't as durable and were more likely to have been thrown out when they became unusable.