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What is your oldest vintage Gillette razor?

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Had the same problem with the handle, so I put the ends on a section of brass tubing I nickeled:

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Looks like a pretty good repair! One of these days I will have to purchase a Razor Emporium reproduction handle if they still stock them. They just brought them out not to long ago.
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1905 Double Ring. When I got it, or was a pretzel. Bent teeth, two of which touched. Some bent left right, some up down. Bowed baseplate. Pinched corner top cap.

I've got more confidence than brains, so I decided to straighten it. I'm happy to report it was a complete success - razor is now straight as an arrow.
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Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
1905 Double Ring. When I got it, or was a pretzel. Bent teeth, two of which touched. Some bent left right, some up down. Bowed baseplate. Pinched corner top cap.

I've got more confidence than brains, so I decided to straighten it. I'm happy to report it was a complete success - razor is now straight as an arrow.
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Looks like a pretty good repair and bringing back some history to life. :thumbup1:
 
1905 Double Ring. When I got it, or was a pretzel. Bent teeth, two of which touched. Some bent left right, some up down. Bowed baseplate. Pinched corner top cap.

I've got more confidence than brains, so I decided to straighten it. I'm happy to report it was a complete success - razor is now straight as an arrow.
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What procedure did you use to straighten the teeth?
 
Question please. For those of you using an old type, does the OC lead to more nicks, weepers, etc.? I ask because I’m contemplating buying one, and I wonder how it compares, say, to my pre-war fat handle tech. Thanks in advance.
 

Flintstone65

Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
Very Nice! I have a couple of single rings in excellent condition for their age...still keeping my eye out for a double ring.
Thanks! The teeth are perfectly straight and not even a hairline crack in the handle, so I'm very happy with it. I'd love to have had an earlier serial number (or even better, no serial just Patent Appl'd For), but after living just a few blocks from Time Square, I'm happy to have a NYC-sold razor.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Question please. For those of you using an old type, does the OC lead to more nicks, weepers, etc.? I ask because I’m contemplating buying one, and I wonder how it compares, say, to my pre-war fat handle tech. Thanks in advance.
I would say no. The OC design was to aid in decreasing growth that had gone beyond a day or two's worth growth. I often shave with my open combs the day following a BBS with no issues. Honestly, I find it mostly aesthetically different and not markedly different shave wise...perhaps a tad more aggressive for some.
 
Mine is simply my 1960's era Safety razor that my Dad had while he was in the Air Force. It was never used and as part of his "Inspection Kit". Mine has the adjustable head in Silver(Stainless Steel, I think) with the Black handle. His every day shaver is an older model of the same unit that's all Stainless. He's 80 and still uses it exclusively. When I first started to shave, he gave me his Inspection Razor that he'd never used and I've been shaving with it for the past 35, or so, years.

I want to find something with similar characteristics for my son who's just now beginning to learn a better way to shave than generic shave cream and a Gillette 3,5,22 blade disposable.
 
My wife is giving me for Christmas this year a 1910 Gillette Single Ring that's had a nickel revamp. That will be my oldest razor. Looking forward to shaving with it for the first time on Christmas morn.
 
What procedure did you use to straighten the teeth?
I annealed the baseplate. Heat the baseplate to a dull cherry red, let it *fully* cool, then bend the tooth no more than a hair. Don't try to do it all in one shot. Heat, cool, bend a hair, repeat.

Patience is the key. It took about 20 cycles because the razor was *really* bent. I should have taken pictures.

Here's a before pic of an RFB I did a couple of years ago. The Double Ring was a lot worse, and the teeth are thinner. Notice the baseplate is bowed too.
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Only Gillette I have is a 55 prob earlier travle tech is shaves a lot better then the new stuff I have a futura knock off shaves so much better no knicks weepers anything and gives one hells of a bbs
 
Do you notice afterwards when it is used, that the material is softer and bends easier from (mis)use?

It’s exactly the same as it came from the factory regarding hardness. The teeth are actually LESS brittle than bent ones, which have work hardened. Annealing relieves the stresses and relaxes the metal.

Forgot to add to my post that after you get the razor where you want it, you need to heat it one more time to relieve the stresses from the last bend.
 
My oldest is a 03/04 "PAT.APL'D.FOR" Double Ring with the split knob. I only use it a few times a year but it always gives me a great shave. My favorite is a 1918 Bulldog, I use it and a Barbasol pretty much exclusively now.

It was tarnished and covered in soap scum when I first got it. After I
cleaned and polished it, I found It was crack free with little to no plating loss. Now I'm letting it tarnish naturally again.

All of my good pictures are on my old phone so snapped quick one for show and tell.

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