Modifying a GEM Blade for Eagle Lather Catchers

[Flintstone65]

This is my Eagle Lather Catcher, and it is a stellar shaver, but it does require a proprietary blade. Luckily, it isn’t all that difficult to modify a GEM blades to fit these razors.

I modified two blades, the first one I didn’t take the following safety precautions (and paid the price); the second one went much smoother with these changes in place:

1. I definitely recommend putting some painters tape on the edge of the blade to protect yourself throughout the process. It just needs to be a thin strip, you don't want it to interfere with the process. I initially thought I'd just be careful and ended up shaving some of my fingerprints off. No blood, I just found that as I was pulling and pushing, I was apparently holding the blade in such a way that I was finding skin on the sharp end of the blade. That was the first one I did, so the next one I taped the blade and then was ultimately unscathed.
   
   
2. Once the spine piece is off and marked where you're going to cut, I would do two other things: wear safety goggles, and put a piece of painters tape on the back of the blade where you'll be cutting. The blade being extremely hard and brittle, when I used aviation snips without the tape, my snips threw pieces of steel as I was cutting into the blade. It was like giving Superman a pedicure. So the tape on the back kept any pieces from flying away.

And this isn’t a safety issue, but will help explain my photos below. I found that my first blade was initially coming out too long. It may be that when I slipped the spine back on, I didn't get it pushed far enough down. On the second blade I did, I made sure I brought it much further down. Lastly, it's not a difficult process to do, I am just a guy who usually takes a project like this (no matter how simple it is) and manages to make it 5 times harder than it needs to be. And as you'll see from my pictures, I can't draw a straight line or make a straight cut to save my life.

I started with a GEM SS PTFE, and my Eagle Improved came with a set of blades -- here's the before shot.


Here's the spine off and cutting edge taped, and 2 of the 3 tools I used -- didn't take a pic of the aviation snips.I have a beater-knife that I use to pry the spine edge a bit, and then use the pliers to pull the spine off. You need the spine, so care needs to be taken that you don't mangle it in the process -- it's soft metal.


Here's where things went a little sideways. The first mark I made (leftmost pic) and my first cut (middle pic) is where I thought I should be cutting....but it consistently made my blade too tall. So I made a 2nd mark (3rd pic) and cut to that line, and that seemed to be the sweet spot for me. Again, I can't explain why that was the case....maybe I miscalculated where I should cut initially, or I cut too far above the line, or I didn't get the spine set down deep enough (probably all of the above), but the 2nd line (making the blade shorter) worked for me.


I got lazy with the camera and didn't show the results after the 2nd cut -- which would've been helpful. But here is the final end product for me. I've shaved a couple of times and found it fits and shaves well.


It's an awesome razor, and well worth the "trouble" of modding the blades. And it really isn't a bad/difficult process at all. I'm glad I did at least 2 blades (and will probably do a few more soon) just so that I have them on hand. And if you have one of these razors, or another type of lather catcher, or maybe you just really like the look of these razors....if any of those are true, then you need to check out The Association of Lather Catchers: TALC

 

[GAW9576]

Glad there was no blood shed. Great pictures and write up.

 

[Flintstone65]

Glad there was no blood shed. Great pictures and write up.

Thanks! The cut is definitely the tricky/cumbersome part. My aviation/tin snips are on the large side, and cutting a straight line on a small object with large cutters is difficult. I have read where people used a new pair of scissors to cut into GEM blades, but I didn't want to ruin a pair I already own or purchase a new pair to ruin. I thought about using a dremel with a cutting blade, but then I needed to be able to securely clamp the blade down for the cut....in the end, it was the snips. I wish I had taken a picture of the final cut blade without the spine, that would have given folks a better idea of where the ideal cut was. If I can remember, I'll take the spine off one of my modded blades (after it gives out) and post a pic of it.

I also picked up a vintage blade honer/stropper from ebay ages ago -- on an impulse (shocking, I know) -- thinking I may start trying to restore old blades I keep getting with razors.

One day I'll give it a try on one of the original blades. Most people I've known who have tried to restore/revive old blades (even NOS) usually determine that they can't bring the edge back, so I'm not optimistic.

 

[Twelvefret]

Thanks! The cut is definitely the tricky/cumbersome part. My aviation/tin snips are on the large side, and cutting a straight line on a small object with large cutters is difficult. I have read where people used a new pair of scissors to cut into GEM blades, but I didn't want to ruin a pair I already own or purchase a new pair to ruin. I thought about using a dremel with a cutting blade, but then I needed to be able to securely clamp the blade down for the cut....in the end, it was the snips. I wish I had taken a picture of the final cut blade without the spine, that would have given folks a better idea of where the ideal cut was. If I can remember, I'll take the spine off one of my modded blades (after it gives out) and post a pic of it.

I also picked up a vintage blade honer/stropper from ebay ages ago -- on an impulse (shocking, I know) -- thinking I may start trying to restore old blades I keep getting with razors.
View attachment 996740
One day I'll give it a try on one of the original blades. Most people I've known who have tried to restore/revive old blades (even NOS) usually determine that they can't bring the edge back, so I'm not optimistic.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, brother. That blade sharpener is too cool.....!!

 

[Flintstone65]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, brother. That blade sharpener is too cool.....!!

Thanks, and you're quite right....I'll give it a go one of these days -- and report back, of course.

 

[riverrun]

I also picked up a vintage blade honer/stropper from ebay ages ago -- on an impulse (shocking, I know) -- thinking I may start trying to restore old blades I keep getting with razors.
View attachment 996740
One day I'll give it a try on one of the original blades. Most people I've known who have tried to restore/revive old blades (even NOS) usually determine that they can't bring the edge back, so I'm not optimistic.

The NEW Warner Jones Sharpener.
Yours seems to have a few bits missing:

Here are the instructions:

You could use a normal honing stone or a block of something with a bit of glass on top and some lapping film on top of that. And a block of something with a strop on top for stropping.

 

[GAW9576]

Thanks! The cut is definitely the tricky/cumbersome part. My aviation/tin snips are on the large side, and cutting a straight line on a small object with large cutters is difficult. I have read where people used a new pair of scissors to cut into GEM blades, but I didn't want to ruin a pair I already own or purchase a new pair to ruin. I thought about using a dremel with a cutting blade, but then I needed to be able to securely clamp the blade down for the cut....in the end, it was the snips. I wish I had taken a picture of the final cut blade without the spine, that would have given folks a better idea of where the ideal cut was. If I can remember, I'll take the spine off one of my modded blades (after it gives out) and post a pic of it.

I also picked up a vintage blade honer/stropper from ebay ages ago -- on an impulse (shocking, I know) -- thinking I may start trying to restore old blades I keep getting with razors.
View attachment 996740
One day I'll give it a try on one of the original blades. Most people I've known who have tried to restore/revive old blades (even NOS) usually determine that they can't bring the edge back, so I'm not optimistic.

That looks pretty cool. I look forward to hearing how it works out.

 

[Flintstone65]

The NEW Warner Jones Sharpener.
Yours seems to have a few bits missing:

Here are the instructions:

You could use a normal honing stone or a block of something with a bit of glass on top and some lapping film on top of that. And a block of something with a strop on top for stropping.

Thanks for the heads-up, and excellent suggestion for a work-around. I may also discover the missing part somewhere in the future as well.

 

[riverrun]

There is currently an old Warner Jones on some well-known auction site.
At $50 shipping to the UK I need to pass as I already have one:
First picture with aluminium block used for lapping film.
It doesn't have the ring, so it needs no frame.
I need to use it more often.

 

[Flintstone65]

There is currently an old Warner Jones on some well-known auction site.
At $50 shipping to the UK I need to pass as I already have one:
First picture with aluminium block used for lapping film.
It doesn't have the ring, so it needs no frame.
I need to use it more often.

Nice -- thanks for the heads-up!

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad that you found out how to adapt a blade to make it usable. As mentioned by @Twelvefret ”nothing ventured nothing gained “.

 

[Old Hippie]

This may at first sound a bit like overkill, but we all need some dedicated tools on the bench...

It might be worth a little time and aggravation to pick up one of those small benchtop sheet metal shears. They have a nice heavy/stiff blade, a controlled blade movement (long slot-machine lever), and usually they come with at least rudimentary guides to keep the cut square to the sides of the piece.

Then you could just put a blade in (dead easy with a homemade jigging) and *bing* here's your new blade.

I suggest this because my ability to draw and cut straight lines seems to be on par with yours. [grin] I just don't have any razors yet (ahem) that need such measures.

O.H.

 

[Flintstone65]

This may at first sound a bit like overkill, but we all need some dedicated tools on the bench...

It might be worth a little time and aggravation to pick up one of those small benchtop sheet metal shears. They have a nice heavy/stiff blade, a controlled blade movement (long slot-machine lever), and usually they come with at least rudimentary guides to keep the cut square to the sides of the piece.

Then you could just put a blade in (dead easy with a homemade jigging) and *bing* here's your new blade.

I suggest this because my ability to draw and cut straight lines seems to be on par with yours. [grin] I just don't have any razors yet (ahem) that need such measures.

O.H.

This is a great idea. Thanks!!!

 

[Evdini]

I also bought a Warner Jones honer like the one riverrun posted. I’m trying everything in my power to hone a Durham blade. I find everything I’ve tried so far to be the wrong angle. So far the vintage blades untouched by me cut arm/leg hair better than the ones I’ve honed, but they just not sharp enough for facial hair. I’ve High hopes for the Warner Jones.

 

[GAW9576]

I also bought a Warner Jones honer like the one riverrun posted. I’m trying everything in my power to hone a Durham blade. I find everything I’ve tried so far to be the wrong angle. So far the vintage blades untouched by me cut arm/leg hair better than the ones I’ve honed, but they just not sharp enough for facial hair. I’ve High hopes for the Warner Jones.

So far the best blade I've found for a Durham has actually been a Personna carpet cutter blade. Hope you have good luck with the Warner Jones. Keep us updated.