Wow! I've never seen an Autostrop set like this one! Who can tell me about it?

[mattface]

So I've seen a lot of Valet Autostrops, but I've never seen one anything like this one, and I'm thinking it's pretty special. It's got a much fancier heavier handle. Judging by the blade I's say it's an older one. The case is beautiful and heavy duty. It originally had some leather stuff on the outside of the case, but it was all falling off, so I removed it, washed off the glue with alchohol, and polished it up. I'm not sure, but I think the razor, blade case and strop case are plated in rhodium, because it's much brighter and whiter than any chrome I've ever seen, and it's definitely not silver. I haven't polished it at all.





So whatcha think? Does anybody know when this set was made ort what it was called? Old ads depicting it? Thanks Autostrop geeks!

 

[eastomjac]

my my its an older verson but im not sure what year.hoosier trooper will surely know and he will be along soon to look im sure.looks like it came with a new strop too

 

[mattface]

Yes the strop is still wrapped in somewhat brittle herringbone textured wax paper. I'd like to have a look at it, but I don't dare disturb the paper.

 

[RocketMan]

That appears to be an early 1920s kit with a B razor (likely a VB1 according to Waits Type system). These kits were sold from around 1921/22 up until the mid 30s when the Gillette Valets in this style were called the Parisian. Yours, looking at the letter style and info is likely early 20s.

Two things to be more concrete though - one thing I can't see from your photos is the back - the blade release lever at the back of the razor - is it smooth or serrated?? I am guessing serrated which makes it the VB1. Also, if you post the patent numbers you find on the razor head we can determine for sure if it is an earlier one - as it is possible that it is an Autostrop Division of Gillette razor of the 30's.

The plating is something of a curiosity that they are exploring at The Original Safety Too single edge razor site. This plating doesn't tarnish and probably isn't silver The color of the plating does not appear to be nickel - as Autostrops can also be. Waits is pretty much the only authority commenting on these razors and indicates them to be silver or nickel - based on available advertising I believe. Indeed most of the ads and catologue descriptions do indicate 'silver' as the plating - and for these as well. It is not clear if there was some form of lacquer put on top maintaining the white look, or if it another plate material - perhaps rhodium as you suggest, or perhaps white gold. Then again it might be as mundane as just a high quality nickel with a great color! Hopefully there will be an answer soon

 

[Domminigan]

Oh dear, that's the dreaded Valet Violence edition. It would violently explode at some random point while it was open or in use. You should send it to me first thing tomorrow morning so I can put it down.

 

[mattface]

That appears to be an early 1920s kit with a B razor (likely a VB1 according to Waits Type system). These kits were sold from around 1921/22 up until the mid 30s when the Gillette/Valets in this style were called the Parisian. Yours, looking at the letter style and info is likely early 20s.

One thing I can't see from your photos is the back - the blade release lever at the back of the razor - is it smooth or serrated?? I am guessing serrated which makes it the VB1.

The plating is something of a curiosity that they are exploring at The Original Safety Too single edge razor site. This plating doesn't tarnish and can't be silver. Waits is pretty much the only authority commenting on these razors and indicates them to be silver - based on available advertising I believe. Indeed most of the ads and catologue descriptions do indicate 'silver' as the plating - and for these as well. It is not clear if there was some form of lacquer put on top maintaining the white look, or if it another plate material - perhaps rhodium as you suggest, or perhaps white gold? Hopefully there will be an answer soon!

Thanks for all the info.

The blade release lever is smooth with a (serial?) number on it: 4684399 and diagonal engraving on the edge. maybe that's what you meant by serrated.


valet blade release lever by mattface, on Flickr

There was some sort of protective coating which flaked off the blade case quite easily with a fingernail, but it was very clear and very thin, unlike the laquer coating on gold Gillettes. If it was some sort of clear coat paint, it must have been a miracle material for the 1920s to have not yellowed at all with age.

 

[RocketMan]

The number you have on the blade release lever is very close to a razor set (4702978) identified by Willard as being circa 1921. A very similar looking item is owned by the Lorenzi museum and is dated 1930. It is also identified as nickel - and has a pretty good shine to it. So, perhaps checking the patent numbers stamped on the head would help. (I modified my thread above to ask for the patent numbers - but you were too quick on the draw!! )

And yeah - that is serrated - although just barely!

 

[mattface]

I can see something that says:

PATENTED
APRIL 1917 (I think, could be 1912)
On the left
and:

OTHER
PATENTS
PENDING
(on the right)

I can't see any patent numbers.

 

[mattface]

On a tangentially related note, I've never actually tried a Valet Autostrop, but I've been intrigued enough by the prospect to have recently purchased a box of he Feather blades, and this one seems to be as nice as they come, so I think I'll give this one a try sometime soon.

 

[alex2363]

That appears to be an early 1920s kit with a B razor (likely a VB1 according to Waits Type system). These kits were sold from around 1921/22 up until the mid 30s when the Gillette Valets in this style were called the Parisian. Yours, looking at the letter style and info is likely early 20s.

Two things to be more concrete though - one thing I can't see from your photos is the back - the blade release lever at the back of the razor - is it smooth or serrated?? I am guessing serrated which makes it the VB1. Also, if you post the patent numbers you find on the razor head we can determine for sure if it is an earlier one - as it is possible that it is an Autostrop Division of Gillette razor of the 30's.

The plating is something of a curiosity that they are exploring at The Original Safety Too single edge razor site. This plating doesn't tarnish and probably isn't silver The color of the plating does not appear to be nickel - as Autostrops can also be. Waits is pretty much the only authority commenting on these razors and indicates them to be silver or nickel - based on available advertising I believe. Indeed most of the ads and catologue descriptions do indicate 'silver' as the plating - and for these as well. It is not clear if there was some form of lacquer put on top maintaining the white look, or if it another plate material - perhaps rhodium as you suggest, or perhaps white gold. Then again it might be as mundane as just a high quality nickel with a great color! Hopefully there will be an answer soon

i agree Rocket, also Vb1 has the Valet printed on blade holder too.

 

[Old Man Army]

Nice razor Matt! I love the detail work on the blade case and the strop case. Thanks for sharing.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

That's a nice looking VAS, and the RocketDood does know the Valets. That is one of the models that will accept a standard SE blade with the spine removed, a bit more economical than the Feathers.

 

[jmacak]

Nice Autostrop set. As Tom mentions above, you can use despined SE blades, so the cost to try it out is not as much as the ones that require the special blades.

The number you have on the blade release lever is very close to a razor set (4702978) identified by Willard as being circa 1921. A very similar looking item is owned by the Lorenzi museum and is dated 1930. It is also identified as nickel - and has a pretty good shine to it. So, perhaps checking the patent numbers stamped on the head would help. (I modified my thread above to ask for the patent numbers - but you were too quick on the draw!! )

And yeah - that is serrated - although just barely!

I have a pretty well-used one from that period (serial number 4155963) that might have, at one time, had those serrations. If so, they are long gone. It exhibits quite a bit of wear, e.g. the bearing holes for the axles are enlarged from a lot of autostropping action.

It IS silver plated, though, and is still quite presentable. The case, however, is another story (it's hiding in a drawer, now).

I might just use it tonight.

 

[mattface]

My own speculation with regards to the finish: there are some small spots of tarnish here and there, and I'm thinking that, combined with the thin clear layer that flaked off some of the parts after running through the the ultrasonic indicates that it probably was silver plated, but that they came up with a remarkable clear coat of some sort to protect it from tarnish. The fact that it was still there if brittle makes me think it was actually a very durable finish when new, but has degraded and become brittle over the past 90ish years.

 

[Rob72]

It exhibits quite a bit of wear, e.g. the bearing holes for the axles are enlarged from a lot of autostropping action.

It IS silver plated, though, and is still quite presentable. The case, however, is another story (it's hiding in a drawer, now).

I might just use it tonight.

My first specimen was so worn that the upper pivot hole was worn through(couldn't tell in the picks when i purchased). The nice thing is, polished up, its cool enough to be a bit of washroom decor. Of course, its also cool enough that I needed to obtain a second one, that I'm contemplating having plated...

 

[mattface]

Finally got around to shaving with this beauty this morning with a Feather. Very nice! I like the weight of it. It gives just the sort of shave I've come to expect from a single edge, though unlike other SE razors I've tried it doesn't really have a door to guide blade angle. This took half a sec to get used to, but the proper angle was very easy to find by feel, ann this seems to give better control over proper cutting angle. It didn't necessarily feel agressive, but it easily gave BBS in 2 passes (WTG/ATG) and seems to cut wider swaths than other safety razors I've used. I'd almost say it's like a straight on a stick, but without the likelihood of cutting ones self, so I was able to shave with my usual speed and abandon. Overall a very neat shaver. Now I wonder why I waited so long to try one of these.

 

[BBrad]

VAS really is an under-appreciated razor that many don't try due to the blade issues. I have only tried the ones that take a de-spined SE blade, but am thinking about springing for a box of feathers to give the other ones a try.

 

[mattface]

VAS really is an under-appreciated razor that many don't try due to the blade issues. I have only tried the ones that take a de-spined SE blade, but am thinking about springing for a box of feathers to give the other ones a try.

Right well that really IS the reason I hadn't tried one yet, I mean why dink around with modifying SE blades, or buying hard to find blades when there are so many great DE and SE razors available? Thing is I keep coming up with Valets in razor lots I get, so I figured I might as well give one a try, and they DO shave great. At least this big heavy handled one does, I assume the others are all pretty similar with slight variation in weight and balance. If it's anything like the DE razors I've tried though, the extra weight in the handle should make a big difference in perceived aggressiveness.

 

[Rob72]

VAS really is an under-appreciated razor that many don't try due to the blade issues. I have only tried the ones that take a de-spined SE blade, but am thinking about springing for a box of feathers to give the other ones a try.

The later 1940s are (to me) much milder, very pleasant shavers, possibly because of the closed comb, possibly related to slightly less blade exposure.

BTW, if you have a Kriss Kross stropper in working condition, it brings the Valet blades up to speed quite well.

 

[The Soph Gent]

I just picked one up recently (1658881) and it has about 10 original blades. A couple still in their package. An interesting statement on back of the package states, "If you have nay trouble with this razor, send it back to us with $.25 and we will send you a new one...".

I identified mine as a VC2 "Million Dollar" Model C: 1928-1935.