Gillette Executive repair, help please!

[redinmtl]

Well my beautiful newly acquired Executive has a problem, it seems to have an alignment issue. I posted the razor in the "latest acquisitions" thread and someone there noticed the issue before I even did lol. I received a tip saying that the elevated side can just be pushed down but that doesn't seem to work so I'm hoping for some advice! I'm really hoping this won't require a disassembly and and fancy tools...

Here is a pic with the TTO doors closed but very loose, it's most noticeable like this

And here is a pic with the TTO doors very tightly closed. It looks almost normal like this but I really have to tighten it a lot and i'm worried it's bad for the mechanism (and my face as it's probably still a hair off).

 

[elmerwood]

I remember this lil guy. If you google Fatboy uneven blade gap, I think a few links will pop up from here on how some have solved it.

 

[rxonmymind]

Not a problem as I've fixed a few like this. Take the razor EXACTLY as you see it in the first photo with the doors not open to the point it's loose or closed tightly just in the middle and turn it upside down. Tap the head of the razor that's on the "high side" GENTLY and firmly preferably on soft wood. Do NOT put this in your fist and hammer it. Takes the first two fingers and your thumb to tap it. Turn it right side up and eyball how it looks and if it's off repeat. Better to do this in stages and not one big hit. I did this with a several Fatboys I bought that were cheap and had nothing to loose. It worked!

 

[nemo]

Not a problem as I've fixed a few like this. Take the razor EXACTLY as you see it in the first photo with the doors not open to the point it's loose or closed tightly just in the middle and turn it upside down. Tap the head of the razor that's on the "high side" GENTLY and firmly preferably on soft wood. Do NOT put this in your fist and hammer it. Takes the first two fingers and your thumb to tap it. Turn it right side up and eyball how it looks and if it's off repeat. Better to do this in stages and not one big hit. I did this with a several Fatboys I bought that were cheap and had nothing to loose. It worked!

Yep, that's how it's done -- it is usually the pushrod that gets bent and crooked. This is the safest fix.

I cringe when I see guys trying to give advice on how to straighten the safety bars by prying with screwdrivers. That isn't what gets out of alignment!

 

[redinmtl]

Well I gave it a try but so far I'm not getting anywhere unfortunately. I started extremely gently and have no worked up to a pretty solid blow, not sure i'd want to tap it any harder! Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Presumably i want to be tapping the baseplate area where the markings are, closer to the handle right? Turning the TTO doors until the baseplate has moved just high enough so that the hammer hits the baseplate before it hits the end caps. Not towards the outside on the end cap mechanism...does that make sense? Kinda like i tried to show in the pic (note the awesome ms paint skills lol)

Thanks for the help!

 

[LITTLESHAVER101]

Just to clarify, could you discuss a little more about how hard of a "tap" are we talking about ? And that should straighten the rod ?
I was trying to straighten the safety bar using an offset screw driver and although I could move the bar up and down it did have the bad affect of widening the soap grooves. So I also am very interested in as much info you can give us on your method. I have 3 black beauties and all have a slanted safety bar and uneven blade gap. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[nemo]

You're actually trying to straighten the center bar which has gotten away from being 90 degrees from the push rod. One side of the bar is higher than the other, thereby making the doors off by the same amount. You don't hit the baseplate to change its relationship to the handle, you hit it to force the center bar even again so the farther away from the handle the better. Tilt the razor so that only the one side of the center bar is on the wood. I use a wooden dowel like a punch, it doesn't take much of a blow if you have it positioned correctly.

 

[rxonmymind]

Well I gave it a try but so far I'm not getting anywhere unfortunately. I started extremely gently and have no worked up to a pretty solid blow, not sure i'd want to tap it any harder! Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Presumably i want to be tapping the baseplate area where the markings are, closer to the handle right? Turning the TTO doors until the baseplate has moved just high enough so that the hammer hits the baseplate before it hits the end caps. Not towards the outside on the end cap mechanism...does that make sense? Kinda like i tried to show in the pic (note the awesome ms paint skills lol)

Thanks for the help!

Neither place. Take my razor with the same hypothetical problem that would look like yours. Again, take the high side flip it upside down and firmly tap down(wee bit harder than a tap) along the center bar where the problem is. Look at it again and repeat as needed.

 

[alex2363]

I do this and works every-time. Light gentle twist. I even do this to my Toggles when i accidentally drop them and they get bent.

 

[nemo]

Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark!

 

[elmerwood]

Neither place. Take my razor with the same hypothetical problem that would look like yours. Again, take the high side flip it upside down and firmly tap down(wee bit harder than a tap) along the center bar where the problem is. Look at it again and repeat as needed.

What is that a 66? He's a mad man! A mad man I say!

 

[alex2363]

Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark!

I use gentle pressure, but a piece of tape on both edges also would prevent any marring of the edges.

 

[kcb5150]

That is an easy fix. Fatboys are actually one of the easiest razors to get back into alignment-especially the ones that come apart. I never had a good time with something liek an aristocrat.

 

[redinmtl]

Ok thanks for the tips folks...I'll give this another try tonight! I really hope it works....

I guess if for some reason it doesn't the next step is to disassemble it but i hope it doesn't come to that

 

[alex2363]

Ok thanks for the tips folks...I'll give this another try tonight! I really hope it works....

I guess if for some reason it doesn't the next step is to disassemble it but i hope it doesn't come to that

It wont need disassembling, just do what i suggested and put some tape on the edges and twist litely, the brass is strong and easily will bend back to position.

 

[rxonmymind]

What is that a 66? He's a mad man! A mad man I say!

Excellent eye!

 

[Copierguy]

I have lost count of the razors I have corrected without tools. Maybe I have extra strong fingers from 40 years of repair work, but I do not see the need to pry and beat on that poor razor. Below is from a post I made in 2010.

I found this poor old pitted 53 SS that is missing it's end caps that was bent close enough to illustrate possible "improvement" that may work for your razor.

Pic 1 shows our starting point.

Pic 2 shows me gripping the handle with my left hand and pushing up with my thumb on the center bar arms below the blade plate. At the same time with my right hand index finger on top of the center bar and right thumb on the TTO knob I am compressing the other side. I did this 3 times each time adjusting the door height to allow enough room for movement while not allowing the doors or door arms to touch the blade plate. No force should be allowed to reach the blade plate.

Pic 3 shows the end result "kind of". The razor actually looks much better to the eye than in this photo. Between the macro setting, unfortunate dark reflection on the center bar and my poor photo skills it's hard to tell that the center bar, doors and blade plate are all parallel.

 

[alex2363]

I have lost count of the razors I have corrected without tools. Maybe I have extra strong fingers from 40 years of repair work, but I do not see the need to pry and beat on that poor razor. Below is from a post I made in 2010.

 

[LITTLESHAVER101]

Ok thanks for the tips folks...I'll give this another try tonight! I really hope it works....

I guess if for some reason it doesn't the next step is to disassemble it but i hope it doesn't come to that

Hi,
Let us know how it turned out. Did the tapping on the high side fix the problem and if so what did you do differently than when you first tried it? I am sure I am not the only one with these slanted blade gaps. Waiting to see if it can work on my razors.

 

[LITTLESHAVER101]

That is an easy fix. Fatboys are actually one of the easiest razors to get back into alignment-especially the ones that come apart. I never had a good time with something liek an aristocrat.

Hello, I have been following this as I also have a couple of slims and fatboys that the safety bar is slanted and the blade gap is slanted. I also noted with feeler gages that on some of the razors, one side of the razor is not slanted and when you turn to the other side, that side does have a slanted safety bar ? To just discuss the fatboys, how do you adjust these slanted safety bar problems ? Is it the same method where you tap the center bar on the side with the widest blade gap ? What tools do you suggest I use if any ? I think you can understand my concern to get this right as these little jewels cost me quite a bit. Also, is this tapping method the only best choice and is there a plan B ? Thanks for sharing your knowledge