Problem with my new Demaskeene

[dk_ace]

The Demaskeene has been the one razor that I just had to have. I started with a Clog-Pruf MM which was a fine razor. Then I found a 1912 that became my #1. I was on the hunt for the Dem though as I thought it's head shape and profile would make for perfection in a razor for me.

Money is tight, so I've been scrounging around for one at my local antique mall. There is a dealer there who keeps a lot of safety razors stocked, and basically everything that isn't a Gillette and doesn't have a case is $6. Saturday I stopped by and found that there was a Demaskeene sitting there (for $6 of course). I took it home and cleaned it up, looking forward to using it this morning.

At the start of the shave, it was a champ, exactly how I imagined it would be. Towards the end of the first pass, I felt like it wasn't cutting properly. I examined it, and found that the blade had backed away from the posts a bit on one side, so only maybe 40% of the blade was forward enough to shave correctly. I flipped the cover up, repositioned the blade, and went back to work. I had to do this three times during the shave when I noticed it wasn't cutting well anymore.

Has anyone experienced this before and/or found a solution?

D

 

[man00ver]

I had the same blade slippage problem in a GEM Junior baton-handle. I think the cap spring was loose, and luckily I was able to get it to stay by pushing up on the cap tab firmly with my thumb after loading the blade. It's worth a try.

 

[MrGuy]

I had the same blade slippage problem in a GEM Junior baton-handle. I think the cap spring was loose, and luckily I was able to get it to stay by pushing up on the cap tab firmly with my thumb after loading the blade. It's worth a try.

John nailed it. Some guys have luck with pushing the eraser end of a pencil up against the spring with the cap flipped down. (The spring is the little tab at the back of the head where the notch is, just in case you aren't aware.)

 

[dk_ace]

Thanks guys! I'll try that tonight and see if it works for me. I'm not sure I'm understanding, but I need to have the razor in front of me to make sense of it.

D

 

[dilly-b]

I had the same blade slippage problem in a GEM Junior baton-handle. I think the cap spring was loose, and luckily I was able to get it to stay by pushing up on the cap tab firmly with my thumb after loading the blade. It's worth a try.

Tried that on my otherwise 'minty' Damaskeene that had unfortunately had a blade in it for the better part of a century - no go...

 

[Pjotr]

To date I haven't had any problems with any cap holding a blade down but I do run a bit of olive oil in to any moving parts to make things slide a bit better. Once it's been used a few times things generally stay loose and work as they were designed to. It could be that the spring is just getting stuck and not functioning or sliding properly and getting stuck on some unseen gunk.

 

[dilly-b]

To date I haven't had any problems with any cap holding a blade down but I do run a bit of olive oil in to any moving parts to make things slide a bit better. Once it's been used a few times things generally stay loose and work as they were designed to. It could be that the spring is just getting stuck and not functioning or sliding properly and getting stuck on some unseen gunk.

My Damaskeene is shiny clean - there is no gunk. I think I should just take it apart and either rebend that end piece, or replace it with one from a 1912 if that doesn't work.

 

[dk_ace]

Unfortunately the spring isn't the problem with mine. I tried what was suggested and had the same troubles this morning. Upon further investigation I found the real problem. One of the cap arm's is bent and isn't contacting the razor head correctly which is why their isn't sufficient pressure to hold the blade in place.

Does anyone know how to safely take that cap off so I can bend the arm back into position and put it back together?

D

 

[dk_ace]

I misdiagnosed the problem. I was able to correct that arm that was bent without disassembling anything, but it didn't fix my problem. It doesn't have enough clamping pressure to hold the blade in place.

After re-reading the posts above, I'm going to try pushing up on that tab really hard. I doubt that is going to fix this issue though. There is an obvious difference between the clamping pressure of my 1912 and the Demaskeene, and it isn't subtle. Does anyone have another solution I could try?

D

 

[MrGuy]

Any chance you could get a few pics up? Take a close look at the back of the spine with the blade in place. The spring should make contact and that is what keeps the blade pushed forward. The pressure the cap places can be minimal if the spring is doing its job.

 

[PhatMan]

dk_ace,

You could try the 'eraser' fix I mentioned in this thread :

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/206023-1912-repair-advice?highlight=PhatMan

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

 

[dk_ace]

Any chance you could get a few pics up? Take a close look at the back of the spine with the blade in place. The spring should make contact and that is what keeps the blade pushed forward. The pressure the cap places can be minimal if the spring is doing its job.

This is the piece of the puzzle I was missing. I was incorrectly thinking that the downward pressure of the cap held the blade in place. The spring on my razor was bent into a gentle arc such that it wasn't making contact with the blade spine. I could have used a third hand, but I was able to bend it back straight with a little experimentation. As soon as I flipped the cap up and down, I knew the problem was solved. The cap snapped down with the same kind of force my 1912 does, and it didn't before. I popped a blade in, and it was correctly making contact at the back.

I shaved with it this morning, and it worked flawlessly. I love the look and feel of this razor, so I'm glad it's working for me now. Thanks for all the help guys, I appreciate it!

D

 

[MrGuy]

Good to hear the problem is solved! Another great razor revived from death