My century-old open comb experience

[the.village.idiot]

I found this little puppy in Paris at a flea market... I'm ALWAYS looking for treasure at these things... paid 8 or 10 bucks... can't remember.

Anyways, it was quite tarnished before I cleaned it up a bit... could use more effort on the handle, but it's not bad... looks nice and shiny, the cell phone pics don't do it justice!

By the serial number, it's a 1916 Aristocrat. The 'G' inside the 'D' apparently denotes that this razor was sent to Gillette for repair at one point, if my research is correct.

My weapon of choice most days is a Merkur 39-C 'Sledgehammer' (amazing razor IMHO), but I'm willing to try any razor that crosses my path!

I LOVE the fact that this razor is just shy of 100 years old... you can't help but think about the unknown history of the thing as you're loading it up with a fresh blade... and wonder about who's hands this very instrument has been in during the last century...

I approached the shave with extreme caution. It's a different animal, this open comb razor... and any time I step out on my beloved Sledge, I usually pay the price.

The head of the razor seems so much lighter than what I am used to... that being said, at the same time I was consciously aware of the sharpness of the blade against my skin... had to be extra careful about using too much pressure. There also seemed to be considerable audio feedback as I scraped my mug with it... more so than with my slant bar... it got me thinking that it was probably a 'quieter' razor back in the day when blades were thicker.

All in all, the results were OK... in hindsight, my final ATG pass should have been avoided... my neck was a bit more irritated/red than normal post-shave... and there were also more weepers than I normally experience. I could be that my face just wasn't ready for this razor (only a day of growth), or that ultimately, my face is too sensitive for 'open comb' razors all together.

In any case, this little beauty will stay in the den... if only to take it out once in awhile to admire!

On a TOTALLY different topic... I've been on the road for 19 months, and have been reduced to using whatever blades I can find... anybody in Ottawa know where I can pickup some Astra or Feather or Personna blades locally? I don't usually buy in bulk, and am trying to avoid shipping costs...

Oh ya... here are some pics of the razor post cleaning... the case could be cleaner, but hey... it looks pretty good for being one hundred years old!

 

[DrAwkward]

Very nice razor and a great job cleaning it up. I find that the Single Ring Old Style is a perfectly good razor. Perhaps not as good a shaver as the 1930s Gillette NEW, but still a very serviceable tool. I recently tried my Single Ring with a NOS 3 hole blade. If you can find one, I recommend the experience. Not because you will get a good shave (you will not), but because it is an adventure. With some light stopping, the blade was sharp enough to cut stubble (barely). I had to do a bit of practicing before my technique was good enough to get any half way decent results, but I did not tear up my face, and was eventually able to get a reasonably good approximation of a socially acceptable shave. Have fun with your 1916 Single Ring!