Restoring a Valet Auto Strop Razor

[pat_trick]

Hey everyone, first post and glad to be here.

I recently inherited an old Valet Auto Strop razor; my mom found it with my father's things when she was doing some cleaning (he passed away long ago). It's in pretty sad condition, and I intend to restore it and give it a try. Having never used a safety razor before, I figure this would be a good start.

Here are some pics of the razor as it is now. It came in a worn red box, along with two small packs of blades. In the box is the razor, along with the strop for it.

As you can see, the safety razor itself is rather tarnished and will need some love before using. The auto-strop is also showing signs of spot molding--is this something I can / should take the time to restore?

Fortunately the gear action on the chassis for the blade still works very smoothly, and the blade catch doesn't have any problems. I think once I've restored it to cleanliness, oiled it a little, and dropped a new blade in, it should be working great.

I'd love any pointers/words of caution before I dive into this. I'm following the advice on the Wiki, and plan to get the materials for cleaning this week. My main worry is making sure not to mar it when cleaning it.

My primary goal is to restore it to the point where I can use it for regular shaving--purely for practical use, this one!

Hopefully some day I'll find my dad's collection of straight razors that he had.

 

[alex2363]

Welcome to the badger and blade, im glad that you are keepin gyour dad's memories alive by using his razor, i would not recommend using that Valet razor as your 1st razor, it may be too aggressive for a newbie, try a Super speed or Slim adjustable, and get a silvertip brush w proraso shave cream..................here is vid onhow to use Valet strop

 

[bowlturner]

You have a nice razor to start with. Yes, clean up the razor as planned. I am not a big fan of using the original Valet blades (Keep them, for sure!). I have had better success with the Feather blades I bought at www.razorbladesandmore.com. I do not try to resharpen the Feathers, just replace them. You can find video on stropping a Valet on u-tube. You should try it, as it is fun to see how the Valet was designed to be used with the strop and the old steel blades.

 

[HLS]

Per my personal experience it is very possible to cut the strop during the stropping process. Be sure to read the instructions and follow them. Also go slowly to watch the blade flip over. Sometimes it wont and cause you to cut the strop.

 

[Possum]

I agree with Alex for your 1st shaver. I have the Valet strop and can get the razor; what year were these mfg.? Possum

 

[michiganlover]

I have dabbled with a Valet Auto Strop before. Use the Feather blades found here:

http://www.razorbladesandmore.com/content/feather-single-edge-blades-5pcs

and don't bother with trying to strop them. The stropping feature is neat, but essentially unnecessary in today's shaving world.

The old blades you have being made of carbon steel, are likely to either be rusted, or otherwise degraded in shave quality that the shave they would provide will be quite horrific, so don't bother using those either.

 

[Mr. Flay]

I agree with Alex for your 1st shaver. I have the Valet strop and can get the razor; what year were these mfg.? Possum

The "Million Dollar" Razor was marketed between 1928 and 1935.

 

[Mr. Flay]

I agree with the previous posters that you (the OP) will want to use the modern Feather blades instead of vintage blades. You'll have a happier experience. You won't want to strop them, however.

I didn't catch whether you mentioned whether you already have some wet shaving experience. If not, I agree with Alex and others that there are other razors more likely to provide a more forgiving first experience. That being said, I'm one of those that is using Valets as the centerpieces of my established rotation because they give me consistently great shaves (with the Feathers, great combination). A factor that puts some people off (understandably) is the cost of the Feathers compared to blades for other razors, and basic narrow availability of the blades (we can only find them at Razor Blades and More). Some people say they don't get as many good shaves out of a Feather blades as they would from other blades, but I get a good consistent five out of them. These are all factors to keep in mind before committing to a Valet as an everyday razor. I love them.

 

[Possum]

Thanks Mr. Flay. Possum

 

[tomjr]

great info guys, on those feather blades.

 

[Kentos]

I would bet you can touch up those feathes if you sprayed a strop with some CBN or diamond spray...

 

[pat_trick]

Thanks everyone for the great info.

After reading through everyone's suggestions, I think my intent right now is to focus on just restoring the razor. I will take to heart the suggestions to get the Feather blades should I use it down the road. It looks like they are Japanese manufactured, so I'm going to ask a few of my friends who live in Japan whether they can get some for me, or find out some other websites that carry them. If I can, I'll be sure to post back here with details.

This will be my first time using a safety razor, so I will also follow the suggestions to ease myself into it by getting something a little more user friendly to start off with.

Any other suggestions on restoring the leather strop?

Will be posting photos of the restored piece once I'm done!

 

[pat_trick]

Quick update: I haven't had time to start on this project yet, but I did find the blades direct from Japan. Feather Japan sells a 24 pack (5 blades per pack) for 6,804 Yen, which is approx $86 USD. This comes out to $3.60 per pack of 5, not including shipping. It's really only $0.90 less per pack than it would be otherwise from Razor Blades and More, and I'm not sure whether they sell international or not.

Here's the website: http://www.feather-shop.com/ Click on the first menu link at the top left of the page, then the third link in the third column. The blades will be the last link on this page.

Here's the direct link to the blades, you can use Google Chrome to translate it if you like: http://www.feather-shop.com/cgibin/hotcake04.pl?SeihinName=05%20%83n%83C%81E%83X%83e%83%93%83%8c%83X%95%d0%90n%81i5%96%87%93%fc%2024%83R%93%fc%81j%206804%89%7e%28%90%c5%94%b26480%89%7e%29

 

[marty39]

Per my personal experience it is very possible to cut the strop during the stropping process. Be sure to read the instructions and follow them. Also go slowly to watch the blade flip over. Sometimes it wont and cause you to cut the strop.

After making a few surface cuts on my newly acquired strop I figured out that the flipping action depends on friction between the bottom roller and the top surface of the strop. You can strop as fast as you want as long as you keep contact between the roller and the strop. Always pull on the handle to move the razor up and down the strop. Don't push the head.