Bulldog
- Thread starter highball
- Start date
Nice! What did it go for?
It is a 1918. The "L" prefixed serial numbers were stamped on razors that were returned by dealers for some defect, repaired and subsequently sold. The were no "L" serial numbers in regular production. They went straight from K999999 to M1 in 1920.
Here he comes to save the day! Guido you need a title change from DE Deacon to Shave Superhero! As always you are on it!
Nice catch Mike, does the finish look a little different on this Bulldog?
Sweet score. One of these is on my "someday" list. Was this the recent one off the 'bay?
That one should polish up nicely! Great score!
DL
DL
I think all of us would like to see a picture of that one when it gets clean up.
That means that 124,000 razors were returned to the factory for repair between the time yours was prepared and his Bulldog was repaired. It makes sense that your being the much older would have a much lower number.
When you do clean it up be careful with the polishing. While they were triple plated with silver, the silver is still softer than nickel. Harsh polishes that work well with nickel can be a little to aggressive with some silver razors. I have a silver cleaning kit that I use that has an aluminum plate and a baking soda based powder. You can make your own with aluminum foil and baking soda. Anyway, you place the aluminum in the bottom of a large glass container (I use a lasagna dish). Then disassemble the razor and place the pieces onto the aluminum foil. Then add baking soda (one cup per gallon) to a pot of hot boiling water and pour over the razor and foil and let soak several minutes. It may take several tries to get it really nice looking. The chemical reaction works best when the water is hot so you will need to reheat the water for each treatment.
Basically, what is happening is that the combination of the baking soda solution and the aluminum creates a reaction that turns the oxidized (dark colored) silver back into its original form. This is preferred to polishing since that actually removes the outer layer of silver.
I do also have a special polish that came with my set that has silver infused into it it, therefore it actually lays down silver on the surface as it removed the oxidized surface.
Lucky, I used this method to bring that beautiful shine out on your 1904 Double Ring.
Hey Guido
It sure worked on that one, it still looks beautiful and will for years to come.
It sure worked on that one, it still looks beautiful and will for years to come.
That is the most reasonable explanation. But then I started to over-analyze the number sequence. If my 1911 razor started with a L 6x,xxx and the 1918 Bulldog started with the L12x,xxx, this puts the numbers in sequence by year. What I need is a couple more L numbers by year to see if the trend follows or is just a coincidence.
Len
- Thread starter
- #16
I agee, thanks Guido.
Lots of great info, I thought maybe the double serial number might have been leftover parts and remarked at a later date or something. I will put up before and after pictures once I receive and clean up the razor
This is fantastic information. I also have a Double Ring that I did not want to polish for fear of removing the silver plating and damaging the razor for future generations. Mine appears to have no plating loss and I'd like to keep it that way.
Thanks Guido. I also saved this post as a text file for future reference.
Len
Guido, amazing info. Thank you.
Highball, you Rat, I bid on that baby. But I'm glad it went to a true collector and devotee.
Cheers, and congratulations.
Highball, you Rat, I bid on that baby. But I'm glad it went to a true collector and devotee.
Cheers, and congratulations.
- Thread starter
- #20
I am glad you bid low, my max bid would have hurt, I had been looking for one for a long time
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