ATT SE2 vs ATT SE1 vs Colonial General SS

[User 306]

You mean buff it by hand, right?

Thanks so much. I'll see what the Flitz does (since I have it), and consider ordering one or two of the others. Please compare them for us when you have both if you can.

You're polishing just the top of the cap? What else? I know the top surface of the razor (the cap and maybe the top surface of the guard) is all that needs to be polished for a functional (gliding better) purpose.

Like you, I wish the brass General had not been discontinued. I wonder what the advantage of SS over brass is supposed to be, for either the end user or the manufacturer. SS is harder, but look how long vintage brass (plated usually) razors sold for a dollar have lasted.

It might be that machine shops, large and small, are more used to working with SS. That's a flat out guess - no knowledge, no data, no experience, and no research - at best.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Jim on your SS General yes you only need do the top cap and if you like the SB part of the razor that touches the face. Flitz is good so no worries there. If I were you I'd keep my eyes open for a Brass General. They do come up now and then in the BST section and also online. Buy it and sell the SS or if budget allows keep both. SS is less maintenance for sure and the manufacture knows that and probably decided to appeal to the masses. If it were me I'd offer both and the Brass as a premium model and the Aluminum as the entry level. Choice is always nice for the buyer. I don't think the metal makes a hoot of a difference to a machine shop that manufactures or works with a lot of different metals. Also a lot of machine shops that make razors also do other items not just razors. Timeless is a good example of that.

Hope that helps and great shaves right back at ya!
Frank

 

[User 306]

I agree. It is a very unique razor and for the low price they should have kept it in production.

+ 100%

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Jim on your SS General yes you only need do the top cap and if you like the SB part of the razor that touches the face. Flitz is good so no worries there. If I were you I'd keep my eyes open for a Brass General. They do come up now and then in the BST section and also online. Buy it and sell the SS or if budget allows keep both. SS is less maintenance for sure and the manufacture knows that and probably decided to appeal to the masses. If it were me I'd offer both and the Brass as a premium model and the Aluminum as the entry level. Choice is always nice for the buyer. I don't think the metal makes a hoot of a difference to a machine shop that manufactures or works with a lot of different metals. Also a lot of machine shops that make razors also do other items not just razors. Timeless is a good example of that.

Hope that helps and great shaves right back at ya!
Frank

Already have an eye out on ebay and BST.

Thanks so much.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[kingfisher]

Simichrome is an awesome polish that also works really well on plastics. I have used it on my vintage fountain pens for years (just not on true celluloid pens). Works great on metals, too, obviously.

I use it with a microfiber cloth and polish by hand, although I have been known to polish particularly crummy looking old razors with a Dremel. In that case I use either Simichrome or Flitz.

 

[Esox]

Simichrome polish. I read about it on Amazon. Sounds like excellent stuff, but I'm unsure about how to use it. Some people use it with a toothbrush or a cloth, by hand. Others use a Dremel and a little buffing wheel. Apparently it works well on stainless steel and all sorts of metals.

On another thread you said something about polishing a razor. I assume you used this stuff, but how?

I'm thinking of polishing the cap of my SS General to get it a bit more smooth. I have another one of the metal polishes, Flitz, but no idea where Simichrome is substantially different and/or better. Not that I expect you to necessarily know that either.

I use AutoSol.



It will polish chrome without scratching.

Easily found most anywhere. I put a small drop, and I mean small, on a soft clean cloth and work it well. You'll see it start turning black. Use a clean part of the cloth and buff it to a high polish. Repeat as needed. If you're polishing a satin finish, especially on stainless because its so hard, you may be there a while.

I avoid use of Dremels on larger pieces, if you dont keep constant pressure or time you can end up with an uneven polish.

The best way to polish anything like this is with jewelers rouge. Its sold in bars and is best used on a cotton buffing wheel.



Using my white bar I could have a stainless razor cap looking like a mirror in under 5 minutes if I started with a satin finish or had sanded with 600 grit wet sandpaper.

All you need is a bench grinder with a cotton wheel on it instead of a stone or wire wheel.



Easily found most anywhere. Put it on the bench grinder, turn it on, load it with rouge and start polishing.

You might want to experiment with a scrap piece of steel first so you learn how much pressure to use and how quickly to move the piece over the wheel, but its really pretty simple.

You want to avoid heat as much as possible. This is why most polishing on wheels such as these are done at low rpm.

With a lower rpm you can use more pressure to polish faster. Higher rpm means less pressure to avoid the heat buildup. Little pressure is needed if you use a typical bench grinder.

When I've done my razors or caps I held them in my fingers, no gloves, and while they get warm, they shouldnt get too hot to hold. You can burnish steel the same as wood so you want to avoid that.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

The problem is no bench grinder.

 

[Esox]

The problem is no bench grinder.

If thats the case and I really wanted it to have a mirror finish I'd start with 600 grit wet sandpaper, then 1200, then 2000, then polishing compound.

It will take some time, but it will get there. If you think you'll be in the neighborhood, pop over and I'll do it for you lol.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

If thats the case and I really wanted it to have a mirror finish I'd start with 600 grit wet sandpaper, then 1200, then 2000, then polishing compound.

It will take some time, but it will get there. If you think you'll be in the neighborhood, pop over and I'll do it for you lol.

Ah, thanks for the sandpaper specifics. Use the various sandpapers wet with oil or water or dry?

I'd drop by with my razor but I'm sure it's a bit too far for me to get back for work in the morning.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

You can burnish steel the same as wood so you want to avoid that.

I thought the point was to burnish the cap.

What am I missing?

Jim

 

[Esox]

Ah, thanks for the sandpaper specifics. Use the various sandpapers wet with oil or water or dry?

Like shaving, its a process of reduction? lol. Seeing as you'll be doing it by hand, you'd want the route that involves the least amount of work. 600 grit wet sandpaper, used with water, cuts fast and it will quickly change the finish, but will leave fine scratches.

Using the finer grit paper in order to finest, will slowly work those scratches down to very fine ones, then polish to remove them. After a 2000 grit finish, polishing should be fairly easy. You wont need a full sheet of either grit. Wet paper cuts fast...

When I did the cap on my NEW SC I first cleaned it. Then under slowly running water I sanded it with 600 grit wet paper. Keep the pressure light and just rinse both cap and paper under the running water every few seconds to stop it from plugging up.

When the heavy scratches were mostly gone, it went on my wheel. Before and after below. I could work it further and make it perfect. If I was sending it out for plating I'd finish it, but its good enough for the guy using it lol





The yellow brass base plate only needed a good cleaning and light polishing. I polished it with AutoSol and a toothbrush instead of a cloth.

I used the same process on my Regent. 600 grit wet paper on the doors, then on the wheel to polish, but I did the handle with AutoSol and a toothbrush.

Cleaned then lightly polished.

I thought the point was to burnish the cap.

What am I missing?

When I think of burnishing a finish I think of wood and how it gets hot when you cut with a dull saw blade turning darker. Notice the mitered ends of the joint below. Think artificial aging.



It may be very smooth, but it imparts colour, much like chrome pipes on a motorcycle changing colour from the heat, stainless can too I believe.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thanks so much, Mike @Esox. Very helpful instructions. Nice before and after pictures showing very clearly what can be done. There are other people on this forum explaining what they do with their old razors, but that's not the same thing exactly as explaining how to easily and quickly polish the cap of new, and undamaged razors. I find it interesting and instructive to read everyone's methods and techniques, and sort of amazing how many ways there are to skin the cat.

I believe I have it now. I'll get some sandpaper, and polish the cap of my SS General. I'm not in any hurry to do it, but when I go to the right store to find the sandpaper I'll know what to look for. I'm going to make a note of the various sandpapers right now, on my phone.

Obviously I won't polish the SE2 (assuming I get one soon) right away. Not during its trial period. Not until I know if it needs polishing, etc. But, now I think I have an idea about how to do it by hand should I decide to.

Sounds like the sandpapers make much shorter work of it.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Redrooster]

Jim are you in the UK I've a att se2 I'll let you try for a month or so .I'm mostly using my brass general .

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Jim are you in the UK I've a att se2 I'll let you try for a month or so .I'm mostly using my brass general .

Holy cow, what a generous offer. I'm amazed and so grateful.

But, I'm not in the UK. I'm across the pond. Also, I have reason to believe SWMBO is in with Santa. They're planning (I believe, and I have evidence because I saw some of her mail at our office) to gift me with something from ATT. It could be something else of course but I know what was on the list I gave Santa. In other words, I'm reasonably sure an ATT SE2 is in my near enough future.

Can I ask why you're mostly shaving with the brass General instead of the SE2? What's the lowdown there?

Thanks so much for your offer.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I polished the top of the cap on my stainless steel Colonial General. Here's the report.

Thanks to everybody who helped me figure out if I wanted to do this, and to everybody who advised me on how to do it properly.

Happy shaves,

Jimn

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I polished the top of the cap on my stainless steel Colonial General. Here's the report.

Thanks to everybody who helped me figure out if I wanted to do this, and to everybody who advised me on how to do it properly.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Pictures.

 

[Redrooster]

No reason really not to use the att I've a few single edge razors now.
They all shave pretty much the same when you get your technique right .
Sure you can feel the blade a bit more on some than others and some I'm scared off (claymore 2) always bites me.
Not really looked at anything new for a while last razor I bought was a 1912 gem can't really decide if it's for me or not.
If you don't get an att from santa I'm happy to post across the pond for a while.
Merry Christmas Sammy.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

No reason really not to use the att I've a few single edge razors now.
They all shave pretty much the same when you get your technique right .
Sure you can feel the blade a bit more on some than others and some I'm scared off (claymore 2) always bites me.
Not really looked at anything new for a while last razor I bought was a 1912 gem can't really decide if it's for me or not.
If you don't get an att from santa I'm happy to post across the pond for a while.
Merry Christmas Sammy.

Sammy, thanks for the helpful info, and the offer. If Santa doesn't come through I might take you up on it, but I believe in Santa Claus (and I always get something). Rule of thumb: Never give up on Santa.

I really like the SS Colonial General. It is my only Artist Club razor. I have a pretty good little group now of nice vintage GEM razors which I'm going to try one day. Perhaps one of them will cure my RAD. Wouldn't it be a hoot if I'd bought all these modern razors only to find that a razor made a hundred years ago was *the one* razor I needed.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Most replate shops will do a polish if you want. I think that there are some others that do it to. I'll let you know. When you get the MMOC please post a photo of it. Most of mine are brass to but they have either a silver or Gold plating on them.

The MMOC has arrived. It looks about as expected.



More pictures are here.

I think it will clean up to be a nice user grade razor, but I know nothing about the MMOC razor, so what do I know?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[User 306]

The MMOC has arrived. It looks about as expected.

View attachment 845360

More pictures are here.

I think it will clean up to be a nice user grade razor, but I know nothing about the MMOC razor, so what do I know?

Happy shaves,

Jim

Good score! Jim use the Gem PTFE blade, give the razor some respect and get the angle right and you’ll probably be using the most efficient razor you’ve used yet and it will reward you with a great shave.

Congrats my friend!

 

[Peter's coin]

I shave WTG until I don't get anymore feedback, then I shave ATG until I don't get anymore feedback. Then I shave in every other direction for any remaining stubble. Many strokes! The SE2 takes less strokes than the SE1. The OC allows the skin to get closer to the blade and reduce stubble closer to the root. I have gotten longer lasting results with the SE1, it just depends on how focused I am. I have to be focused with the SE2. I haven't met a razor yet that will BBS my face with one WTG and one ATG stroke.

Hear Hear! rabidus, that’s exactly the way I shave, and exactly describes what it takes for me to get a full BBS. I need full WTG, ATG, XTG and buffing to get there and I use aggressive razors.