Schick B1 Repeater In The 21st Century!

[mjclark]

I am so excited at the arrival of this Schick Type B - the Colonel’s repeater design inspired by automatic rifles in all it’s glory here in Devon!

Thete’s some plating loss on the head and the inner workings were heavily greased but the mechanism is perfect.
I followed the loading instructions in this video:

The old blade was a bit stiff to remove but the new Personna slid into place soon enough.
What an amazing thing and really cool that the modern blades are totally compatible.
How aggressive is this going to be - a lot I hope.

Of course the repeater cartridges are no longer made so loading a new blade demands is a hobbyist activity but man this is a beautiful and exciting thing.

 

[fasa]

Very nice waiting for shave report


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[mjclark]

Very nice waiting for shave report


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Actually there were a lot of surprises from the first shave:

This is radically different from the later injectors.
Firstly it’s very heavy at 92g:

Secondly the angle of the head to the handle means you have to shave very steeply with the handle almost at 90deg to the face.

If you do this and keep the head almost flat to the face the result is an extremely smooth shave, smoother than any other Injector I’ve used and also pretty aggressive somewhere between a Schick E and a Schick G.
With the handle held at this angle and the razor flat to the face it’s also well balanced and comfortable in the hand.
I was expecting this to be crude and rough like the first Autostrops but it was the exact opposite, very refined and smooth like an Injector equivalent of the FaTip or Eclipse Red Ring.

And the final surprise was that it left my skin completely calm and irritation free, even on the neck troubleshoots.

This razor has very radical Art Deco looks, almost Bauhaus, and it’s an absolute masterpiece of design and engineering.

A bit like Gillette with the New Improved, Schick could have stopped here and had the near-perfect razor. Everything that followed was just so much icing on the cake.

The only real criticism is the intricacy of the blade loading without the benefit of the proprietary cartridges.

But that’s part of the fascination of this razor for me anyway, that clever and slightly fiddly mechanical stuff.

And isn’t blade loading issues what we critiscised the Cobra Classic for too?

 

[Porgy Tirebiter]

What a great looking razor. I’ve not yet expanded into Shick injectors, but would definitely start with something as striking as this. It looks like it would’ve been thought of by a set designer on the movie “Metropolis”.

 

[garyg]

Congrats - the Repeaters are a fun bit of history and a good shave. The older blades were thicker, but like you I have successfully done it with a couple different Repeaters. My problem is I don't use them enough to remember all the fiddly details of loading that tray between-times & then end up just hand loading a blade directly to the head.

 

[rudyt]

The only real criticism is the intricacy of the blade loading without the benefit of the proprietary cartridges.

You're one of the lucky ones - you've got the blade caddy that makes the whole thing work. Most times that part is long gone. Just stack 10 or so injector blades in the caddy and you have a fully functioning razor.

You need a Type C now. I call it the Stubble Squeegee. It efficiently wipes away stubble with zero blade feel. Your Type B is one of the best looking razors out there. I left all the patina on mine

 

[mjclark]

You need a Type C now. I call it the Stubble Squeegee. It efficiently wipes away stubble with zero blade feel.

And so RepeatingRAD is born!
5 hours after the shave I just felt my face and I can’t believe what a close and efficient shave this razor has given.

 

[tylehman]

And so RepeatingRAD is born!
5 hours after the shave I just felt my face and I can’t believe what a close and efficient shave this razor has given.

i can assure you that RepeatingRAD is real!!!
type A

type B

and three varieties of type C

i use vintage blades in all of them as described in this post
I found something great from Schick with a good story to match
i have seen more NOS blades for sale in the last month, so if that is your thing they can be found.

 

[mjclark]

i can assure you that RepeatingRAD is real!!!
type A
View attachment 830557

type B
View attachment 830554

and three varieties of type C
View attachment 830559

i use vintage blades in all of them as described in this post
I found something great from Schick with a good story to match
i have seen more NOS blades for sale in the last month, so if that is your thing they can be found.

Fantastic! That is an amazing story indeed and some very beautiful razors.
Now I MUST get my hands on some of those blade magazines!!

Another amazing shave with the B1 last night too:

 

[mjclark]

And the angle has really clicked now - just such a good shave tonight as the Personna PTFE blade starts to relax a bit:

 

[fasa]

@mjclark looks like you are back on the injector train !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mjclark]

@mjclark looks like you are back on the injector train !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You know it my friend

Somehow they have called me!

 

[oldmpf]

Actually there were a lot of surprises from the first shave:
View attachment 830204
This is radically different from the later injectors.
Firstly it’s very heavy at 92g:
View attachment 830203
Secondly the angle of the head to the handle means you have to shave very steeply with the handle almost at 90deg to the face.
View attachment 830205
If you do this and keep the head almost flat to the face the result is an extremely smooth shave, smoother than any other Injector I’ve used and also pretty aggressive somewhere between a Schick E and a Schick G.
With the handle held at this angle and the razor flat to the face it’s also well balanced and comfortable in the hand.
I was expecting this to be crude and rough like the first Autostrops but it was the exact opposite, very refined and smooth like an Injector equivalent of the FaTip or Eclipse Red Ring.

And the final surprise was that it left my skin completely calm and irritation free, even on the neck troubleshoots.

This razor has very radical Art Deco looks, almost Bauhaus, and it’s an absolute masterpiece of design and engineering.

A bit like Gillette with the New Improved, Schick could have stopped here and had the near-perfect razor. Everything that followed was just so much icing on the cake.

The only real criticism is the intricacy of the blade loading without the benefit of the proprietary cartridges.

But that’s part of the fascination of this razor for me anyway, that clever and slightly fiddly mechanical stuff.

And isn’t blade loading issues what we critiscised the Cobra Classic for too?

Just used mine this week, with a Schick Proline Blade. Supply eat your heart out.
It really is good.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

I bought a Type C1 back in January and have been quite pleased with it. I wanted a Repeater for a ground travel razor since it folds up neatly and is capped. I wanted an Open Comb so it could come out and play during OCtober as well.

The only issue with mine is that the spring is missing, so I have to load a blade manually. That isn't a big deal since Injector blades last so long. I still have the blade in it I loaded back in January. It has gone 15 days of testing back then, several 3-5 day trips and 6 runs here during OCtober - and doesn't need changing yet.

A repeater is a good choice, methinks.

Stan

 

[mjclark]

So thanks to being pointed in the right direction by @tylehman I have acquired some of the original Schick Blade magazines for the Repeating razors.
They’re in incredible shape and fitted like a dream into the B1.
Shave report to follow

 

[Peter's coin]

I have four repeaters on the way: a Type A, silver Type B, gold Type B and a C1. What are the best blades to use in the loading mechanisms?

 

[mjclark]

I have four repeaters on the way: a Type A, silver Type B, gold Type B and a C1. What are the best blades to use in the loading mechanisms?

I used a modern Personna Stainless for my B1’s first outing.
The thicker OEM Repeater Blades also fit just right for me.

Some people find the modern blades too thin, others (like me) find that they fit perfectly.
It just seems to depend on your particular razor - maybe the blade slot becomes wider with use or maybe it was different production runs.
If you have one with a too loose fit for the modern thin blades then apparently you can hammer the head shut a bit tighter although you’d need advice from someone who’d actually done that!
Or you can use the slightly thicker twin blades - an exciting prospect in such an amazing razor.

And while we’re discussing manufacturing tolerances I am amazed at how the screw pivot on the head of my B1 is still perfectly tight after 80+ years of use.
How do they do that?

This is also one of the claims for the Focus Slim thst it’s pivot never becomes loose.
How how how?

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Well, I took my C1 apart to make a new spring (I have a machine shop) and found that the original one is still in there and fine. It had one modern blade which had rotated such that the end of the spring had slipped through the capture slot for the Hydromagic feature of later injector razors. That held the spring down so it looked like it was missing when I peered down the loading opening.

I also figured out that mine will not happily load a modern thin blade. So, I also know how that one wound up twisted and jammed sideways in there. I will have to find some old blades or perhaps try twin blades. Or, just keep on manually loading modern ones.

As to the screw staying put, it has a taper on the bottom of the screw head which matches a taper in the razor head. And the screw threads have been made oval, not circular, while the post hole is circular. That give a large surface area for the razor head to swivel on, and the ovalized screw thread acts to bind the threads and prevent the screw from loosening. This is a typical machine trick back in the day. These days, they would save that step and use LocTite.

Stan

 

[mjclark]

As to the screw staying put, it has a taper on the bottom of the screw head which matches a taper in the razor head. And the screw threads have been made oval, not circular, while the post hole is circular. That give a large surface area for the razor head to swivel on, and the ovalized screw thread acts to bind the threads and prevent the screw from loosening. This is a typical machine trick back in the day. These days, they would save that step and use LocTite.

Stan

Thank you for such a clear and intelligent explanation of something that has really been puzzling me.

And it only strengthens the conviction that these Repeaters are such beautifully made razors.

 

[Peter's coin]

I received my C1 yesterday. I pulled out the plunger and couldn’t push it back in—panic that I had a bad mechanism, but a minute adjustment of the head to the body lined up the blade slot and the head and then it worked perfectly—the plunger went back in and a vintage blade came out and displaced a blade that was already in the head—there is a stack of vintage blades in the magazine!