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New Improved 21st Century Rolls Razor!!

A real Rolls breakthrough here!
Inspired by recent conversations and the Darwin dual-strop system, I pasted the blank side of my OEM chipboard Viscount strop with 0.25u diamond paste.

I stropped the blade first on the diamond and then the feox to smooth it but, as predicted, the edge was harsh on the first pass but by the second pass had settled in for a beautiful effortless irritation free BBS.
This is the magic of the Rolls at its best!
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Looks like I have a diamond paste purchase in my future.

BTW, what is a OEM chipboard Viscount strop?
I started using the term "O(riginal) E(quipment) M(anufacturer)" rather than "proprietary" because it is quicker to type. I learned the term when I was doing an IT Networking course and have been looking for an oppirtunity to use it in a sentence ever since!
So basically it's the strop that the Rolls was fitted with when it was made.
The one on my Viscount set is made of an absorbent chipboard rather than leather, and its springiness makes it ideal for a pasted strop since the slight "give" can alleviate some of the harshness that very fine pastes may impart to an edge.
 
LOL. I actually know what OEM stands for, was just wondering about the "chipboard" part. I have seen the ones made of cork but not chipboard. I will have to look around. Do you feel the leather ones would work for the diamond paste?
 
LOL. I actually know what OEM stands for, was just wondering about the "chipboard" part. I have seen the ones made of cork but not chipboard. I will have to look around. Do you feel the leather ones would work for the diamond paste?
Indeed lol - I just love any opportunity to say "OEM" :)
When I tried the same diamond paste on a leather Valet strop, the results were disastrous as it was impossible to get an even coating and the paste just congealed irremovably in some areas.
I think for applying to leather, diamond sprays are much better.

I also discussed with a guy doing a lot of Rolls research on another forum about the possibility of making a cardboard backed felt strop for the Rolls. This should eliminate the diamond harshness even more.

Perhaps dispense with the hone altogether and just have a progression of pasted strops Darwin style...
 
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Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has any advice on what to look for when buying a rolls razor? I saw one the other day for $30 and would love to try it out, but i'm not really sure how it even works or whether it's worth buying.
Cheers.
 
Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has any advice on what to look for when buying a rolls razor? I saw one the other day for $30 and would love to try it out, but i'm not really sure how it even works or whether it's worth buying.
Cheers.
Make sure it has:
An unchipped blade
A handle
An intact strop

Don't worry too much about the hone, cos you won't be using that!
Also Rolls can be had very cheaply on ebay UK so pick up a few sets and mix and match spare parts.
 
Have enjoyed this thread, just as I am enjoying my new Imperial 2. Let's see how I do with it, just using the original parts (early results are mighty promising) but maybe some of your collective wisdom will find its way into my practice before long. I do think this razor is pretty great...maybe I've found one to settle on at last.

One humorous (?...or perhaps you in the UK/Oz would prefer "humourous?") sidelight on the pasting of strops with iron (III) oxide, also known as ferric oxide. Rather than just call it "feox," might we not also borrow the "r" in ferric and call it "ferox," a perfectly good Latin word meaning (here my weak attempt at humo(u)r) variously "wild| bold; warlike; cruel; defiant| spirited; courageous| arrogant; unbridled?" Seems somehow appropriate for what is practically a straight razor, after all.

thanks and regards to all
 
Next breakthrough - soak the case hone in petroleum jelly.
This seems to work just as well as using lapping film.

I tried this with my lovely new Rolls Imperial No.2 1950 set
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This was the ideal set to experiment with since its previous owner (God rest his soul) had bought it when new and only used it a handful of times, possibly only once.

The result was a very very nice shave indeed.

It's a bit of a mystery as to why original Rolls blades don"t seem shave ready and the OEM hone isn't up to the job either.
How could they sell so many units of an item that simply wasn't fit for purpose?

But paste the case strop and soak the OEM hone in vaseline and the whole thing starts working as it should.

Until now, we've got the best results by honing the blade externally and using lapping film in the case.

This new method of soaking the case hone in vaseline seems to be working just as well and is a lot more straightforward.
See what you think...
 
Looking for tips on my honing technique. This is my first experience sharpening a shaving blade so I may be missing some basic fundamentals.

I'm honing outside the case on a piece of glass using 600-->800-->1000-->1500 3m basic wet/dry sandpaper. I am not using tape to set the bevel on the blade to match the case. This honing is done wet.

After this process is complete the blade is noticeably sharper and catches the thumb nail well.

Then I move to 3m polishing paper on a piece of paper on glass. 3-->2-->1 micron. I used much less force against the polishing paper. After using the polishing paper the blade is less sharp and does not catch the thumb nail as well nor is it sharp enough to shave with. The edge of the blade reflects light like a mirror.

I have a minerial oil/IronOxide mix on the leather strop, but the blade isn't nearly sharp enough for stropping to move the needle.

Appreciate any ideas or tips anyone has!
 
Hey all! Reviving this thread as I keep coming back to it as I look up info on my Rolls. I have been stropping it regularly and since I got it back from restoration, a good strop is all it has needed, but now it is about time to give it a ride on the honing stone. The hone is clean and fine, and has not been used since I got it back from a pro making it shave ready. This thread keeps popping up. As far as I can tell, the general advice seems to be: coat the hone in vasaline, and then affix some 1u lapping film to it, and then hone away. Just wanting to see if anyone has had any further advice before I go diving into a quick resharpening of my working Rolls blade.
 
Next breakthrough - soak the case hone in petroleum jelly.
This seems to work just as well as using lapping film.

I tried this with my lovely new Rolls Imperial No.2 1950 set
proxy.php

This was the ideal set to experiment with since its previous owner (God rest his soul) had bought it when new and only used it a handful of times, possibly only once.

The result was a very very nice shave indeed.

It's a bit of a mystery as to why original Rolls blades don"t seem shave ready and the OEM hone isn't up to the job either.
How could they sell so many units of an item that simply wasn't fit for purpose?

But paste the case strop and soak the OEM hone in vaseline and the whole thing starts working as it should.

Until now, we've got the best results by honing the blade externally and using lapping film in the case.

This new method of soaking the case hone in vaseline seems to be working just as well and is a lot more straightforward.
See what you think...
I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but can you explain how you soak the hone in Vaseline? Does that give it a much sharper edge? I just got my first Rolls today. It is a beauty in great condition. It looks like it was hardly used, but the strop is dried out and shrunk. I plan to oil it and see if it expands back again. The hone looks new, but I read that it isn't the best stone, so I'm looking for ideas on how to improve the setup.
 
Yes just put a thick layer of Vaseline on the hone, leave it to soak in for a few hours and then wipe off the excess.
 
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