So I have this ugly duckling razor. It's a 1961 Super Speed, and it's not that nice. Its finish is well worn. It's lived a hard life. A very average example of a very common razor.
When it came to me, it had a serious "knob drop" problem: When you opened the doors, the TTO knob would drop free. It's a pretty common problem with Super Speeds that have lived a hard life.
But this ugly duckling wasn't worth a lot of time or effort to fix it. So I let it go. It still locked up tight, so who cared?
I did. The fact that this fine old razor, used for so many years, had a mechanical issue bugged me.
Doing some research here at B&B, I learned that the "knob drop" occurs when two pieces inside the razor come uncrimped. A common solution apparently is to take a pipe cutter, remove or blunt the cutting wheel, and run it around the razor under pressure to recrimp the razor. You can do a search and find those threads.
But I didn't have a pipe cutter, and it seemed like a lot of work anyway for such an ugly duckling.
So I pulled a different tool out of the garage.
Why not try to "crimp" the razor back into shape with a little C clamp? Worst case scenario would be I ruin a razor that is already broken. "Let's give it a shot," thinks I.
By gently squeezing the razor as shown, I was able to crimp the innerds back together. Knob drop cured, and no damage to the razor whatsoever.
I wouldn't do this with an expensive razor. But for a 1961 SuperSpeed, it was worth the 5 minutes and the risk.
When it came to me, it had a serious "knob drop" problem: When you opened the doors, the TTO knob would drop free. It's a pretty common problem with Super Speeds that have lived a hard life.
But this ugly duckling wasn't worth a lot of time or effort to fix it. So I let it go. It still locked up tight, so who cared?
I did. The fact that this fine old razor, used for so many years, had a mechanical issue bugged me.
Doing some research here at B&B, I learned that the "knob drop" occurs when two pieces inside the razor come uncrimped. A common solution apparently is to take a pipe cutter, remove or blunt the cutting wheel, and run it around the razor under pressure to recrimp the razor. You can do a search and find those threads.
But I didn't have a pipe cutter, and it seemed like a lot of work anyway for such an ugly duckling.
So I pulled a different tool out of the garage.
Why not try to "crimp" the razor back into shape with a little C clamp? Worst case scenario would be I ruin a razor that is already broken. "Let's give it a shot," thinks I.
By gently squeezing the razor as shown, I was able to crimp the innerds back together. Knob drop cured, and no damage to the razor whatsoever.
I wouldn't do this with an expensive razor. But for a 1961 SuperSpeed, it was worth the 5 minutes and the risk.