Pulled the trigger on some vintage Gillette's.

Well I am officially addicted

After learning on my 3 piece LORD I figured it was time to try a vintage. My grandfather isn't willing to give his up yet, so ebay it was. Here are the three razors I acquired. Correct my if any of the ID's are wrong but I'm pretty sure Iv'e got an 53 SS, 54 Original Flare Tip SS and a Flare Tip Fatboy(unsure of year). The 53 SS is pretty much mint, 54 is looking good, the Fatboy is a little rough but I'm sure it will shave fine. Here are some pics.








Now I just have to decide which one to try first, and with what blade?

 

You might want to look at this thread and the discussion of cleaning and preparing your razor.

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/finally-a-fatboy.25162/#post-433870

 

There is no such thing as a Flare Tip Fat Boy. The FB is an adjustable that has a collar at the top of the handle numbered 1-9. You have a cased 40's style Super Speed and two 50's style Flare Tips. Nice razors, by the way.

 

Btw, a 24-hour soak in undiluted Simple Green and a little bit of Peroxide will automatically lift a lot of the crud off of the nooks & crannies of those handles.

**When you do get a Fatboy, DON'T use this method, as it'd probably lift the paint off the numbers too.**

 

I have used this method on many a Slim and it did not lift the numbers. Now repeated usage of Scrubbing Bubbles will lift the paint off.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice, I was a little unsure as to what I really had, but for 30 bucks, this seems like a good haul. I'm in the process of cleaning them now.

 

I stand corrected. Definitely right about the Scrubbing Bubbles though. I've made that particular mistake.

 

Now if you boil it more than once or twice to get any gunk out then it might. I have just never had to go that far. Usually 1 treatment is all you need to get the gunk out. If you have to go past two boils, then that razor needs disassembly and internal cleaning and maybe spring repair. Fortunately, I have never had to go that far on an Adjustable and only once on a TTO.

I have a Slim that I have and am currently using for blade testing and it gets a quick clean with Scrubbing Bubbles after each blade as a part of the test. After about 40 applications, the paint is beginning to fade.

 

That's an awfully nice deal at 10 bucks a razor. Let us know how the shave goes and what blade works best for you!

 

Ditto. Well done!

 

A 24 hour soak in mineral oil/baby oil will loosen the crud too. If it's good enough to keep your grandparents regular, it's good enough to "clean out" your razor.

 

But what if they need a higher grade of octane?

 

I haven't had to use it yet, but I've read that flash boiling will help loosen the crud without a risk to the razor. Bring water to boil, use a pair of tongs to lower the razor into the water for 15 seconds, then lift the razor out for 15 seconds. Repeat the procedure up to 5 times.

Seems legit. What do you think?

 

This might work on razors that do not have a lot of gunk in them, or on razors that you think might be more fragile in terms of plating.
I have found that most of the razors that are really gummed up seem to continue to have gunk coming out for most of the time they are in the water.

I guess I have an escalating scale for razors that come in from auction or wherever.

Plastic - A couple of minutes in vinegar then some scrubbing bubbles. Hand polish and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide.
Gold - Soak in some warm water with a little Oxyclean and Simple Green to try to bubble out the junk. Hand polish and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide.
Nickel / Chrome - Scrubbing Bubbles if necessary Hot Bath Treatment 30 mins with Dawn. Hand polish and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide.
Brass / Copper where there is no additional plating - Vinegar for 15 mins then Scrubbing Bubbles. Hand polish and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide.
Silver - Baking Soda and Aluminum Foil then Scrubbing Bubbles. Hand polish and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide.

Some of this may be overkill but it has worked well for me. The Barbicide / Marvicide has a rust inhibitor and since I clean several at a time this allows good use of the product.

If they are my razors that are clean, a little 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and maybe some Scrubbing Bubbles only if they really have a strong soap film on them, and maybe an occasional drop of Tri-Flow lubricant is all I do to maintain.

 

Very comprehensive! Thank you.

 

Congrats on your purchase and also for finding the joys of wet shaving with a DE.....Now, if you haven't already, get a decent badger hair brush, something reasonable like a $10 Tweezerman and a scuttle. You will not believe how much the scuttle adds to the experience! I told the guys at work that I was having face orgasms since getting my Robert Becker...http://www.robertsfeatsofclay.com/scuttle004.html I want the large one next!

 

His last picture looks like the underside of the 40's style and it has a Y date code.

 

Double boiler, or use a wire collander/strainer (>$5 from a dollar store), to suspend the razor in boiling water. You have to get over 300* or let it sit for a looooooooong time at the 200* boil to alter the brass. I would not do this with the ball ends, as you would really have to be careful cooling them- then you'll probably end up with H2O inside, since they'd have to slow-cool in the water, anyway.

TTOs, Gems, etc., get a bath in oil to penetrate the gunk, a wash with soap & water, then a boil to float the inner crud out. Works very well.

 

Beautiful purchases!