MAIL CALL: Henkels Rapide 7 Day Set

[misterelie]

So ..... ever see one of those perfect items you've been looking for on eBay? And they say they accept offers, and you put one in and expect them to counter but instead they accept? Yeah. That happened here.
And I spent the next week wondering what was wrong with it. Turns out ... absolutely NOTHING!! Every one of these blades does not have a smidgen of rust or corrosion on them!! I even did the arm hair test and they still have an edge to them. All 7 of these blades are perfect!
This is a Henkels Rapide 7 day safety razor set. I BELIEVE this is a mid-1920's set from the german manufacturer made for United States Distribution.
The strop is dried out. The stropping machine is a bit corroded, but the blade holder itself holds the blades perfectly, so I can run this over my main strop without any problem. All the plating on all the blade holders is also perfect, and the protectors are still tight (was a bit concerning trying to get the blades out without cutting myself).
All I can say is, this was a find of a lifetime and this is going to be used and cared for by a VERY grateful shaver
If anyone ever comes across the manual for this, please let me know. Double checking the mechanics of how to use this system may not be a bad thing.

 

[garyg]

Wow - That's a great find - I've had a few Rapides, two of the boxes look to be the same style as yours (same latch) but not of the 7 day variety. Your blades look in super shape as well, I've never tried to use the vintage blades in a Rapide but have shaved with a modern GEM SE blade. As long as the blade stops are there you could use the newer blades .. wish I had instructions for you, the blade to razor is self-explanatory but the stropping/honing is beyond me.

 

[garyg]

 

[misterelie]

Cool! One of the next sets I am on the hunt for is a Heljestrand.

 

[ajkel64]

Nice razor, congratulations on the acquisition.

 

[Rob72]

Pic # 5 is your honing/stropping handle. I usually tape the blade holder, to reduce wear. If you don't see obvious injury to the edge, I do about 10 passes each side on 600 grit diamond, then onto the 1k/8k, or whatever you may have.

I like the Never Fail Stropper, as you can use it for straights also, and with it you can (usually) just plug in the honing handle, with the blade in place, and do the see-saw strop.

 

[Rob72]

Cool! One of the next sets I am on the hunt for is a Heljestrand.

They are beautiful. I picked up a chrome finished set, all seven days, along with 6 of 7 additional DOTW blades.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Flat out awesome find!