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Oiling Gillette Slim Adjustable?

Hey Guys
I just acquired a Gillette Slim from the 1960's. It is my first vintage adjustable razor. The razor is in excellent condition, clean and works smoothly.

My question is about oiling these old razors. Would it be advisable to place a small drop of light weight oil around the adjustment dial, the cavity inside the bottom of the handle or anywhere else? As an aside, I frequently apply a bit of lip balm on the cap threads of DE razors. Is that a good idea?

Thanks
 

ERS4

My exploding razor knows secrets
Considering that it is quite difficult to fully disassemble and clean up the slim adj~ I will drip a little mineral oil every once in a while, but it "doesn't need to be frequent". I used a mixture of white paraffin oil and silicone oil.

Appropriate application of oil is beneficial to reduce mechanical wear, and can reduce the adhesion of hard water and soap residue to the internal details of the machine.
 
I put a single drop of high quality machine oil down the hole in the middle of the base plate once a year. I stand the razor up for an hour to allow the oil to run down the barrel. My Slim and all of my TTO’s get this treatment and have operated w beautiful smoothness for many years
 
I used to oil razors before realizing that the oil was compensating for dirty mechanicals--agree with Ouchyfoot, these razors weren't designed to be oiled (the tolerances are not that great) so I've stopped using mineral oil, and concentrated on cleaning them better and they do just fine and don't gum up. The best way to get the compression spring clean is to open the razor doors fully (for Black Beauties, take a pocket knife and separate the silver end cap from the razor). With the doors open, pump some Dawn into the TTO end of the razor up to the top; place your thumb or finger on top of the soap (to trap the soap between the bottom of the razor and your finger) and then open and close the razor several times without taking your finger/thumb away from the end of the razor. Replace the soap as the level drops; forcing the soap deep into the spring mechanism where it can dissolve and put the crud and old soap into suspension. Then open the doors, fill the end of the handle with soap and leave it to soak (doors open, TTO knob on the top) in a clear glass of hot soapy water over night. You can usually see the dissolved crud rising up from the end of the TTO knob as well as a few bubbles working up, through and out of the TTO mech, pulling the soap deeper into the razor. I admit I get antsy and test the razor after an hour or so and nearly every time that short bit of time will have restored the 1/4 turn, but just fill it back up with soap and let it sit. Just soaking it in soapy water will work, but pumping the soap into the handle under (low) pressure works quicker and more completely. If you focus on getting the compression spring for the last 1/4 turn for the Slims and Fat Boys free of hardened soap/hair, you really don't need oil (another fallacy is you need to open the doors before turning the adjustment; nope, that's the compression spring's job--if you can't change adjustments with it locked down, then the spring isn't clean enough).

Apologies for the wall of text--as for Black Beauties (sigh) IMHO, they aren't made as well as the Fat Boys and Slims and the materials used just seem to make them more susceptible to binding up with age no matter what, and no amount of oiling or cleaning will keep some of them in good mechanical shape for any period of time. I have four BBs, and only one of them is MX free.
 
As an aside, I frequently apply a bit of lip balm on the cap threads of DE razors. Is that a good idea?
Thanks
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I doubt it would hurt the razor, but plain paraffin wax (either just canning/sealing wax or candle wax) would be a bit more "persistent" (unless we're talking the solid chapstick version) vs a vaseline/petroleum jelly based balm. Either way, it helps keep water from affecting non-brass or dissimilar metals (brass or zamac head and steel or stainless steel) from interacting with each other (galvanic reaction?)--I have a vintage ProBak razor that gets a little stiff after a while but a little paraffin wax helps it stay lubricated.
 

Rosseforp

I think this fits, Gents
I used to oil razors before realizing that the oil was compensating for dirty mechanicals--agree with Ouchyfoot, these razors weren't designed to be oiled (the tolerances are not that great) so I've stopped using mineral oil, and concentrated on cleaning them better and they do just fine and don't gum up. The best way to get the compression spring clean is to open the razor doors fully (for Black Beauties, take a pocket knife and separate the silver end cap from the razor). With the doors open, pump some Dawn into the TTO end of the razor up to the top; place your thumb or finger on top of the soap (to trap the soap between the bottom of the razor and your finger) and then open and close the razor several times without taking your finger/thumb away from the end of the razor. Replace the soap as the level drops; forcing the soap deep into the spring mechanism where it can dissolve and put the crud and old soap into suspension. Then open the doors, fill the end of the handle with soap and leave it to soak (doors open, TTO knob on the top) in a clear glass of hot soapy water over night. You can usually see the dissolved crud rising up from the end of the TTO knob as well as a few bubbles working up, through and out of the TTO mech, pulling the soap deeper into the razor. I admit I get antsy and test the razor after an hour or so and nearly every time that short bit of time will have restored the 1/4 turn, but just fill it back up with soap and let it sit. Just soaking it in soapy water will work, but pumping the soap into the handle under (low) pressure works quicker and more completely. If you focus on getting the compression spring for the last 1/4 turn for the Slims and Fat Boys free of hardened soap/hair, you really don't need oil (another fallacy is you need to open the doors before turning the adjustment; nope, that's the compression spring's job--if you can't change adjustments with it locked down, then the spring isn't clean enough).

Apologies for the wall of text--as for Black Beauties (sigh) IMHO, they aren't made as well as the Fat Boys and Slims and the materials used just seem to make them more susceptible to binding up with age no matter what, and no amount of oiling or cleaning will keep some of them in good mechanical shape for any period of time. I have four BBs, and only one of them is MX free.
This pretty much sums it up. Great answer!
 
I have an inexpensive ultrasonic cleaner (Amazon $30-40) I keep on my counter. After shaving I toss in my razors and blades. Between the water, dish soap and ultrasonics, nothing ever builds up in any of the hard to get at nooks or crannies. Dried soap scum is your only real enemy and oiling it is only covering up the real problem.
 
I agree with not oiling.i use my slim quite often and clean it thoroughly and let it dry properly after each use.i wouldn't obsess over oiling vs dry..keeping it clean is more important.if it shaves well use it,clean it,dry it....enjoy it😎
 
In the old days, no one maintained their shaving equipment. Razors were simply tossed in a drawer, wet, after shaving. And Gillettes and Schicks of those eras were built to last a lifetime without any cleaning or maintenance. But I put a drop of oil down the barrel once a year. Probably wouldn’t have to but it won’t hurt it. With this regime I have pre-war TTO’s that work perfectly. Oil or not oil, it’s your choice, but it works for me
 

ERS4

My exploding razor knows secrets
Cleaning and oiling do not conflict. It is still worth doing both things to achieve better results.

Our slim adj has been used by someone for decades and is still healthy, and deserves better care in his old age.
This is not rocket science, just choose the way you like. :)
 
The old adage "it's your razor, you decide how it is maintained" applies, however the OP was asking for advice regarding oiling/lubricating the razors and many of us are not in favor of it; feeling it will "gum up the works," and is mostly a band aid fix (and over time may exacerbate the problem) for the underlying problem which is dirty mechanicals. Apologies for the length, but this is my "gather round children for a cautionary tale" story for why I no longer advocate oiling razors, and especially those of unknown history (i.e., put in a drawer dirty and with a blade in it for 30-50 years).

I found a dirty ’69 Super 109 Adjustable (with rusty blade in it) that was so caked with green hardened soap that it broke off in chunks. I used scrubbing bubbles, and dish soap to clean the grime (didn't soak, just tooth brush), and the TTO loosened to a point, but would still stick and the last 1/4 turn was somewhat, but not quite there so I reached for something to lubricate it with. I found threads saying to soak the razor in mineral oil, yep, did that for a couple days, but nothing. I tried more mineral oil, 3-in-1 and WD-40, but nothing helped to loosen it and keep it from freezing, binding or getting the last quarter turn to lock. I shaved with it, but during clean up, the TTO knob froze/jammed; necessitating a firmer grip using a towel. A little torque and the handle sheared clear apart at the crimp ring area. My first instinct was to grab a large hammer to hide the evidence; but decided to smooth the bottom of the handle and orphaned piece below the crimp with a file. With 2-3mm of material missing, the doors wouldn't come close to closing, and guesstimating the gap to be about the thickness of 12 gauge wire, I cut and wrapped about an inch of 12-gauge copper wire around the handle where the crimp used to be, and once crimped w/needle nosed pliers, the doors closed, the adjustment plate engaged and it locked down, but the TTO knob would still bind and jam on occasion. That's when I popped the bottom off of the razor and discovered that the compression spring and inside of the TTO knob were still caked w/hardened soap. Out of frustration, I started packing the compression spring area w/Dawn and letting it soak, and after a few days of soaking, I took it out, dried it off and was amazed to discover that (with the exception of the handle drop), the razor operated smoothly, and without binding. Prior to this I always used mineral oil on my razors, but stopped using oil and after cleaning all of them, I haven't had any issues with my adjustables or Super Speeds. Okay, it turned out well (I have the only Black Beauty wired for 110v), but I could have avoided breaking it by just cleaning it first instead of trying to compensate with lubricants. I present to you, "The Esteemed Sir WALL-E of Wet Shaving (Whisker Axing Lather Lopper-Emeritus)":
BU1.jpg
BU2.jpg
 
That’s also what I’m saying. If your razor is kept clean it will work perfectly. If it starts not working perfectly it is because it is not clean. Adding oil will only lubricate the surface of the dried soap scum inside. Oil is not a solution to the real problem.
Also some soaps are really bad for causing residue, while some other soaps contain excellent natural lubricants.
 
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