Anyhow I received an Autostrop VC1 Monday. I cleaned it all up and trimmed a SE blade to fit. The first thing I noticed is that the SE is shorter than a Valet blade. This did not allow the SE to be far enough forward to the stops. I tried shaving with it. To say the least I was very disappointed. I stopped and used my Bunny. Question is. What do you do to overcome this short coming shall we say. I have a few Valet blades but will need to make a strop and get them shave ready. Any tips will help. As I really like aggressive razors and the looks of the early Valets. I know I can purchase some feathers, but they are not highly regarded in these razors. Thanks Tom
Here is my experience: http://www.jrshaving.blogspot.com/2016/01/first-shave-with-valet-auto-strop-razor.html For my first shave with the Auto Strop VB1, I modified a GEM blade by removing the spine and clipping a couple of tabs so the blade would fit. I used my new JR#37 synthetic brush to face lather Proraso Green Shave Soap. Set Up for First Shave Loaded with GEM single edge blade The gap/exposure of the blade's edge was a bit scary for me. I decided to take the shave slow and easy. The correct angle was easy to find. The razor provided a nice audible feedback. My wife commented that it was a noisy shave. It was a bit tricky to get under my nose, but I managed to successfully reduce those whiskers. I noticed that I could feel the blade grabbers at the two corners, but I got over it. I did two passes with no pressure and got a great shave with no nicks, cuts, weepers, and no abrasion. I am told that this version of the Auto Strop was the most aggressive and that each version afterwards got milder. The gap made this razor worthy of no pressure and much respect. I got a wonderful shave in the end. I finished off with my alum block, witch hazel, and Aqua Velva after shave.
Thanks I read this post and this is what convinced me to try one. I trimmed just like you showed. however see my pictures as to how mush to short it is to coming to the blade stops. A short blade makes for too mild of a shave. I wonder if the VB1 has more movement allowing it to engage further? I have VC1 Blades side by side correct position for blade on stops SE blade too short to reach stops.
The blade needs to be back against the back edge. The force holding the blade is not enough to keep it from sliding back. There is also the problem of where the cutouts are located on the sides. it does not allow for the blade to slide forward. I believe that is part of the design to locate the blades, to keep them from moving. These are just my assumptions. You know what they say when one assumes. Tom
My ears were burning. First off, the VC1 and VB1 are different enough that the problem doesn't exist with the VB1. The blade holder on the VB1 has more travel so the narrower blade will still lock up hard against the blade stops. On the VC1 I have with this problem (they don't all have it) I load the blade and partly close the mechanism. I use a small screwdriver to push the blade toward the blade stops and then close the mechanism fully. Even though the blade is not against the back of the blade holder, the spring tension of the holder is enough to keep the blade from moving away from the blade stops during shaving. You might have to take a bit more off the corners when you modify the blade in order for this to work. If this seems kind of mickey mouse there is a permanent fix but it is not for the faint-hearted, as it involves bending the razor. Take a pair of needle nosed pliers and carefully bend the blade release lever at the spots shown by the red arrows upward in the direction shown by the black arrow: It does not take much! Just one little tiny tweak on each side of the handle! The travel of the blade stops/comb is limited by the thumb tab contacting the handle so by doing this we are simply increasing that travel slightly. Here is the final result. This blade is hard against the back of the blade holder and also hard against the blade stops: If neither of these grab you, you might want to give the Feather blades a try. They're not great, but they're not as bad as Billy makes them out to be. My biggest complaint with them is that I only get 2 good shaves from a blade. --Bob
Bob Great information. I will modify the razor. I was hoping it would be that simple. Thank you for taking the time to educate us on this. That will be a great help to others that have the same problem. Tom
I think you are on the right track, Tom. I hope it works out for you. The stainless Feathers worked very well for me.
Just picked up two VC1 Autostrops, one silver and one brass. Bounced across this thread in doing some research on them. I can wholeheartedly confirm that Bob's tweak to the blade release lever works. I desplined and trimmed a Gem blade and tested it in both razors. The brass VC1 bottomed-out but did hold the blade fairly solid. The silver VC1 bottomed out with a tiny bit of play in the blade fore and aft. A very slight bend to the release levers alleviated any slop in the blade and both are tight and firm now. Thanks Bob! Hopefully this helps others in the future.
Maybe I'm just lucky or what ever. I just de-spine my blades without trimming the blade and they work great. The blade rests firmly at the blade stops and doesn't move while shaving.
I could've left my brass VC1 without adjustment and it would have been okay. Chalking this up to variances in manufacturing tolerances and age/wear over the years. Heck, I'm just glad I can use a Gem blade in these things!
With the original blades, they all work fine, with GEM blades we have to use all of the available movement in the mechanism, some just need a little tweak, that's all. The VC1 is a great shaver!