Gee Tom, that's not a bad thing is it? Pens, Razors, Watches. We're in good company enjoying the finer things in life. We appreciate quality , albeit older, finely made pieces to include in our daily use. Want to write? Grab a Bic. Want to shave ? Grab a disposable Time? Well,, Timex I don't think we are of that mindset, and it makes me happy. As it does you too! How does it go? Birds of a feather..... It only shows we care in a world of toss away, here today gone tomorrow, I don't care about style and tradition. But back to the orig. question. The common phrase is "Use it or Lose it" ,, here the phrase is " Use it and Lose it" . Not long ago I was at the Dupont Museum as a guest. Talking to the curators they were saying how they had to stop cleaning/polishing the silver and Gold pieces as they were loosing finishes and detail. They developed a different process that they wouldn't divulge to remove dirt and tarnish. Now we're not talking the same level of pieces here. Most any razor can be replaced fairly easily and given time probably with a better piece unlike the museum. Any Polish has an abrasive of some sort in it. And what do abrasives do? And given enough time? Buddhists measure time in Kalpas.. An Eagle, once every hundred years flys over a mountain and brushes it with a piece of silk. When the mountain is gone from the abrasion,, that's one kalpa.
Nope. Not yet. I only have 29 pens and 15 bottles of ink. You're not a collector until you have 30 pens and 20 bottles .
My NEW doesn't have a lick of gold left on the top piece. 'Tis completely copper, I don't mind the smell and actually enjoy cleaning it when I do; reminds me of boot camp, shining brass. And after cleaning it and its all "see yourself in it" shiny by your own hand, that's cool. As far as the bubbles go, I think that Gillette put a shellac type coating on the razors to help retain the plating and it may be bubbles in the shellac. If it is a transparent bubble that may be what it is, if not and it is like a metal bubble then yep, your plating is coming off. My NEW works fine down to the base metal. Functionality is the same but having seen the replated razors really makes me want to get it fixed, but right now my money is better spent elsewhere, so I wait.
Put some hot tap water and some dish washing liquid in a bowl, and let the razor soak for a while. Remove it from the bath and spray it down with some Windex, let it sit for a minute, and then lightly scrub it with a very soft bristled toothbrush. I just recently read this method across the street for cleaning gold plated razors, and tried it out on a Gillette Sheraton that just showed up, and it worked pretty well, really worked wonders on the textured handle.
From what I know, gold plating is very thin, and then coated with lacquer. If we try to polish, we are polishing lacquer, and when it is gone, we remove what is left of the gold when we continue to polish. So, logically we should just use Scrubbing Bubbles or Windex, or some other gentle, non-abrasive cleaner, period. Or plan on re-plating. I emailed Buddydog last week, and he said base price to replate is $35.
Do you know what type of gold plate the $35 is for? As in is it 14K, 18K or 24K and how many plates? Like double or triple plated?
I use a beautiful '46 / '47 very often and I have been for some time. No wear yet, but if I use it enough it will. I did use another one for a while that had some plating loss and I can tell you for sure, once you are through the lacquer the gold will wear off easily. Squirt it down with a little scrubbing bubbles occasionally and quit worrying. I think if you wear it off shaving then you and the razor have got to be happy. Will N.
I was just checking for future reference, so I didn't ask about single, double, 14 or 18, etc. I would suggest emailing Buddydog for specifics. schmaltz.michael@gmail.com
gold anyone? Well, don't know if this is helpful but here goes. I have quite a few gold plate razors, Aristocrat models from the 30,s 40,s and 50,s models, a couple of gold plated diplomats, and two of the '34 TTO barber pole models with the open combs. I also have a few take apart gold plates like the NEW and a couple from the 20,s and 30's gold with the open comb ball end. I shave with most of them on a regular basis and given the fact that the original gold plating is maybe 60 or more years old, I would say it is pretty durable. I re-plated a couple of aristocrats and still shave with them two years later with no sign of dimming at all. The trick I have found is to unload the blade after each use and throughly rinse and dry the razor and do not leave the blade in the razor between shaves. Mine are all still pretty bright after all these years and I use all of them, I only replated a couple because of previous wear areas. Good luck, BC
The bubbles on the three piece top may be from a bad plating job as they seem to come up underneath the gold. I just bought a second one and se the copper showing through near one edge but the first one is in almost mint condition with exception of the bubbles. Also, maybe this is a different forum but the gold razor that I just bought is supposed to be an Aristocrat but the B & B Gillette dating Information does not list any Aristocrats. Is there a thread that shows examples and gives information about Aristocrats?
Razor Here is a picture of the razor with the gold bubbles. With this exception, the razor is in like new condition. Also, which site would help identify and tell about the Aristocrat gold razor? Just got this one in the second picture if I down loaded these the right way.
is there a date code on the undersurface of the razor's head? if no date code it's pre 1951. does it have endcaps or not? if no endcaps then it's pre 1946. if endcaps and the center bade positioning bar is not notched it's 46-47; if notched it's 48-50. see: http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/One-Piece solid guard bar/solid guard bar.htm
Aristocrat ID and advice :happy005 Thank you, thank you, thank you shaveslave.... I have been checking back all day to see if anyone had an answer. There is no date code, just the normal Reg.US, Pat off, Gillette logo, and made in USA. And, no endcaps, no notches, and I believe now armed with your advise that it must be 46-47. I assume it is ok to shave with this and I am not ruining history. It really is a great looking razor and has some heft to it and a handle that looks easy for old hands to grip.
if it really has no endcaps then it's pre 1946. a side view photo would help. the aristocrats were gold plated.
Aristocrat ID and advice? Here is a side view and I noticed a razor in one of the pictures called a Diplomat that had the rough jewling in the top band right below the neck. Most of the Aristocrats in the46-7 pictures had smooth ridges if that means anything.
yours does have endcaps; if it's a diplomat it would have a date code, usually a "y', and the knurling above the turn to open knob, at the bottom of the handle, would have the same knurling as the ring under the collar and as the rest of the razor, yours has the plainer ridges. if yours is not notched it's a '46-'47, if it is notched it's a '48.
1948 Aristocrat It is notched and it is a 1948; thanks for pointing the details out for me to chase down. I learned a lot and the website with the pictures were very helpful. Best regards, Doug
