The case of the lopsided Tech...

[old_pine]

So on a whim I dropped by an antique shop that was having a closing sale today. I was able to grab a random (to me) vintage Gillette 3 piece razor. Later I found out that it was a Fat Handle Tech in Nickel. It's extremely clean and looks beautiful. So here is the issue... I went to shave with it (about 3 days worth of growth) and one side of the razor gives an aggressive "high blade feel" shave while the other won't even cut. I thought I could be blade alignment so I tried to even them out to no avail. I tried loosening the handle just a bit and that kind of worked but there was a good bit of chatter and didn't seem safe. I tried several different blades to see if that could be the issue and it is not. The only visible issue that I could see, is that the post on the top cap looks like its ever so slightly at an angle but when I screw on the handle with the base plate, it looks flush to me. I'm at a loss. On the one hand I actually loved the shave I got with the "aggressive" side, but on the other hand the "mild" side is completely useless.

Bent base plate? Messed up post on the cap? Something else?

I've been researching for about an hour now and I'm not finding anybody with the same experience. Any insight is welcome!

 

[dotKomo]

I found an Old Type at an antique shop and it also has blade alignment issues. Not sure there is a fix.

 

[Alum Ladd]

So on a whim I dropped by an antique shop that was having a closing sale today. I was able to grab a random (to me) vintage Gillette 3 piece razor. Later I found out that it was a Fat Handle Tech in Nickel. It's extremely clean and looks beautiful. So here is the issue... I went to shave with it (about 3 days worth of growth) and one side of the razor gives an aggressive "high blade feel" shave while the other won't even cut. I thought I could be blade alignment so I tried to even them out to no avail. I tried loosening the handle just a bit and that kind of worked but there was a good bit of chatter and didn't seem safe. I tried several different blades to see if that could be the issue and it is not. The only visible issue that I could see, is that the post on the top cap looks like its ever so slightly at an angle but when I screw on the handle with the base plate, it looks flush to me. I'm at a loss. On the one hand I actually loved the shave I got with the "aggressive" side, but on the other hand the "mild" side is completely useless.

Bent base plate? Messed up post on the cap? Something else?

I've been researching for about an hour now and I'm not finding anybody with the same experience. Any insight is welcome!

Any photos would be really helpful!

A replacement top cap would be quite straightforward to source.

 

[NorthernSoul]

You could try rotating the cap 180 degrees to see if that helps even things out.

The blade is located in the Techs by four corner posts. It's difficult to see how all four corner posts could be bent without it being fairly obvious by inspection. The blade should be firmly located by the posts, with no significant free play. More likely something's wrong with the base plate. Does the base plate lie completely flat on a surface like a countertop or table?

 

[ivan_101]

Show us pictures that illustrate your problem. There is a possibility the problem is a deformed bottom plate, not the cap. When razors are being dropped, usually the guard is bent.

 

[old_pine]

Howdy howdy, thanks for all of the input! I’ll get pics up as soon as possible. What I did find when I placed the base plate against a flat surface is that it seems “torqued” diagonally. So it rocks from NW to SE if you will. That’s the plate lying long wise north to south.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Howdy howdy, thanks for all of the input! I’ll get pics up as soon as possible. What I did find when I placed the base plate against a flat surface is that it seems “torqued” diagonally. So it rocks from NW to SE if you will. That’s the plate lying long wise north to south.

Brass is quite malleable.

Maybe put it between 2 heavy flat weights like bricks or breeze blocks or the like, handle side down.

Sit on it for a couple of minutes.

No idea, just baseplate brain storming here.

Nothing to lose.

Might even work.

 

[old_pine]

Brass is quite malleable.

Maybe put it between 2 heavy flat weights like bricks or breeze blocks or the like, handle side down.

Sit on it for a couple of minutes.

No idea, just baseplate brain storming here.

Nothing to lose.

Might even work.

Hey I like this idea! If that doesn’t work I may just send it to someone on the forum that wants to take on a little experiment like that!

Also, baseplate brainstorming

 

[ajkel64]

Photos please before any panel beating. We loves our photos.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Howdy howdy, thanks for all of the input! I’ll get pics up as soon as possible. What I did find when I placed the base plate against a flat surface is that it seems “torqued” diagonally. So it rocks from NW to SE if you will. That’s the plate lying long wise north to south.

That's most likely your problem, right there.

If you're handy with tools, you might be able to effect "repairs" by sandwiching the base plate between two stout pieces of lumber on a workbench and striking repeatedly with a big hammer. (Don't put the base plate between bricks, unless you want to destructively smash the base plate out of frustration).

If that option doesn't work, base plates on the Tech will interchange within the same model year ranges. If you have a pre-war Tech, any pre-war Tech base plate should work. There are some subtle differences among the post-war Techs, with the NDC (no date code) and 1951-1960 being formed a little nicer than the later versions.

 

[old_pine]

Okay okay here are the pics @ajkel64

 

[old_pine]

And for fun… is this a nickel/chrome plated Milord??? Date code is Y1

 

[DrStrange]

A Milord is a gold plated Super Speed.

A Super Speed is a nickel plated Milord.

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for the photographs @old_pine the only photo that you missed was a photo of the razor with a blade loaded in it. It doesn’t look too bad without a blade to me, although in the last photo the Top Cap looks like the screw part is bent

 

[ivan_101]

The screw doesn't look very good to me too. But that bottom plate not sitting right on a plane is definitely bent. Do not try the bricks and sitting on them suggestion, please. This is a no-no.

I am sure the plate has sustained dropping that has bent it. Those kind of deformations can be remedied with pliers (or in this case 2 pairs of pliers) the plate should be wrapped with some material that will not allow the pliers to ruin the plating. Like a multiple layer thick paper handkerchief. But I must warn you this type of procedures are not for everyone. In the end you just might make it even worse and part with the razor.

 

[nemo]

although in the last photo the Top Cap looks like the screw part is bent

Yessir, that's bent. Not even sure how that could happen.

The screw doesn't look very good to me too.

Me too. That'll cause some issues, one side hide, the other low.

 

[airmech]

It looks like you have several issues, the base plate is bent, the screw is bent and the threads on the screw are buggerred up. You can fix the bent base plate and clean up the threads, but the way the screw is bent I don’t know if you could straighten it as it looks to be bent in several places, almost an ”S” shape.

Tom

 

[Happy Jack]

It looks like someone has been trying to use it as a pry bar or cold chisel. Given what you say about one side being ok and the other uselessly mild you might find that a straight Tech is a bit too mild on both sides.

Still, good Techs are cheap and plentiful. I wouldn't spend too much time on that one.

 

[Doc Dan]

Go find a pre-war fat handle. Even if the finish is bad, as long as the rest is in good shape, you can have it refinished cheaply and have a good razor.

The base plate on yours is maybe fixable. That screw is pretty bad, though. If you want to keep it, you could send it to a professional restoration place.

 

[gpjoe]

Wow, I know brass is soft but with the bent post and warped base plate it looks like someone used that razor to open beer bottles or pull nails.

Sorry, but short of using some potential razor-killing brute force to straighten it, I have no idea. I would think that trying to straighten the threaded post would risk breaking it off of the cap.