Repairing bent teeth of vintage Gillette razors

[sakaltras]

Many vintage Gillettes have bent teeth and repairing them is not that difficult. But there is always the risk that the tooth to be repaired can break. This risk can be reduced if the razor is placed on an even hard surface such as wood, to avoid that the tooth is bent too much to the opposite direction. But bear in mind that there is still that risk if you try to repair bent teeth .Don't forget this. You have been warned.


So put the razor on a even hard surface, put something on the tooth to be repaired and knock on it very gently with a hammer. Today I put a knife on the tooth and knocked on the knife so that the knife could transfer the force to the tooth. Hard to explain as a non-native speaker. Here some pics.

The head before:

The head after:

My setting:

I didn't knock directly on the knife, but took a screw as an aid and knocked on the screw with a hammer.

The result (I'm very happy of )

Repairing bent teeth of Old Types is even easier than repairing bent teeth of NEW Improveds.

Thanks

Sami

 

[Big_T]

Nicely done!

 

[NorthernSoul]

The problem is that brass may be work-hardened as the razor is made. That makes it easy to crack the tooth completely off. To avoid that, you can anneal the metal with a torch flame before working it. Or, you can just leave a bent tooth alone if it does not cause problems with the blade position on the face.

 

[sakaltras]

The problem is that brass may be work-hardened as the razor is made. That makes it easy to crack the tooth completely off. To avoid that, you can anneal the metal with a torch flame before working it. Or, you can just leave a bent tooth alone if it does not cause problems with the blade position on the face.

And the success strongly depends on the width of the tooth. The more brass the more the risk to crack. Few days ago I failed when trying to fix a bent tooth of the Gillette NEW. It broke

 

[NorthernSoul]

And the success strongly depends on the width of the tooth. The more brass the more the risk to crack. Few days ago I failed when trying to fix a bent tooth of the Gillette NEW. It broke

That's how I found out about annealing brass.

 

[sakaltras]

Don't ask me how many razors I have damaged :-(

That's how I found out about annealing brass.

 

[dmshaver]

A fascinating read, thank you for sharing!

 

[sakaltras]

A fascinating read, thank you for sharing!

Thank you very much

 

[ShaverAZ]

The problem is that brass may be work-hardened as the razor is made. That makes it easy to crack the tooth completely off. To avoid that, you can anneal the metal with a torch flame before working it. Or, you can just leave a bent tooth alone if it does not cause problems with the blade position on the face.

If the plating or finish is in good condition, you may want to avoid a flame. Instead, ahot tip of a soldering iron will work.

 

[NorthernSoul]

If the plating or finish is in good condition, you may want to avoid a flame. Instead, ahot tip of a soldering iron will work.

The part of the metal to be worked needs to glow a soft red (in a dark room). Most soldering irons don't produce enough heat for that.

 

[ShaverAZ]

With over 40 years experience in working extruded brass, I've never found it necessary to use that much heat. Temp over 800º can permanently soften brass to the point it can't be rehardened.

 

[gpjoe]

On outside teeth, I just use this:

Just a little gentle pressure to persuade the tooth back into position.

 

[sakaltras]

On outside teeth, I just use this:

View attachment 1489123

Just a little gentle pressure to persuade the tooth back into position.

Never seen before. How does it work?

 

[Badger in the Sun]

It's a spark plug gapper, used for engine tuneups. Not sure I'd be brave enough to use it on a razor I liked.

 

[gpjoe]

It's a spark plug gapper, used for engine tuneups. Not sure I'd be brave enough to use it on a razor I liked.

I have used it on several vintage Gillette razors on the outside teeth and it works great. You just have to use a light touch, and of course at your own risk, but I have had great success using it.

I'm merely offering another option for folks that aren't comfortable using a hammer on their razor, which includes me.

 

[Badger in the Sun]

I have used it on several vintage Gillette razors on the outside teeth and it works great. You just have to use a light touch, and of course at your own risk, but I have had great success using it.

I'm merely offering another option for folks that aren't comfortable using a hammer on their razor, which includes me.

I have gapped my share of plugs, so maybe I'll give it try. I wonder if slowly bending the tooth back such as with a spark plug gapper might be less likely to break the tooth than with a sudden impact.

 

[gpjoe]

I have gapped my share of plugs, so maybe I'll give it try. I wonder if slowly bending the tooth back such as with a spark plug gapper might be less likely to break the tooth than with a sudden impact.

As always, any method can potentially break a tooth. I've done a few razors, some with multiple bent teeth and haven't broken a tooth...yet.

I just apply gentle pressure to the tool and check my progress often. So far, it's worked. Maybe I've just been lucky.

 

[gpjoe]

Never seen before. How does it work?

Hard to explain, but here is a picture I found online. You hook the tool as shown and apply downward pressure to bend the tooth out a bit.

 

[sakaltras]

Hard to explain, but here is a picture I found online. You hook the tool as shown and apply downward pressure to bend the tooth out a bit.

View attachment 1489246

I think I understand. You need something that stops a further bent of the tooth so that it does not breaks off. This happened to me few times. This is the reason why I'm laying the head on a flat surface with the tooth in contact to the surface and trying to bent against this surface. It acts like a barrier preventing overbent...

 

[gpjoe]

I think I understand. You need something that stops a further bent of the tooth so that it does not breaks off. This happened to me few times. This is the reason why I'm laying the head on a flat surface with the tooth in contact to the surface and trying to bent against this surface. It acts like a barrier preventing overbent...

I'm very happy to hear that your method works well for you.

I have never broken a tooth using my method, and just wanted to show another option.

As always, it is possible to break the teeth regardless of the method used, and urge everyone to proceed at their own risk.