Schick Repeaters and Modern Blades

[jmturley]

I picked up a Schick Type-A earlier this week and finally was able to load it with some modern Chick blades. When I did, I noticed that the blade was VERY loose in the head. If I breathed on it it would fall out. Is this fairly normal? I tried looking around for a definitive answer but couldn't find anything conclusive. I did however try to bend the spring (ended up marring the head a bit. DOH!) and it seems to be OK now. With the spring bent a bit more is that gonna cause trouble is I want to use vintage blades?

I also noticed that I damaged several of my blades trying to load the clip into the handle (double DOH!), but seem to have at least saved one.

 

[Flintstone65]

I picked up a Schick Type-A earlier this week and finally was able to load it with some modern Chick blades. When I did, I noticed that the blade was VERY loose in the head. If I breathed on it it would fall out. Is this fairly normal? I tried looking around for a definitive answer but couldn't find anything conclusive. I did however try to bend the spring (ended up marring the head a bit. DOH!) and it seems to be OK now. With the spring bent a bit more is that gonna cause trouble is I want to use vintage blades?

I also noticed that I damaged several of my blades trying to load the clip into the handle (double DOH!), but seem to have at least saved one.

Oh wow, I am sorry to hear/read this! I used a Schick Proline B-20 in mine (which already had a modern blade in it from the previous owner), and it went in very snugly. So I don't think it's normal for the modern blade to fit loosely, but I don't have access to any "vintage" Schick blades, so I don't know if they differ significantly in thickness. I would've done the same thing you did (i.e., bent the spring to tighten it up).

There aren't too many of us with Type-A's; but I believe @jmudrick has one, and perhaps he can weigh in as well. And of course, @xxvaleria has a lot of experience with Schicks and may be able to answer the question on vintage vs modern Schick blades.

Last comment from me (yeah, right....I know) is that the previous owner did say when she sent the razor that she kept it loaded with a blade so it would be easier for me to reload it....so perhaps the next blade loading will go smoother.

 

[jmturley]

I had a vintage blade in mine and it don’t nice and snug, so something is different. There just seems to be a lot of differing opinions on the thickness of modern vs vintage.

 

[Flintstone65]

I had a vintage blade in mine and it don’t nice and snug, so something is different. There just seems to be a lot of differing opinions on the thickness of modern vs vintage.

Ahhh, okay.

 

[Ron R]

I did however try to bend the spring (ended up marring the head a bit. DOH!) and it seems to be OK now. With the spring bent a bit more is that gonna cause trouble is I want to use vintage blades?

I also noticed that I damaged several of my blades trying to load the clip into the handle (double DOH!), but seem to have at least saved one.

The blade has to been under tension from the spring, bending the spring so its under pressure is a good thing and if that can be accomplished. The brass springs can be adjusted from my many experiences with E type injectors. What you could do when testing is use a spent blade for reloading until your happy with results and then try a new one to improve the odds of a successful reload.
Have some great shaves!

 

[jmudrick]

The blade has to been under tension from the spring, bending the spring so its under pressure is a good thing and if that can be accomplished. The brass springs can be adjusted from my many experiences with E type injectors. What you could do when testing is use a spent blade for reloading until your happy with results and then try a new one to improve the odds of a successful reload.
Have some great shaves!

Agreed, the top part of the head on the Repeating razors can be bent to hold thinner modern blades more securely. I think most folks just press the head on a table to accomplish this.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[jmturley]

So, I was apparently successful at tightening the spring, the blade stayed put during my shave. It was a fairly decent shave. Still have some learning curve but I think this one will stick around in my rotation.