Bent safety bars...

[Sharp&Shiny]

How picky are you guys when buying a vintage tto razor? Do you guys just bend it back with a butter knife and just call it good enough and shave with it?

I bought some vintage tto razors and I was wondering what you guy do. I got a Fat Boy in but there are just so many variables to get it right. I’m pretty sure the guy that owned it last died mid shave too, since there were gray whiskers still in it. I also got a slim that the safety bar is bent, when I gently tweak it, something else goes out of whack. Now I just got a super speed flare tip that had a bent safety but that was easier to fix since there’s less to mess with(t bar, safety bar, end caps).

Dealing with all that, I have just leaned towards buying new CNC machines safety razors, to me they tend to have thicker safety bars and their simplicity just seems bulletproof. But is this true? Are they really more likely to survive drops?

I own a few of each already, it’s just a thought that’s been nagging at me. Which leads me toward other materials like titanium. Some razors are made from grade 2 titanium and grade 2 Ti is obviously stronger than aluminum but not as strong as stainless steel. Grade 5 Ti is as strong as Stainless steel. Will a grade 2 Ti razor dropped a few feet suffer from a bent safety bar? I know it depends on lots of things but I mean in general.

 

[Anick]

Im in the same boat as you. The only vintage razors im interested now are a bottom dial and toggle so i have time.

I have a Diplomat and a Ranger tech that have bent bars. To me, because of what they are i will eventually send them to someone to fix.

How often have you dropped a razor?

I have the same mentality. Overkill.
Probably just fine picking a razor that you like with the materials as a second thought.

 

[nemo]

I've said this before and I'll surely say it again -- it is rarely a hefty safety bar that gets bent, especially if they're both bent similarly -- it's almost always the T-bar, the positioner for the doors that easily gets crooked in a minor fall.

Gillette Super Adjustable with safety bar problem.

 

[Twelvefret]

I've said this before and I'll surely say it again -- it is rarely a hefty safety bar that gets bent, especially if they're both bent similarly -- it's almost always the T-bar, the positioner for the doors that easily gets crooked in a minor fall.

Gillette Super Adjustable with safety bar problem.

Is this common?


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[Sharp&Shiny]

I've said this before and I'll surely say it again -- it is rarely a hefty safety bar that gets bent, especially if they're both bent similarly -- it's almost always the T-bar, the positioner for the doors that easily gets crooked in a minor fall.

Gillette Super Adjustable with safety bar problem.

That’s usually what I check first on the tto razors when something is off. Then I check the bridge thing between the doors and last the safety bar. I asume it’s mostly from people tapping them on the sink rather than give them a swirl in the water.

 

[Sharp&Shiny]

Im in the same boat as you. The only vintage razors im interested now are a bottom dial and toggle so i have time.

I have a Diplomat and a Ranger tech that have bent bars. To me, because of what they are i will eventually send them to someone to fix.

How often have you dropped a razor?

I have the same mentality. Overkill.
Probably just fine picking a razor that you like with the materials as a second thought.

I was just really rambling about stuff I was thinking. Too much coffee and couldn’t really do anything today. What got me thinking was that I had a really great shave today with a Gillette Flare tip and a Polsilver. Better shave than the Gamechanger and I paid ten bucks for the flare tip.

Edit: Then I started to wonder between durability between the two.

 

[rudyt]

Do you guys just bend it back with a butter knife and just call it good enough and shave with it?

You make it sound like the choice of tool, in this case a butter knife, is a compromise. It's not. The best tool for straightening bent TTOs is something thin and about as wide as the lather slots. Butter knife works great, and in the right hands, gives results that are better than "good enough" - it can get you back to factory specs.

when I gently tweak it, something else goes out of whack.

That's just lack of experience. Practice practice practice and you might get it right if you're mechanically inclined. Think through every action and visualize what you're pushing against to understand what will go out of whack.

 

[Sharp&Shiny]

You make it sound like the choice of tool, in this case a butter knife, is a compromise. It's not. The best tool for straightening bent TTOs is something thin and about as wide as the lather slots. Butter knife works great, and in the right hands, gives results that are better than "good enough" - it can get you back to factory specs.

That's just lack of experience. Practice practice practice and you might get it right if you're mechanically inclined. Think through every action and visualize what you're pushing against to understand what will go out of whack.

I guess I could have written it better, what I meant was if when you guys deal with bent T bars or safety bars, do you guys just look at it and just shave with it. Without using calipers or feeler gauges. And how much it matters that the gap is correct.

I agree with the lack of experience part, I never attempted to take one apart or straighten a safety bar.

I was just being lazy with my words but the whole butter knife thing was that I read that it works really well for fixing bent safety bars. I just wanted to find out how guys deal with it. Getting it back to factory specs or just close enough.

 

[rudyt]

I guess I could have written it better, what I meant was if when you guys deal with bent T bars or safety bars, do you guys just look at it and just shave with it. Without using calipers or feeler gauges. And how much it matters that the gap is correct.

I agree with the lack of experience part, I never attempted to take one apart or straighten a safety bar.

I was just being lazy with my words but the whole butter knife thing was that I read that it works really well for fixing bent safety bars. I just wanted to find out how guys deal with it. Getting it back to factory specs or just close enough.

I won't shave with a bent razor. I always check every vintage razor I buy with feeler gauges and calipers for symmetry and proper clearances. Even a razor that looks straight can be a few thou off, and your face will notice.

A bent or out-of-spec vintage razor is actually pretty common. The butter knife is my tool of choice. The trick is figuring out what the root cause of the problem is of else, as you've found, you and up chasing your tail.