My Ruby a Soviet safety razor with a Gillette heritage

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Joe Nobles, Jun 15, 2018.

  1. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    As many of you know I started he Soviet Super Shavers (SSS ☭) a couple of weeks ago, and that means that from time to time when I pick up something from that part of the shaving world I will post a review of what I got. This review is for a black handled Рубин/Ruby adjustable DE razor.

    My Рубин came via a guy on the bay from The Ukraine. It came with a case and a tuck of Soviet eraк Спутни/Sputnik blades. I know that the Спутни blades are Soviet era is 1) the packaging design and 2) because the wrapper indicated that the blades were made in Leningrad (which is once again known by it's original name of Saint Petersburg). Some of you may know that the Sputnik brand is still made there under Gillette's ownership of the trademark.

    I decided, after some hesitation due to age considerations to actually use my Рубин loaded with the Спутни blades. My hesitation, as I said was because I didn't know if it would be safe to use blades that were that old, but when I unwrapped one and saw it was still bright and shinny I said why not?

    So how did it go? Well following my usual process (a shower, Stirling soap and away we go) the shave went very nicely. The blade was sharp and smooth and cut with no dragging or pulling. Since the Рубин is actually a Gillette Slim Adjustable clone I set it to "3" just like I set my "real" Slim, and just like my slim the results were such that I didn't really need a second pass but did one any way (just like I do with my Slim).

    The Рубин is a really nice razor that comes in two finishes, the first is all chrome and the one like mine has a black plastic coated handle with a chrome ring between the TTO knob and the rest of the handle. The TTO and the adjustment mechanisms work smoothly and precisely. The razor was very comfortable in my hand.

    So perhaps you too are considered buying a Ruby but hesitated because you don't have the confidence or courage enough to be the trailblazer, hesitate no more, because I feel you will be as pleased as I am.

    Well that is about it, comment at will!
     
    Frijolero and PLANofMAN like this.
  2. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    Before any of you ask you can look at pictures of my Рубин on my post over on B and B. I'll try tomorrow to get them up on here but that is a bear since my pics are bigger than 1 MB (I usually have to take new ones with my tablet to get them up on here and my tablet has been glichy lately. So we will see what we can do.
     
  3. pvsampson

    pvsampson Member

    Good review.I have been considering one of these as the prices are better than what a Slim,or any Gillette,costs here in Australia.
     
  4. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    It's definitely a Gillette Super Adjustable clone with that black handle and it's probably a nickel plated head.

    I'm guessing that the old manufacturing equipment from one of the Gillette factories ended up in Russia when Gillette stopped making these razors themselves in the mid 1970's?
     
  5. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    Yes I got some better information about which model is which. There is a Ukrainian made razor called Consul which is a nickel on brass clone of the Slim adjustable and then there is the Ruby from Russia with the black plastic which is a clone of the Super adjustable.

    Sorry about any confusion.
     
  6. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    If the Ruby is a direct clone of the Super Adjustable (a.k.a. Black Beauty) then the handle will be aluminum covered in black resin with a nice textured grip.

    Are there any stampings on the bottom plate?
     
  7. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    @kfbrady there is a logo on the underside of the razors head it is a caribou inside a circle. As a collector of Soviet Cameras I learned that for most if not all Soviet factories (Завод/Zavod=Plant) had a unique mark that was stamped on anything that plant made, and shaving gear is no different. As an example upload_2018-6-16_19-46-24.jpeg this logo stood for the Kiev Arsenal camera factory and this one, [​IMG]
    was for KMZ another camera and lens giant.

    I know there are logos like these on the shave gear too I just haven't learnt the plant names and their associated logos... yet. I know one, it is this upload_2018-6-16_20-5-12.png it is Mostochlegmash, the makers of the Rapira, Voskhod, Ladas and the rest of the Moscow blades.

    The logo on my Спутник blades stands for the Factory of Household Appliances in Leningrad.

    I will continue to track down the different logos as best as I can and share what I find out either here or across the street at B&B (most likely on both).

    I hope you all find this interesting and useful.
     
    Frijolero likes this.
  8. Redfisher

    Redfisher Doesn't celebrate National Donut Day

    Put some pictures here when you get time. Quit BB a long tme ago
     
    kfbrady likes this.
  9. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    Me too!
     
  10. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    I don't think you need to belong to the forum to look at pictures, but I could be wrong.
     
  11. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    If the pictures are attachments you can only see a very small icon-sized image. To see the full sized image you have to be logged in.

    Plus I believe that more than one of us here has had negative experiences with B&B's pompous and arrogant mods so we don't go over there any more.
     
  12. mrchick

    mrchick Odd, Terrible Avatar

    No pics...
     
  13. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    Okay, okay, sheesh! You guys and pictures! Let's see what this button does... 1529283811346950071738.jpg 1529284105417875981418.jpg 152928443378925043099.jpg I hope these are okay. I have to use the camera built in the tablet to be able to get them on this website, over at the apparently vilified B & B I can upload pics straight from my camera to the page (I guess they have a higher data limit here pics need to be below one meg.

    Digital photography drives me nuts to begin with, just like with wet shaving, film photography is the ultimate method for capturing the moment!

    Yes, film photography is still alive and kicking, and it isn't just 35mm either, 120, 110, 620, 220 & 127 are all still available as is 4 X 5 & 8 X 10. You can't get transparency (slide) film in all of these formats and color print film in 127 is tough but not impossible to get, the problem is price. Film is getting more and more expensive as time goes on. It is suprisingly cheap and easy to get film processed, just go to Walmart and look for the drop box fill out the envelope drop it in and they send it to the regional Fujifilm processing center and a couple of days later, viola you have real photographs (or slides), but be sure that if you use a format other than 120 or 35mm to write on the packet that you want your spool back. That way you can keep yourself covered from needing to buy a spare take up spool.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2018
    pvsampson and Frijolero like this.
  14. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    Load your photos up to a free hosting site such as photobucket, Flickr, etc. Then you can just embed links into your posts.

    Here's what a decent shot of a USA made Super Adjustable looks like...

    [​IMG]

    I still have and use film cameras too but I don't think we need Ansell Adams quality for simple shots of razors so my Hasselblad stayed in its case for the above shot. ;)
     
  15. John Ruschmeyer

    John Ruschmeyer Well-Known Member

    Well, 120 and 220 have been professional mainstays, so I'm not surprised that they are still available. I assume that the available 620 is just respooled 120, right? I have to admit that I'm shocked to hear that 127 is available; I think I have a couple of 127 cameras somewhere but I don't think I ever used that film size, even as a kid. IIRC, the Lomography folks brought back 110 and I really should grab a cartridge to run through my Minolta sometime.

    My personal regret is that 126 seems to be a completely dead format. A friend gave me an old Kodak Instamatic Reflex with three lenses a few years ago and I've always been a little sad that no film is available for it. (For those who have never seen 126, it is the original Instamatic cartridge format. It replaced the older 828 film which was, basically, 35mm film minus the sprocket holes but plus a paper backing. Supposedly, the big drawback of 126 is problems with the flatness of the film plane.)
     
  16. kfbrady

    kfbrady Well-Known Member

    Yes, it's pretty much dead.

    But there is this...

    https://www.camerhack.it/product/fakmatic-126-film-cartridge/
     
    John Ruschmeyer likes this.
  17. Joe Nobles

    Joe Nobles Well-Known Member

    @John Ruschmeyer, yes you are 100% correct about 620 I use it in my Brownie Hawkeye the 127 format survives in the form of Rera pan a iso 100 B&W film made by a company that also makes bike tires (go figure!). For color this is the place to go: http://www.frugalphotographer.com he's a cool guy to deal with Blue Moon machine also stocks 127 color, they also sell film for Minox spy cameras!

    I never had a Hassie but I've had a couple of Kiev 88's and they are very well made machines. I miss my Leica M6 TTL very much, but when money gets tight an ya havta eat Leicas have no nutritional value!

    But my Zorki/FED collection is still largely intact, with many lenses an whatnot.

    But this is a Shave blog...
     

Share This Page