Help me fix Gillette TTO Silo Doors

[GeorgeSa19]

Hello everybody! Hope you all doing ok and please stay safe.
I'm having issues with two of my vintage Gillette razor, one of them being a SS Red Tip and the other a 1946/1947 Aristocrat.
They both open and close their doors fine, but when I try to open or close them I feel some sort of resistence from the twist knob,
like I need to push harder.
How do I fix this?

 

[Saxonbowman]

Hello everybody! Hope you all doing ok and please stay safe.
I'm having issues with two of my vintage Gillette razor, one of them being a SS Red Tip and the other a 1946/1947 Aristocrat.
They both open and close their doors fine, but when I try to open or close them I feel some sort of resistence from the twist knob,
like I need to push harder.
How do I fix this?

There is very little that can go wrong with a Gillette TTO razor, unless it’s dropped. Most likely it’s gummed up with soap and crud. Best cure to start with is a long soak in warm water and dish soap. Let them soak for a while and periodically work the mechanism. Just keep doing this and they should free up. The non-bleach Scrubbing Bubbles works too.

 

[tonich]

It sounds like you have a dropped knob.
This is what I do:

 

[GeorgeSa19]

There is very little that can go wrong with a Gillette TTO razor, unless it’s dropped. Most likely it’s gummed up with soap and crud. Best cure to start with is a long soak in warm water and dish soap. Let them soak for a while and periodically work the mechanism. Just keep doing this and they should free up. The non-bleach Scrubbing Bubbles works too.

I think both of them were dropped before I got them. I did put the Aristocrat in warm water, dish soap and just a drop of vinegar but it didn't work.

 

[dmshaver]

I wonder if one, or both, of the end caps are bent & rubbing against the base plate - creating resistance when opening & closing.

With the Dawn & warm water soak, it may take 4 - 5 soakings, with each soaking lasting 12 - 24 hours. In between each soak, rinse with very warm water & open & close the doors a few times.

 

[romsitsa]

Check head alignment while opening/closing. Turn the knob till you feel the resistance, then check wether something looks off (T-bar or rod).

Adam

 

[lurchbrian]

or has someone in the past done a bad repair for the dropped nob side of things and made it over tight ? if they have you will feel resistance as the tto nob and shaft are rubbing on the outer sleeve of the handel

 

[ajkel64]

Good luck with the repair. I would definitely try the long soaks first and see what happens. If not then with @tonich tutorial you know what to do.