To all B&B members:
W B K requested that I do a thread on the care and feeding of the Rolls razor, so here goes:
I was given one as a present on my 16th birthday, in 1949, from an Uncle (by marriage) who was an engineer, raised and educated in Austria before coming to the US in the mid 1930's. My father, a mechanical engineer (Univ of Iowa, 1900) gave me some valuable instruction in both the manly art of shaving and the care of the equipment.
I have used it on a nearly daily basis ever since. It still has the original strop, the hone replaced in the 1950's as a result of dropping it onto the steel deck of a destroyer during some rather heavy weather. The blade is also the original.
I have found the razor to be more than satisfactory. I used to leave it at home when I was on road trips during the 60's and 70's, largely because I didn't want to chance losing it, and because it is heavy, and in the pre-jet days, luggage was strictly limited by weight! I also carried tube of shaving/cream and jell on these trips. I must confess I was always more than glad to get home and back to the Rolls and brush!
One final "confession", my beard grows about the average for white males, and is not particularly tough. This will have a bearing for anyone who might want to follow my practices.
The first thing has to do with the strop. I keep strop dressing handy, and as soon as any light spots begin to appear, I re-dress it. It doesn't take much, but remember that the strop dressing not only keeps the leather supple, it also contains a polishing compound similar to jewelers rouge. I found that I only needed to add dressing every month or so. It doesn't take much, just a little dab and worked into the leather where the blade makes contact.
When the blade is honed, if you look at the edge through a microscope, you would see ridges and "saw teeth" along the cutting edge. If you are going to cut through a piece of rope, that is fine, but not for your beard. You want to cut the beard and not the face (duh!)
The purpose of stropping is twofold. The first is to smooth out these ridges, polish them, if you will. This is what gives you a smooth shave.
The second purpose is the instruction given to strop the blade after shaving (Rolls instruction sheet) This removes any water remaining on the blade to keep any rust from starting. I would also add here that the instruction sheet says to shake the water from the hole in the flat end of the blade opposite the edge, I find it easier to hold the blade by the guard and blow the water out. Once a month or so, I put a drop of oil in there (using sewing machine oil or the like), one drop is plenty. Probably a Q-tip dipped in oil would work as well, if not better. Is this necessary? probably not, once the water is either shaken or blown out, but I get paranoid about rust, especially on irreplaceable machinery.
I oil the hone, again using something like sewing machine oil, or gun oil. Why do I keep saying sewing machine oil? Some of the utility oils have vegetable oil in them and hat can oxidize and form a gummy coating. You don't want that on any part of the razor!
How often does one use the hone? The answer is, depends on your beard. As I said before, mine is not particularly tough. I grew a full beard in the late 1960's (for a centennial celebration) and have never shaved it off completely. I still shave on a daily basis to keep things looking neat, and keeping the shape to where I like it. When I was clean shaven, it would need to be honed only about once every six weeks or so. I would use the hone only when the razor started to "drag".
About 15-30 strokes in each direction seemed to do the job. Then 60 on the strop. The secret to good honing is to go slowly, don't slam the blade against the hone, you are not trying to beat it into submission!
Finally, the rack mechanism which flips the blade. I take the hone and strop off the case, remove the blade and handle. I check the rack and pinion under a strong light for any signs of rust. So far I only had a problem when I was aboard the destroyer back in the 1950's. A small dab of lithium grease on each side of the rack, then run the handle back and forth until the grease is well distributed, with a cloth remove any excess.
NEVER get any oil or grease on the shaft with the clip that holds the blade. You will destroy the friction which hold the blade against the strop and hone.
Even the best razor will not give a good shave if the beard is not prepped. Contrary to the TV ads, the purpose of the lather is not to hold the beard up so it can be cut by the first blade of a multi-blade razor. The purpose of lather is to lubricate the cutting edge so it will do a more efficient job, and slid over the skin. If you are drilling a hold in a piece of iron, a drop of oil will make the drill bit cut faster, cleaner and with less effort. This is what the soapy water does when shaving.
This is the process my Father taught me; and it was a wonderful rite of passage, and a marvelous male bonding experience!
First, wash your face with hot water and soap. (OK, if you are taking a shower, that will do too, at the time we didn't have a shower, and took a full bath only once a week!) This will remove the day's accumulation of natural oils your skin puts out.
While you are doing this, fill the soap cup with water and let both the soap and brush soak in hot water. Then dump out the excess water, and start the lathering process. I won't go into that here, except to say you want a thick, creamy lather, almost like ready whip but not nearly tastey.
Apply a generous amount to your face, and while it is soaking the beard, now is the time to strop your Rolls razor, about 30-60 strokes. Remove the blade, attach the handle and start shaving. I prefer to use short strokes, but you know your own face better than I do, and I trust you have found a method that works.
Go over the area twice, once with the grain, once against it. Then rinse the razor in the hot water, pull the plug, and use the brush to clean all the stubble out of the basin as the water drains. Squeeze any excess water out of the brush, and hang it up to air dry.
Dry the razor blade, remove the handle, blow the water out of the hole, and strop for about 15-20 strokes to remove any possible water from the cutting edge.
If you are still bleeding, use styptic power or pencil (alum) to stop the bleeding. Now aftershave lotion is in order. Whatever you prefer.
I have followed this procedure for over 60 years, and my Rolls Viscount is still working fine. The case has scratches and a few dings there is a cut on the strop (I'm not sure how it got there) and the hone still is flat enough to do a good job.
Interestingly, my father (born in 1879) never used a safety razor, until shortly before his death in 1965, he always used a straight razor (and on occasion when necessary, the strop on me.
)
I hope this helps those who have this marvelous piece of shaving machinery. There are a lot of them on E-bay for reasonable prices. Just be sure to read the description carefully, and if any questions, ask before you bid. Rust spots on the cutting edge can be honed away, it just takes time.
I hope this is of some help.
W B K requested that I do a thread on the care and feeding of the Rolls razor, so here goes:
I was given one as a present on my 16th birthday, in 1949, from an Uncle (by marriage) who was an engineer, raised and educated in Austria before coming to the US in the mid 1930's. My father, a mechanical engineer (Univ of Iowa, 1900) gave me some valuable instruction in both the manly art of shaving and the care of the equipment.
I have used it on a nearly daily basis ever since. It still has the original strop, the hone replaced in the 1950's as a result of dropping it onto the steel deck of a destroyer during some rather heavy weather. The blade is also the original.
I have found the razor to be more than satisfactory. I used to leave it at home when I was on road trips during the 60's and 70's, largely because I didn't want to chance losing it, and because it is heavy, and in the pre-jet days, luggage was strictly limited by weight! I also carried tube of shaving/cream and jell on these trips. I must confess I was always more than glad to get home and back to the Rolls and brush!
One final "confession", my beard grows about the average for white males, and is not particularly tough. This will have a bearing for anyone who might want to follow my practices.
The first thing has to do with the strop. I keep strop dressing handy, and as soon as any light spots begin to appear, I re-dress it. It doesn't take much, but remember that the strop dressing not only keeps the leather supple, it also contains a polishing compound similar to jewelers rouge. I found that I only needed to add dressing every month or so. It doesn't take much, just a little dab and worked into the leather where the blade makes contact.
When the blade is honed, if you look at the edge through a microscope, you would see ridges and "saw teeth" along the cutting edge. If you are going to cut through a piece of rope, that is fine, but not for your beard. You want to cut the beard and not the face (duh!)
The purpose of stropping is twofold. The first is to smooth out these ridges, polish them, if you will. This is what gives you a smooth shave.
The second purpose is the instruction given to strop the blade after shaving (Rolls instruction sheet) This removes any water remaining on the blade to keep any rust from starting. I would also add here that the instruction sheet says to shake the water from the hole in the flat end of the blade opposite the edge, I find it easier to hold the blade by the guard and blow the water out. Once a month or so, I put a drop of oil in there (using sewing machine oil or the like), one drop is plenty. Probably a Q-tip dipped in oil would work as well, if not better. Is this necessary? probably not, once the water is either shaken or blown out, but I get paranoid about rust, especially on irreplaceable machinery.
I oil the hone, again using something like sewing machine oil, or gun oil. Why do I keep saying sewing machine oil? Some of the utility oils have vegetable oil in them and hat can oxidize and form a gummy coating. You don't want that on any part of the razor!
How often does one use the hone? The answer is, depends on your beard. As I said before, mine is not particularly tough. I grew a full beard in the late 1960's (for a centennial celebration) and have never shaved it off completely. I still shave on a daily basis to keep things looking neat, and keeping the shape to where I like it. When I was clean shaven, it would need to be honed only about once every six weeks or so. I would use the hone only when the razor started to "drag".
About 15-30 strokes in each direction seemed to do the job. Then 60 on the strop. The secret to good honing is to go slowly, don't slam the blade against the hone, you are not trying to beat it into submission!
Finally, the rack mechanism which flips the blade. I take the hone and strop off the case, remove the blade and handle. I check the rack and pinion under a strong light for any signs of rust. So far I only had a problem when I was aboard the destroyer back in the 1950's. A small dab of lithium grease on each side of the rack, then run the handle back and forth until the grease is well distributed, with a cloth remove any excess.
NEVER get any oil or grease on the shaft with the clip that holds the blade. You will destroy the friction which hold the blade against the strop and hone.
Even the best razor will not give a good shave if the beard is not prepped. Contrary to the TV ads, the purpose of the lather is not to hold the beard up so it can be cut by the first blade of a multi-blade razor. The purpose of lather is to lubricate the cutting edge so it will do a more efficient job, and slid over the skin. If you are drilling a hold in a piece of iron, a drop of oil will make the drill bit cut faster, cleaner and with less effort. This is what the soapy water does when shaving.
This is the process my Father taught me; and it was a wonderful rite of passage, and a marvelous male bonding experience!
First, wash your face with hot water and soap. (OK, if you are taking a shower, that will do too, at the time we didn't have a shower, and took a full bath only once a week!) This will remove the day's accumulation of natural oils your skin puts out.
While you are doing this, fill the soap cup with water and let both the soap and brush soak in hot water. Then dump out the excess water, and start the lathering process. I won't go into that here, except to say you want a thick, creamy lather, almost like ready whip but not nearly tastey.
Apply a generous amount to your face, and while it is soaking the beard, now is the time to strop your Rolls razor, about 30-60 strokes. Remove the blade, attach the handle and start shaving. I prefer to use short strokes, but you know your own face better than I do, and I trust you have found a method that works.
Go over the area twice, once with the grain, once against it. Then rinse the razor in the hot water, pull the plug, and use the brush to clean all the stubble out of the basin as the water drains. Squeeze any excess water out of the brush, and hang it up to air dry.
Dry the razor blade, remove the handle, blow the water out of the hole, and strop for about 15-20 strokes to remove any possible water from the cutting edge.
If you are still bleeding, use styptic power or pencil (alum) to stop the bleeding. Now aftershave lotion is in order. Whatever you prefer.
I have followed this procedure for over 60 years, and my Rolls Viscount is still working fine. The case has scratches and a few dings there is a cut on the strop (I'm not sure how it got there) and the hone still is flat enough to do a good job.
Interestingly, my father (born in 1879) never used a safety razor, until shortly before his death in 1965, he always used a straight razor (and on occasion when necessary, the strop on me.
)I hope this helps those who have this marvelous piece of shaving machinery. There are a lot of them on E-bay for reasonable prices. Just be sure to read the description carefully, and if any questions, ask before you bid. Rust spots on the cutting edge can be honed away, it just takes time.
I hope this is of some help.
I've managed to find a couple of usable blades and really enjoy using them. I don't do it nearly enough though. I also like to blow out the blade hole, but then I jam a cotton swab in there a couple of times to (hopefully) pick up the remainder of the water.
I think I will use one today...I have been inspired!! 
