The "what is" and " how to" thread for the Rolls Razor

Aye thats Bang On the Button..

Billy..

 

The Hone Wear on the Blades is Caused by Someone Honing them Without Tape in My Experience..The Spine in the Rolls System is One Layer of Tape Above the Hone when Under Pressure from the Handle...I Have Done a Feeler Gauge Test Many Times when the System is Under Pressure or Load with the Stropping Handle...

A Lot of these Blades have been Re Honed...Many Have Not & Never Show any Signs of Hone Wear on the Spine Regardless of Age or When they were made..Thats My Experience after Honing Well Over a Hundred of Em...I have Lost Count to be Honest..If the Hone Wear is Uneven which it Normally is then these Blades Can be a Bugger to Bevel Set Properly..Thats My Humble Observations...

Billy..

 

Ok now that you say that. And as I look at a viscount case I can see that working but I don't think I would have come up with that answer well not for some time as my thinking was everywhere else but there!
A bit like somebody way back when also said "you must steer into a skid" ha ha
Gra

 

Hi all,
So for a total sharpening novice trying to understand and Not trying to be dull here, mainly coz its a natural gift I have.
when the rolls system hones the blade the force slightly pushes the front edge (bevel) down into the hone at the required angle and at the same time slightly raising the heal the same ?
Placing the tape on the heal mimics the effect of these opposite forces and the grit size of the stone does the work.
How do you know when the bevel is set?
And when it's then safe to move to the finer grit or micron sizes?
I take it that if the bevel is not set first you will never get a tidy shave no matter how sharp it gets ?

Gra

 

Many thanks to "The Scottish Ninja" for putting a superb edge on one of my Rolls blades.
I have just shaved with it and wow what a difference it makes and I am happy to report no blood and a truly great shave, no tugging or catching, but you do need to keep that steep angle when you use it. Never ever shaved with a true SE so can't compare with that but this was one of the best shaves I've ever had and I've been shaving with a safety for almost 50 years now.
Only trouble is now that my 30 something son has seen it in action and it wasn't a blood letting session he wants it now!!! Hah he wishes
Gra

 

Hi all,
I'm looking for Any advice or info on the black staining or even rust? On some of my Rolls blades, it's like it's under the surface rather than breaking out, tried various grades of wire wool but it judt don't touch it, I've seen some comments that I think it might be what is called " Devil's Spit " but have only seen this reference on blade forums with nothing even close on a general web search. Apart from not looking good should it be a concern ??
Any thoughts and would I be better posting this on a more general thread
Gra

 

Got my Rolls this morning, looks to be in a good condition with no cracks on hone and no nicks on strop, it has a extending handle which works perfectly tho i did decide to clean it a bit. The case is of what feels like a leather stretched over the tin, this is quite dull and grimy looking...but no major rips or tears, is this leather cleanable..and what would be best.
The mechanicals all work perfectly as far as I can see ( and hear )
And I am very hapoy with it, both blades are a lot sharper than I thought they would be, tho I dont expect to shave with it ( this may change).
A wee clean up of the handle internals with Ballistol removed a age of grime.

 

Quote...both blades are a lot sharper than I thought they would be, tho I dont expect to shave with it ( this may change).
A wee clean up of the handle internals with Ballistol removed a age of grime.[/QUOTE]

Holy smoke that's a good deal of grime mind you I picked up a well used gold plated imperial 1 just recently that is absolutely slinking that I've not yet got round to cleaning it but I think it will rival yours
The Rolls blades can get razor sharp I've just had one of my blades re sharpened and I'm very happily shaving with it. It's well worth considering believe me.
Any of the blades got a date number on it ??
Gra.

 

Both have "33" as a date .

Robert.

 

Tidy, so 80 plus years old and still going strong, full credit to the engineering of the a Rolls.
I must confess to being totally hooked by everything about them !
Gra

 

Glad You are Pleased with the Hone Job...As Far as Marks Go..I Use Autosol Metal Polish..You Cant Get Some Marks Out if they are Too Deep...Rolls Blades Water Mark Very Easily...Always Dry Em After Use...They are Nice Intersting Shavers with a Properly Honed Blade...

Enjoy...

Billy...

 

last visit to a well known antique shop i like has 3 rolls razors . none are complete but one could build one..they are buried so will be there next time i go..been there for years..

 

It seems to me that for most of us just one Rolls is never enough... it's an addiction!! and just about everyone has at very least one "for spares" that and living in the hope of one day finding that perfect one ha ha.
Though I have some real nice ones some real old dogs the near to perfect one still eludes me.
Good luck getting hold of those buried ones
Gra

 

I bought another one, needs a good tidy up, I really bought it for the things that came with it...shown below...all this for the princely of £2...yes that is correct..£2

 

So, anyone know what the cylindrical objects are ?, They each have 3 holes on top...like a pepper pot, one has a lot of dried in soap Stuck inside and the other smells soapy, I dont think a soap stick would fit in it and I would have thought that there would have been a way to push the soap stick up as it wears down...but no. The other containers seem to be imo soap dishes...could very well be wrong tho, the square one withour the rounded shoulders is my new Alum block case

Robert.

 

I'm pretty sure that one is for a soap stick and the other is for the shaving brush, the holes in the lids are for ventilation, well, that's how the set I have is set up, here's a picture of the complete travelling set:


Steve

 

It also was my first thought, but the cylinders have quite a small diameter, not big enough for either a soap or brush, unless you can buy travel size soaps and brushes. Given that if one was indeed a soap, the internal dia is smaller...so it would really need to be a pretty slim soap stick to be able to slide in and out...same with the other, both are identical.

Robert.

 

Not often do I like being wrong...but I am very happy to say...You Sir are correct, a soap stick fits in very well as does 3 brushes, the only thing is the loft on my brushes are quite high so the screw on top will not fit, I'm sure I can get a less lofted brush...once again, Thank you for replying to this thread and pointing me in the right direction.

Robert.

 

If you are interested in obtaining a complete traveling set just do a search on Ebay, there are usually lots available of various ages and you also see them in antique shops, usually priced quite cheaply, I think the set in the picture was about £10

Steve

 

I only bought the rolls because of the containers...I thought they would be handy, I may have a wee looky later

Thanks,
Robert.