I have a beaten up 2nd gen British Aristocrat as well as a few other Gillette TTO razors that need some restoration and maybe replating as well and I need someone who has done this before to share the easiest way possible to disassemble a TTO razor. Pictures of the tools and the whole process of doing the whole thing would help a lot.
A simple way to disassemble vintage Gillette TTO razors
- Thread starter Medivh
- Start date
R
romsitsa
Take a pronged screwdriver, file the head down, so it will fit the hole in the knob.
Or take a regular screwdriver and file in the prongs.
If dirty, clean out the recces of the bottom screw.
If the center bar has the little folded out wings on the bottom, fold these back to the center with pliers.
Screw out the bottom screw, iirc both US and British ones are reverse threaded.
Open the razor and twist the knob further, till the door assembly clears the baseplate.
If the doors get stuck, close the head and fold the small wings further into the center.
Assembly is the reverse, the small wings can snap, so it's not really worth folding the back, the screw will hold the head in place.
This works up till the 60ies in the US, and 50ies in the UK, after that it's a different story.
Or take a regular screwdriver and file in the prongs.
If dirty, clean out the recces of the bottom screw.
If the center bar has the little folded out wings on the bottom, fold these back to the center with pliers.
Screw out the bottom screw, iirc both US and British ones are reverse threaded.
Open the razor and twist the knob further, till the door assembly clears the baseplate.
If the doors get stuck, close the head and fold the small wings further into the center.
Assembly is the reverse, the small wings can snap, so it's not really worth folding the back, the screw will hold the head in place.
This works up till the 60ies in the US, and 50ies in the UK, after that it's a different story.
- Thread starter
- #3
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you very much. When I have more free time next week i'm going to play with my TTO razors and I hope I don't destroy them instead of fixing them
.
Here's how with some pic's.
That's me on another forum.
Hope Admin find it OK to link out to that forum?
If not, please delete...and accept my apologies.
Dismantle a Gillette Aristocrat - https://paste-and-cut.com.au/community/threads/dismantle-a-gillette-aristocrat.5929/
That's me on another forum.
Hope Admin find it OK to link out to that forum?
If not, please delete...and accept my apologies.
Dismantle a Gillette Aristocrat - https://paste-and-cut.com.au/community/threads/dismantle-a-gillette-aristocrat.5929/
If some of them are adjustables, I'd advice not to "play" with them. You might just end up with a razor you can't reassemble.This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you very much. When I have more free time next week i'm going to play with my TTO razors and I hope I don't destroy them instead of fixing them
I re-up @Medivh 's thread because my aristocrat junior #53 would need a replate on its handle. There are some brass-copper color which begins to be visible.
The concave area has a small area of plate loss.
I could replate it myself in nickel very easily, just like i did for my Henckels HD & my aristocrat junior #48.
The big problem is that i cannot dissassemble the jr. #53 with a pronge screwdriver, like i did for the jr. #48 : the knob is closed. So, is there a way to do it without breaking the razor ?
Adam @romsitsa , if i'm not mistaken, you have set a 430,030 british baseplate on a aristocrat #58, whereas it is a diamond baseplate at the origin.
How did you do that & did you break the aristocrat model by doing that ?
The concave area has a small area of plate loss.
I could replate it myself in nickel very easily, just like i did for my Henckels HD & my aristocrat junior #48.
The big problem is that i cannot dissassemble the jr. #53 with a pronge screwdriver, like i did for the jr. #48 : the knob is closed. So, is there a way to do it without breaking the razor ?
Adam @romsitsa , if i'm not mistaken, you have set a 430,030 british baseplate on a aristocrat #58, whereas it is a diamond baseplate at the origin.
How did you do that & did you break the aristocrat model by doing that ?
lasta
Blade Biter
A bit off-topic, but would you mind sharing some of your nickel plating results?I re-up @Medivh 's thread because my aristocrat junior #53 would need a replate on its handle. There are some brass-copper color which begins to be visible.
The concave area has a small area of plate loss.
I could replate it myself in nickel very easily, just like i did for my Henckels HD & my aristocrat junior #48.
The big problem is that i cannot dissassemble the jr. #53 with a pronge screwdriver, like i did for the jr. #48 : the knob is closed. So, is there a way to do it without breaking the razor ?
Adam @romsitsa , if i'm not mistaken, you have set a 430,030 british baseplate on a aristocrat #58, whereas it is a diamond baseplate at the origin.
How did you do that & did you break the aristocrat model by doing that ?
I've dabbled with polishing and electroless silver plating, but no nickel work yet. Curious how well DIY can turn out.
R
romsitsa
Hello, the "Rocket type" razors, where the knob raises and lowers can only be disassembled if you break the crimp of the base plate. Once the base plate rotates freely you can unscrew the door-T-bar-baseplate assembly and then screw out the knob. Assembly is the same in reverse, a jig is needed to hold the knob in the proper position while recrimping the base.
I built my No 117 (58 with Gen 2 head) from two wrecks, the Gen 2 head is thicker, so crimping it onto a No 58 handle it a bit complicated as the tube holding the base plate is shoter by ~ 1 mm if I recall correctly.
I built my No 117 (58 with Gen 2 head) from two wrecks, the Gen 2 head is thicker, so crimping it onto a No 58 handle it a bit complicated as the tube holding the base plate is shoter by ~ 1 mm if I recall correctly.
Sure, no problem. I will take the photos as soon as i can and i will post them here.
Thank you for your answer, Adam. I was almost sure you had the solution, as always ! 
But that doesn't sound good with my aim to not destroy anything during the process, does it ? Or maybe it's me who is misunderstanding the english term break...
Ok, i see what you mean.
But, as complicated as it was, i think it couldn't have resisted long your Mac Gyver skill... 
But that doesn't sound good with my aim to not destroy anything during the process, does it ? Or maybe it's me who is misunderstanding the english term break...
Ok, i see what you mean.
But, as complicated as it was, i think it couldn't have resisted long your Mac Gyver skill... 
I just purchased two Rockets. One is a standard super speed and the other is a HD. The TTO works great on both, and I want to keep them working that way. Any suggestions as to how to lubricate them and with what so I don't find it necessary to "break" the razor apart in the future. Thanks
R
romsitsa
British TTO-s were lubricated with a heavy grease right from the factory. If the razor was not boiled chances are that the grease is still in them. Sometimes it solidifies this results in stiff opening/closing.
Thanks romsitsa. That is very useful information. So, would I be safe in assuming that if they ever get stiff boiling them with the head up will remove much of the old grease? Then all I need do is inject new grease down the shaft once they dry?
R
romsitsa
In my experience yes, boiling or heating with a heat gun will liquify the grease and it flows out the handle. Never tried to regrease, so can not comment on how to reapply.
If it ever comes down to it I will probably get a syringe and inject it in at the rod after I got as much of the old grease out as possible. Thank you again for all the information.
Don't worry @lasta , i have forgot your demand. It is just that i don't have a smartphone so i have to wait for my little sister drops by to be able to make a good quality pictures. 
But in the "Not Gillette" thread, i already posted a photo of the result on my Henckels HD with some extra explanations. If you want to take a look, it is HERE
But in the "Not Gillette" thread, i already posted a photo of the result on my Henckels HD with some extra explanations. If you want to take a look, it is HERE
lasta
Blade Biter
That's one hell of a plating job!Don't worry @lasta , i have forgot your demand. It is just that i don't have a smartphone so i have to wait for my little sister drops by to be able to make a good quality pictures.
But in the "Not Gillette" thread, i already posted a photo of the result on my Henckels HD with some extra explanations. If you want to take a look, it is HERE
Could use a bit of polish, but well done!
Thank you very much ! As i said in my other post, it could have been better if i had had some professional tools but, for a very first attempt, it is not that bad...
But there is something you said that intrigues me :
I'm wondering how you made your nickel plating. Because you managed to make a silver plating but not in nickel... The nickel plating is the easiest one to do.
As i said in my comment, i replated my Henckels directly on its original silver plating, without applying a copper layer before. It is really easy and there is few risk to fail it.
lasta
Blade Biter
Electroless silver plating solution. There are many brands, I think in the US, you can get something under the name of NuShine.Thank you very much ! As i said in my other post, it could have been better if i had had some professional tools but, for a very first attempt, it is not that bad...
But there is something you said that intrigues me :
I'm wondering how you made your nickel plating. Because you managed to make a silver plating but not in nickel... The nickel plating is the easiest one to do.
As i said in my comment, i replated my Henckels directly on its original silver plating, without applying a copper layer before. It is really easy and there is few risk to fail it.
Only works on copper alloys.
Clean, polish, dip, rinse, buff. The RFB on the right has been DIY silver plated:
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