Gillette NEW dilemma

[letsdisinfect]

I'm having a moral conundrum --

I recently picked up a Gillette NEW in pretty junky condition from an antique store. The gold plating is wearing off, the case is in pretty bad condition and I noticed when I got home that the handle had a small crack in it. I kinda cleaned/polished it up and shaved with it today and it was FANTASTIC.

Here's the dilemma -- do I live with it as it is, do I try to get it replated (cracked handle and all), do I purchase a custom handle from Bob or someone else? I know I can trade in the head for a discount on a replated NEW head from Bob so at least it'll match the handle...

Oh, and SWMBO is getting on my case for buying too much shaving stuff anyway, but that shouldn't be new to many of you guys...

What would you gentlemen do?

 

[*King G*]

Gillette NEW's are pretty 'run-of-the-mill' razors, expect that you can find another one within a month if you keep hunting, if not something better. I wouldn't put any money into it.

Now if it were a New DeLuxe / Criterion, then you'd have something!

 

[Pike]

I would just use it and enjoy! You can always find a nicer one later on.

 

[VaHomebrewer]

You're clearly planning to shave with it rather than collect it. As King G also points out, NEWs are also widely available to the point that I think Bob actually gives away the handles or sells them for next to nothing.

Given that, I'd ship the head off to Bob and buy a replated head attached to one of his custom handles. I (and plenty of others around here) can personally attest to the quality of Bob's work. He'll treat you right and give you a class A razor that you can pass down to your kids (at least that's what I plan to do with mine after I've used it for the next 10 years! ).

 

[Spivey]

I just got my NEW replated and got a Bull Mastiff Deluxe handle. I'm glad that I got the NEW replated, it looks great!

 

[Sailorman]

What kind of handle does it have now? NEWs are pretty easy to find w/o cracked handles. They're harder to find with good plating. They are great shavers. Personally, I'd keep that one as-is for a daily shaver and keep an eye out for a deal on another one in better condition, since they aren't that expensive. You can get an uncracked one to replate pretty cheaply. I got 2 of them that were mechanically fine but the plating was shot. I polished them down to shiny brass and copper and they actually look pretty good that way. One was about $10 and the other was a PIF. I think I'm going to pick up a can of Everbrite and see how well that works keeping tarnish at bay on the raw brass and copper.
Either way, I don't think I'd get a replate job on a cracked handle, unless it's some rare type, at which point you should also get a proper repair done first.

 

[MacMitch]

Another vote for Bob's handles. I have the Deluxe Bull Mastiff and love it. The Open Comb News may be a common razor but as far as I am concerned they shave like a dream. I tried quite a few very popular razors and none of them mow down my coarse beard even near as well.

The other nice thing is many different heads will screw onto one of Bob's handles. Merkur, Muhle, long tooth new, short tooth new, old, new standard....
you can try them all.

 

[letsdisinfect]

You guys do have some really good points. I think I'll probably just keep the razor as is and eventually fork down the cash for one of bob's handles.

I'm going to definitely keep an eye open for a replacement NEW handle to eventually replate the whole thing.

How can I tell if its some sort of rare razor? I'll try to take and upload some pictures later today to show you guys.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[MacMitch]

You might want to check with Bob about an old handle for your old razor. I understand that he keeps a supply of old handles, left overs that he has removed the heads from for his razors. He might make you a deal on an old handle until you get around to buying one of his handles.

I may have a handle I want need after I get the head plated in nickel for my Bull Mastiff handles. A picture might help us tell what kind of handle you need.

 

[VaHomebrewer]

You might want to check with Bob about an old handle for your old razor. I understand that he keeps a supply of old handles, left overs that he has removed the heads from for his razors. He might make you a deal on an old handle until you get around to buying one of his handles.

+1

If you intend to keep it as is, you should definitely check with Bob to see if he's got a decent (non-cracked) handle on hand.

 

[letsdisinfect]

+1

If you intend to keep it as is, you should definitely check with Bob to see if he's got a decent (non-cracked) handle on hand.

Actually, jakespoppy contacted me with a replacement handle, so big thanks to him.

I'm definitely going to look into picking up one of bob's handles down the line, all this talk about them has fueled a new obsession. I did promise that I'd hold off on purchases for a bit, so we'll see how long I can last...