Hi everyone! Been reading a lot here about Safety Razors. I'm familiar to wet shaving, but only recently inherited from my late grandpa a Gillette Super Speed, 40's style. It's Brazilian made as i'm from and in Brazil, and if our markings match Gillette Date Codes, it's been made in 1955. I've cleaned it thoroughly with a toothbrush and dish soap about 4 times, and also polished with toothpaste. However, as you can see in the pics below, that's the best shape I could get it in. Seems to be mechanically sound, apart from missing endcaps, a droopy knob (seen here how to fix it), worn plating, and a few chipped away/flaked off parts on the T bar. Looks like oxidation and years of use caused the brass to flake off on the T bar. So, my doubts are: 1 - Polishing would "smooth" those chipped parts? 2 - If not, it's okay to replate it in nickel, with those imperfections? 3 - It's also okay to replate it like this, without disassembly? I've seen around here that Gillette plated their razors fully assembled. (I cannot replate in the usual recommended places as shipping from and back to Brazil are impossibly expensive) Here are pics of the razor, if needed I can supply more as desired! Thanks in advance for helping me restore a valued family heirloom that I intend to use from now on! It came to me like this: After cleaning: Markings: Head: Closeups of the damaged "middle piece" of the T bar: Many thanks, again!
First, before replatimg, i would buy some Flitz Metal polish. Use an old toothbrush on it, in all the hard to reach areas, and the handle. Use it with a cloth on the head of the razor. Do this for a little while, then use dish soap to clean the Flitz off. You will see the condition of the razor better after this. You might be surprised. After that, if you still want it plated, there is a source that does fast beautiful work, at a very reasonable price.
If the doors are the worst part, you can always do a transplant from a nicer condition donor razor. Pretty much all Super Speeds from the 1940s up will match. Super easy to do.
Also, it looks like the end caps fell off from the hinge pin area. That happened to one of my Super Speeds. It looks like that area was never plated.
Hello my friends! Thank you so much for your considerations and insights! I will be looking for a Flitz substitute, as it's sadly not available here in Brazil. The doors are actually in good shape! My main concern is the blade tray, that seems to have pieces missing due to flaking of the brass. Maybe a good polishing with a lathe would smooth it out? I uploaded a closeup of the problematic areas. And as for the endcaps, they are looong gone. I feel like less care went into those parts as the endcaps would me soldered on later on the assembly line. Cheers!
The top two problem areas seem to be more inside the razor, thus posing no problem with the shave. My concern would be how sharp that chip on the bar is.
Thankfully, the chipped parts do not feel sharp to the touch. They feel... Wrong? Not as smooth as they should? I do not know how to describe it exactly, but I feel like it would not hurt or tear skin. I'm actually eager to take it for a spin, will shave with it tomorrow. I'll be back to tell how it goes!
Well, I'll be damned. Just shaved with this SS, and it feels fantastic on the hand and on the face. Light, smooth. A world of difference from the Dollar Tree shaver i've used before! Paired it with a Wilkinson Sword razor. Amazing. For now, it will do just fine, but I'm already considering a replate for the sake of preservation and affection I have for this little shaver. No problems at all with the chipped parts!
