Were any vintage safety razors actually made of stainless steel? Turns out that many I'd thought were made of stainless aren't- such as the Techs + Super Speeds.
Thx,
-Z
Thx,
-Z
Stainless steel vintage razor?
- Thread starter Major Overkill
- Start date
R
romsitsa
Darwin, Strivel and one I forgot, but @Northstonehill has/had one.
G
Guest2023
There are razors like Olaf Rasmussen, Federal(head only) and Weck Surgical med prep SE.
As noted, Olaf Rasmussen Surgical Prep.
Weck Surgical Prep.
Weck Surgical Prep.
1963.
- Thread starter
- #6
Note: I specifically mean vintage stainless steel razors. The ones listed above look newer, yes?
-Z
-Z
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
I thought the Darwin was made from cobalt steel which is distinct from stainless steel. I am neither a metallurgist nor a Darwin expert so could be very wrong here.
G
Guest2023
As you can see in the ad below,
Darwin ST is advertised as being made of SS whereas Darwin De Luxe made of Cobaltcrom Steel.
The razors I posted are over 70 years old. The PAL is severely vintage also.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
You might not find stainless steel razors back in the 1900-30s or even 40's because machining tooling to even machine stainless steel was not really adequate to make any prolonged cutting, it was not really until the world war 2 that the Germans started perfecting carbide cutters to machine hardened steels because allies cut the Germans from diamonds and cobalt so they perfected carbide and possible ceramic cutting tools for exotic steels like stainless. HHS or High speed steel was the premium cutting tools used mostly, stainless steel is a pain to machine if coolant is not used because it will dull quickly on stainless, I have had the coolant stop flowing when cutting 316 stainless while cutting a keyway and it just turns red in color with in 10 seconds and makes a mess even using premium high speed cobalt steel end mills. Brass would of been more economical for machining or stamping razor parts with a nickel or chrome coating made more sense back in that time period you are looking for a vintage razor IMO.
- Thread starter
- #11
In that case, I sit corrected.
What are the classic Gillette razors, like Super Speed & Tech? Steel? Plated bronze?
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
Once again I have shown the extent of my ignorance and learned something new
One of these days I will answer a razor question correctly, but not today 
- Thread starter
- #13
Looks like you answered my question, then. Is the Gillette Old Type made of plated brass, then?
-Z
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
Yes, brass was used on the Gillette old types and I have a old worn one I have a photo of. The owner of that razor must of had used it so much that the coating on top cap was mostly worn off but the bottom plate was almost like new. This old type from the 1920's was well used and the ball end handle was replaced with a tech fat handle as shown. The previous owner must of had not much money to buy a much needed handle yet he some how patched up that old ball end handle with paper shim to try and squeeze it and shave at the same time. When you see a vintage razor with a lot of worn coating off the top cap it was the primary razor or only razor of the owner back in those days, today we are a wash with cheap premium handles and razors.
Have some great shaves!
- Thread starter
- #15
I guess the essence of my question is: are any vintage Gillette safety razors made of stainless steel? I saw the comment re: how difficult it can be to machine stainless steel, and how you didn't see many razors made w/it as late as the 1940s. But some classics were made in the late '40s-' 50s.
-Z
-Z
Nope, never existed.
Plated Brass was the primary component. Aluminum came after, some late techs even pot metal. They began experimenting with different compositions for their blades first in 1930, and failed.
Kroman Gillette
I bought a razor recently that came with five blades. Kroman. I read a little about them and how they were discontinued. Can anyone tell me a little more about them? Why did they stop making them?
www.badgerandblade.com
It wasn’t until around ~1963 ish that they tried again with stainless steel for blades.
The idea for stainless steel is great, it’s just consistently getting the composition of all the elements mixed together in the right proportions and correctly. In the early years this wasn’t easy as steel was, which was just well, carbon and iron for the most part. Then machining, treating, etc.
Great thread!! Thanks for the history lesson!! 
Hello
John Watts made one. I have one and it will take standard DE blades.
Couldn't take pictures of mine donating blood. From another B&B post.
Cheers
John
John Watts made one. I have one and it will take standard DE blades.
Cheers
John
Hmmm, wondering which one you mean, Adam? The Liebel? (but that is chromed brass). From the top of my head I don’t remember owning any vintage stainless steel razors
…But then I really had a lot of razors at one point
- Thread starter
- #20
Hmmm, wondering which one you mean, Adam? The Liebel? (but that is chromed brass). From the top of my head I don’t remember owning any vintage stainless steel razors
I didn't ask that particular question; it was @romsitsa .
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