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Old Type: different curvature on top cap and baseplate

Take a close look at the mating between the top cap and baseplate on the Gillette Old Types. Notice that there is a slight but noticeable air space in the center when the sides are in contact with the baseplate, which indicates a slightly different curvature between the two surfaces. I can confirm that all of mine are like that.

Why would that be? Has anyone ever tried flattening the top cap to get the same curve as the baseplate, or have a razor that may have been flattened sometime in it's 100 year past?

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One of my Single Ring top caps fits more snug than the other but I don't see this at all a "problem" worth messing with.

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One of my Single Ring top caps fits more snug than the other but I don't see this at all a "problem" worth messing with
Never said it was a "problem" - just trying to understand why it was designed that way as it seems counter-intuitive.
 
I dunno. I have 4 thin cap OT's (US 1908 and 1911, a Gillette Canadian and a French clone) and only one of them looks like the top cap fits flush on both ends of the base plate. The Canadian will flush up if I snug it somewhat tightly (don't like doing that). I attribute this to their age and the possibility they just aren't as robust as the later thick cap models that were to follow.
 
The Canadian will flush up if I snug it somewhat tightly (don't like doing that). I attribute this to their age and the possibility they just aren't as robust as the later thick cap models that were to follow.
Thanks for the data points. You're right about not liking to snug it too tight - repeatedly doing that is probably what caused handle cracks in so many of these razors.

It would be nice to see a NOS razor to see if the curve mismatch is factory original or a result of decades of use.
 
You want it to clamp tight at the edges, the middle doesn't matter. Someone should give a heads-up to some of the new razor manufacturers, many tend to leave the blade completely unsupported at the edges and the fulcrum is way too close to the center.
 
The ultimate question is do these differences, real or imagined, alter the quality and comfort of the shave? I suspect they do not.

Keep in mind, too, that these razors are roughly 100 years old and they have had all levels of care and poor care by numerous owners. If Old Type razors could talk, wouldn't they have interesting stories to tell, while teaching us much?
 
I'm pretty sure it was designed that way, to put maximum pressure where it's supposed to be. Wear would decrease it, not increase it.
 
You want it to clamp tight at the edges, the middle doesn't matter. Someone should give a heads-up to some of the new razor manufacturers, many tend to leave the blade completely unsupported at the edges and the fulcrum is way too close to the center.
This is what I was thinking too.
 
The ultimate question is do these differences, real or imagined, alter the quality and comfort of the shave? I suspect they do not.
I have to agree with you. As long as the edges are clamped down tight closest to the blade, that's all the matters.

Keep in mind, too, that these razors are roughly 100 years old and they have had all levels of care and poor care by numerous owners. If Old Type razors could talk, wouldn't they have interesting stories to tell, while teaching us much?
... which is the main reason I try not polish the heck out of my razors and leave as much of the patina and tarnish where feasible. To me, I'd rather not erase all that history.
 
You want it to clamp tight at the edges, the middle doesn't matter. Someone should give a heads-up to some of the new razor manufacturers, many tend to leave the blade completely unsupported at the edges and the fulcrum is way too close to the center.
Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. Gillette got it right on the first try. Many modern razors that cost hundreds of dollars and have waiting lists don't shave as well as an Old Type or Tech.
 
It might just be an allowance for the centerline of the blade to move up ever so slightly as the head is being forced down and exerting downward pressure near the edges of the blade. I had a look at the threaded post on mine and the threading stops, leaving a smooth section of post before the attachment point. I don't have a thick three-holed blade, but I'd be interested to know whether the blade more closely follows the cap or the baseplate when tightened. Of course, didn't Gillette even advise loosening the handle slightly to gain a more aggressive shave? So allowing the center of the blade to move vertically might have facilitated that, moving the center of the blade down and the outer edges up when loosened. Pure conjecture.
 
Of course, didn't Gillette even advise loosening the handle slightly to gain a more aggressive shave? So allowing the center of the blade to move vertically might have facilitated that, moving the center of the blade down and the outer edges up when loosened. Pure conjecture.
Brilliant! That sounds very plausible.
 
It might just be an allowance for the centerline of the blade to move up ever so slightly as the head is being forced down and exerting downward pressure near the edges of the blade. I had a look at the threaded post on mine and the threading stops, leaving a smooth section of post before the attachment point. I don't have a thick three-holed blade, but I'd be interested to know whether the blade more closely follows the cap or the baseplate when tightened. Of course, didn't Gillette even advise loosening the handle slightly to gain a more aggressive shave? So allowing the center of the blade to move vertically might have facilitated that, moving the center of the blade down and the outer edges up when loosened. Pure conjecture.


Just remember, this was NEVER recommended for the ball-end razor, ONLY double and single rings. And ONLY with the thick, and very stiff, original three hole blades.
 
You want it to clamp tight at the edges, the middle doesn't matter. Someone should give a heads-up to some of the new razor manufacturers, many tend to leave the blade completely unsupported at the edges and the fulcrum is way too close to the center.

Makes sense. Definitely.

Just remember, this was NEVER recommended for the ball-end razor, ONLY double and single rings. And ONLY with the thick, and very stiff, original three hole blades.

Excellent remark (as usual...).
 
As TobyC said. I was only contributing to the discussion of reasons for a variance and possibility for adjustability but it was not for current production blades and only double and single ring razors.
 
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