I recently picked up an old razor for about $4. It was in pretty bad shape, covered in years of dark 'gunk' and looked, well, pretty disgusting. The only reason I made the purchase was the model: an early 30s open-comb Gillette NEW Bar Handle. The more I read about folks who own & use this particular razor regularly (and love them!), the more I was curious to try one. So for the price, I decided to give it a go. But there was no way I was putting this item near my face until it had a thorough cleaning & disinfecting. Whatever 'gold' finish may have existed early on, was clearly long gone. I really didn't have high expectations on salvaging this old razor, and no idea what lurked beneath the gloomy patina. I began with a long soak, gentle scrubbing with a nylon brush with subtle abrasiveness. Very little change. More aggressive treatments followed: scrubbing bubbles, scrubbing sponge...better results, but not by much. Finally soaked it in a vinegar/salt/hot water solution & attacked with the nylon brush. Water turned milky grey and I began to really see something.... End result: a much better looking razor— not in primo 'like new' form, of course—down to its 'base' metal finish—but at least sterilized and clean. Now I can try it out and get a feel for what this razor has to offer. Who knows? I may decide it's a keeper & get it replated in nickel or chrome. We'll see.... Some before & after shots:
I rarerly clean brass items but I think the following is accurate. You have soaked in vineger too long, this draws out the copper or something like that, the heat makes the vinegar work faster too. Heat speeds the chemical reaction up. With less vineger for a shorter time you would have got a nice brass finish rather than this pink. Personally I would have used 0000 steel wool and kerosene. Not that it matters functionally, an old razor lives to shave again, all good.
That's good information to know. Thanks. I wasnt too worried about the final color (in 'reality,' the brass doesn't look quite as pink as it came out in the photos), so long as the grime & gunk were removed to reveal a functional 'safety' razor (stress on the word, 'safe'). I'm going to give it a go this morning on my face. If it's a real keeper, a replate is in order.
Very nice, as for the brass cleaning , the razor itself is made of brass the copper is as far as I know only plated on as a basis for nickel/chrome plating so under that layer of copper should brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The acid either draws out the zinc or the copper (I can't remember which), this results in the brass going pink. If you look at the handle, you can see that just under the head the plating is still intact, that is why that part of the handle did not go pink. This razor has had so much use the plating has worn away, I think that is great, a razor with history and character.
What a deal! I love the News. I predict an excellent shave. Congratulations. Sam Duran (AKA Krona Kruiser) nickel plated my New and it is awesome.
Nice deal you found there and a great job on cleaning it up! A lot of people speak highly of these Gillette NEW razors, and I'm on the look out for one myself. Rider the handle and top plate is pure copper and only the comb and neck of the handle is brass hence the two diffrent colors. If you hit it with a mechanical metal polish like Mass or Flitz it will really shine.
That explains it. Thanks. I am new to razors so I did not realise that. I wonder why it is done that way. I guess brass may have cost more so was only used in the head and neck, places where copper would be too soft?
I've been in touch with Sam & I may get him to do the same for this razor. The copper n' brass look, however, is still pretty cool....
Here is a before and after of what Sam did for my New. I saw your SOD with the New. Glad you like it.
That nickel replate looks real nice! Almost appears chrome-like in the photo. One issue I noticed with my 'raw' New is damp plain copper leaves a distinct coppery smell upon the hands—not unlike if you've every sweated copper fittings and/or held pennies in your sweaty hands for a time. This reason alone may steer me towards the replate in nickel or chrome. Probably do my fatboy as well.
Here is a picture of the New nickel plated head with a chrome EJ89 handle. That is a nice combination.
That looks like a brand new, modern day razor! Beautiful. HolyRollah, you have a gem there. No matter what you decide to do with it, it's a great razor that you should enjoy.
Wow, I just picked up one of these a couple of weeks ago too and didn't know what it was. What do you guys think, would something like brasso work to shine it up. Holy, let me know how your shave was with it and if you decide to get yours replated. I may follow suit.
