Okay - so this may not be the finest of shaving instruments, but it's interesting, none the less. I spent a few dollars on a 'German' made Big Bug razor, ostensibly from the 1980's. From the pictures, it was difficult to tell whether it was plastic or metal, and luckily nobody bid against me for it - if they had, they'd have won the auction . In any case, it's a 100% plastic razor, if you discount the doors and MAYBE something internal. The doors are aluminum. Analysis. It appears to be a copy of a Quick Twist mechanism (That's the flat white plastic handled Gillette that was mostly sold in England and Canada), with the head copied from the various SuperSpeeds, and the main handle is slightly thicker than a Fat Handle tech. Having this in hand, which DOES appear to be the right condition for something 30 years old, I think I can say that _this_ is what HongLong has been copying with their all plastic razor. Same TTO mechanism, same aluminum doors, just a differently sized handle.
Haven't cleaned it to try it. If it's like the Hong Long, it'll shave just fine - for a few months - then fall apart.
Got me. That's what it was sold as, and it came with PolSilver Iridium blades - at least one of which was used in the razor. It may simply be "Shtupid... But EEenterestink"
It's the DE version of a RSO (razor shaped object). Being mostly plastic you might carry it through TSA checks and right onto an airplane. Until it's proven it can shave, don't think I'd want to rely on it as my only option away from the house.
Oh, the TSA doesn't care about the razors. They care about the blades. The blades will set off those magnetic metal detector sensors. Now, if someone made BRONZE razor blades, those would probably slip through.
Some updated information - I'll try to get some new photos tomorrow. 1) It's not a clear plastic, which is what I expected (polyethylenes and polystyrenes are all clear or just slightly opaque to start. Colour is added). Instead, it's a solid black underlying plastic, which is then chromed. 2) The doors are chrome plated steel, but they're certainly not polished. 3) The handle pulls off the bottom. It may have been epoxied at some point in the past. The neck that passes under the screw is plated, and fluted for a friction fit to the handle. 4) If someone wanted to 3-d print a TTO, this is the one to copy. The TTO knob is only operating a half thread, which is inserted into a central shave piece. That's what shoves the doors open. If the handle is off, you can pull the knob and screw assembly out. Anyone with a 3-d scanner could make a solid of this, and pretty much run them off by the dozen. The doors might be more tricky, but small adjustments could probably even allow those to be made.
