I've been using a brush and shave soap for the past three years or so and finally decided to go with a DE. I can sit here an tell you without lying that it's because I'm tired of shelling out $15 for 4 cartridges and that I'd like a really nice shave but in all honesty it's because I appreciate the old school way of things and if it means I can maybe feel like a bad *** while doing it - then all the better.
So after doing some laborious research (i.e. google "safety razor") I noticed that with so many other things out there the world of DE shaving can potentially lead to a rapid reduction of funds because there's so many great products and farkles you convince yourself that you really, really need.
At this point in my life I've finally come to terms that I fall prey to the "I want-I want-I need-I need" cycle thing so to help avoid or at least prolong it a bit, I decided to start looking for my first DE at a local antique shop.
My first search resulted in scoring a gold-colored 1953 (Y) Gillette Ball End Tech for a whopping $4. Overall it's in decent condition probably because it had already been cleaned up previously because there was no soap scum or hard water stains at all.
(Pics are posted below)
So being the OCD geek that I am I wanted to make sure this thing was as clean as possible before I attack my face with it. Back to my laborious research for the best cleaning methods.
I found some great insight and methods to cleaning but I still feel like I'm not quite sure which way to go because so few posts or instructions mention the gold-colored razors. For sure there's info on the nickel-plated DE's and the gold DE's but not much at all for their gold-colored brethren.
I didn't want to get too aggressive so I started with baking soda and a soft toothbrush with warm water. Obviously it's not at the level of scrubbing bubbles - but it's something.
The head (or top plate) of the razor, in some spots is showing loss of the gold coloring and there's what I assume to be rust spots freckled along the head and one "larger" spot on the underside where the gold coloring looks worn down.
So my question is: what kind of cleaning treatment can I use on this gold-colored DE to aggressively get rid of the imperfections and clean it up for use?
In the mean time, I ordered a Merkur "Classic" Safety Razor (33C), which should arrive soon, because it seemed like a solid starter DE from it's reviews so I'll see what that's all about when it gets here.
But I'm still hoping to revive the Gillette Tech so I can check it out too. I'd appreciate any input about how to do this without "bricking" the thing. Thanks!
So after doing some laborious research (i.e. google "safety razor") I noticed that with so many other things out there the world of DE shaving can potentially lead to a rapid reduction of funds because there's so many great products and farkles you convince yourself that you really, really need.
At this point in my life I've finally come to terms that I fall prey to the "I want-I want-I need-I need" cycle thing so to help avoid or at least prolong it a bit, I decided to start looking for my first DE at a local antique shop.
My first search resulted in scoring a gold-colored 1953 (Y) Gillette Ball End Tech for a whopping $4. Overall it's in decent condition probably because it had already been cleaned up previously because there was no soap scum or hard water stains at all.
(Pics are posted below)
So being the OCD geek that I am I wanted to make sure this thing was as clean as possible before I attack my face with it. Back to my laborious research for the best cleaning methods.
I found some great insight and methods to cleaning but I still feel like I'm not quite sure which way to go because so few posts or instructions mention the gold-colored razors. For sure there's info on the nickel-plated DE's and the gold DE's but not much at all for their gold-colored brethren.
I didn't want to get too aggressive so I started with baking soda and a soft toothbrush with warm water. Obviously it's not at the level of scrubbing bubbles - but it's something.
The head (or top plate) of the razor, in some spots is showing loss of the gold coloring and there's what I assume to be rust spots freckled along the head and one "larger" spot on the underside where the gold coloring looks worn down.
So my question is: what kind of cleaning treatment can I use on this gold-colored DE to aggressively get rid of the imperfections and clean it up for use?
In the mean time, I ordered a Merkur "Classic" Safety Razor (33C), which should arrive soon, because it seemed like a solid starter DE from it's reviews so I'll see what that's all about when it gets here.
But I'm still hoping to revive the Gillette Tech so I can check it out too. I'd appreciate any input about how to do this without "bricking" the thing. Thanks!
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