My Aunt found my grandfathers old razor and gave it to me. It needs a good cleaning. It has over 30 Gillette blue blades. How are these blades? For cleaning the razor, will a good scrubbing bubbles bath work? I'm on my way to Montana so I won't be able to clean until Tuesday next week.
Blue blades are like any other carbon blade, usable if no rust is on them, rough for the first shave, settles down by the second. remember to dry and strop them, and they will last as long as a modern blade. Congratulations on getting your grandfather's razor. Many here on the forum have shaving items from our fathers and grandfathers, and even more have nothing. You are lucky your Aunt hung on to that treasure.
Yeah congrats, on your grandfarthers razor, scrubbing bubbles should work, but hold on for so more experienced guys to weigh in before you go ahead, Maybe worth a replate as its a family member and a keeper
wow, an aristocrat! that alone is a cool find, but it's family heritage too, so it's priceless! congrats!
Correct me if I am wrong but is it not gold platted wouldn't the scrubbing bubbles remove the platting
I haven't a clue. I won't be doing any sort of cleaning until mid next week. So I'll keep an eye out of what the do's and don'ts.
Very nice. That's a 1946/47 Aristocrat... the blue case and the razor has the 2 smooth bands on it. Excellent score and even more-so since it was your grandfather's!
I got a 1951 Aristocrat (it has the date code W). It belonged to my son-in law's uncle. It's a great razor. You will enjoy it.
Here is my high level guide to cleaning razors. Plastic - A couple of minutes in vinegar then some scrubbing bubbles. Hand polish with Flitz 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. Then some scrubbing bubbles. Hand polish with a gentle polish (Hagerty Silversmiths' Polish) and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide. Nickel / Chrome - Scrubbing Bubbles if necessary Hot Bath Treatment 30 mins with Dawn. Hand polish with Flitz polish and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide. Brass / Copper where there is no additional plating - Vinegar for 5-10 mins then Scrubbing Bubbles. Hand polish with Flitz polish and then 10 mins of Barbicide / Marvicide. Silver - Baking Soda and Aluminum Foil then Scrubbing Bubbles. Hand polish with a gentle polish (Hagerty Silversmiths' 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 on TTOs is all I do to maintain. http://www.hagertyusa.com/silver/products/silversmiths_polish.htm http://www.flitz.com/ As to the blades, open blades will tend to oxidize (rust), even if not directly coated with water at a small level. You can soak the blades in Barbicide / Marvicide for 10 to 15 minutes since it has a rust inhibitor. This will help to reduce the oxidization on the surface before performing the stropping action.
