My Valet Initiation Shave

[huck1680]

Hi Guys
Got several Valets. Not sure why. They're kind of funky, have gears and look prehistoric. Whats not to like? The blades were old and there doesn't seem to be anyone in town that does the proper honing of these things. Tried the strop and figured I'd have arms like Popeye before I could shave with this thang. So I ordered some Feather SEs and they are not particularly cheap or readily available. I went through the group Gem buy so I do have lots of SE blades. I remember watching a video of a fellow B&Ber on how to alter a Gem to fit the Valet. So I got a few blades, a pair of needlenose pliers and went to work. Really easy. Just remove the spine, grip the blade with another pair of pliers and place the pliers where indicated and snap off the extra piece. I use the pliers to slide the blade into its holder and voila.
You can see the original blade and how it compares to a Gem (spine removed). I've drawn lines on the Gem to show where to snap off. The third blade shows what it looks like after and ready to use in the razor. It seems like a lot of work but it's not really and I get to use the Autostrop in my rotation. I like shaving with it. Pretty comfortable and the learning curve ain't too bad

 

[drews50]

So tomorrow will be a pleasant surprise when I try my Valet. Good to know.

 

[Mr. Flay]

I just got home from the local antique mall where a picked up a pristine "Runner Guard" type Valet (VC4 1941-46 according to Waits compendium). I see no signs of use. It came with a box of 10 blades but the strop is missing. I'll be joining the "lets see how this thing shaves" club soon.

 

[Straight Arrow]

I too recently joined the ranks of Valet shavers. I picked up a mint condition Valet with blades and strop. I'm using a Valet blade with pretty good results. The first shave was tentative as I did not wish to draw blood. Also I don't think I stropped the blade long enough. My second shave this morning was much improved over the first. I stropped the blade for about one minute and when I shaved I held the blade very flat against my skin. much better results.

 

[Slivovitz]

They're good razors. I've tried both the ones that can take modified modern SE blades, and the ones that need the cutout. For the cutout ones, I got some of the modern Feather blades from Razor Blades and More.

Either type of blade gives a good shave, but I've discovered that I spoil them when I try to strop them, so now that I've seen how the mechanism works, I won't try to use it again.* Modifying the modern blades is a small hassle, and the cutout ones are a little pricey, so these aren't likely to become my main razors. Based on shave quality, though, they're fine. Definitely worth trying for people who just like something different.

*I do have about 40 of the old original Valet cutout blades in sealed boxes. I might try stropping those, even honing them some time, but I won't do it again with the modern stainless ones.