Gillette Black Beauty repair

[RWF48]

Hi Guys, I have 3 Gillette Black Beauties from 70's. 2 short and one long. The short versions look good but the adjustment will not change the clearance between the blade and razor at all. ie, the blade is locked in at position 9, wide open. I would like to disassemble these razors and do a super clean up plus inspection to see if I can get them in working order. I have searched a lot for disassembly instructions for the Black Beauty, but have found nothing. Can anybody direct me to a link that would be of help? Thanks from a new member but a wet shaver since 1963.

 

[mblakele]

Start with an overnight soak in hot water and dish soap. The adjustment problem is likely due to crud inside, and you can probably dissolve that without disassembly.

 

[2Deuce2]

Excellent advice - same as I got from Alex. All the hot water/soap soaks helped me free up the Fatboy. The Scrubbing Bubbles also took a lot of junk away with a toothbrush

 

[mikemullin6]

If the soaking doesn't work, a possible last resort would be to carefully and gently try and loosen it with some cloth-wrapped pliers. I had a Fat Boy like yours and this worked for me and it didn't leave any visible markings on the ring.

Good luck!

 

[Mr_Smartepants]

Alternate between off-boiling water soak and scrubbing bubbles spray. I have a super-speed that had the TTO mechanism stuck pretty good that withstood 5 sessions of boiled water & scrubbing bubbles. It wasn't until I sprayed a stream of "Lime-away" (CLR is similar) down the mechanism hole, then it finally broke free. A final boiled-water soak, polish, and soak in alcohol brought it back from the brink.
A few drops of Wahls clipper oil wouldn't hurt it either.

The Black beauty mechanism is similar to the slim adjustable. This link for a fat-boy may help but I'm told that disassembling a BB is a one-way affair.
http://vintagesaws.com/fatboy/fatboy.html
Follow Steve's (srm_92000) advise on dis-assembly!

 

[srm_92000]

+1 on all good advise above, try everything first before getting the pliers out.
Actually leave the pliers well away - soak and soak and gently coax it into moving.

The Black beauty is more like a slim than a fat boy.
If you do end up having to take it apart remember to measure a few things first so it goes back somewhere near its original settings.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/320693-Slim-adjustable-internals-and-disassembly

The BB has a cap on the end of the TTO knob. Crimped cap is underneath a little easier to get back on than the slim if you remove the TTO knob tube.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/325168-Super-adjustable-tto-end-cap-removal-question
and
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...table-repair?p=4923334&highlight=#post4923334

 

[alex2363]

+1 on all good advise above, try everything first before getting the pliers out.
Actually leave the pliers well away - soak and soak and gently coax it into moving.

The Black beauty is more like a slim than a fat boy.
If you do end up having to take it apart remember to measure a few things first so it goes back somewhere near its original settings.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/320693-Slim-adjustable-internals-and-disassembly

The BB has a cap on the end of the TTO knob. Crimped cap is underneath a little easier to get back on than the slim if you remove the TTO knob tube.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/325168-Super-adjustable-tto-end-cap-removal-question
and
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...table-repair?p=4923334&highlight=#post4923334

Thanks for the great links mate...

 

[RWF48]

Hi Guys, I have 3 Gillette Black Beauties from 70's. 2 short and one long. The short versions look good but the adjustment will not change the clearance between the blade and razor at all. ie, the blade is locked in at position 9, wide open. I would like to disassemble these razors and do a super clean up plus inspection to see if I can get them in working order. I have searched a lot for disassembly instructions for the Black Beauty, but have found nothing. Can anybody direct me to a link that would be of help? Thanks from a new member but a wet shaver since 1963.

Thanks for all the replies. I think I've seen enough to go with some maintenance on my razors.