I bought a 1956 Gillette Red tip without its end caps. Doesn't affect the shave but I would like to get a pair of them. Anybody out there have ideas for me?
(Watching this thread!) I have a couple older Gillette DE's missing one or both caps. The best suggestion I've seen was "Live with it". The goods news is they still work without the caps. I wonder if a drop of silver solder carefully applied would give an acceptable look?
I wouldn’t bother trying to correct it. Leave it as is. To get some end caps, you would need to find a “donor” razor and then work them off. Whether heating or prying, you’re bound to damage them. It might be easier just to find another red tip that has the end caps in place.
It would involve getting a donor razor for the end caps and really isn't worth the trouble. As @RyX mentioned, just use it the way it is, it'll still work. But if you want to see what's involved, here's a video showing it..................
Thanks to all who responded. I'll leave it as it based on the feedback. I bought this razor for 4 bucks at a curio shop. The razor is in great shape with only one deep scratch on the lower part of the handle and it looks like id was dropped because it had evidence of it on the lower corner of the guard bar. I fixed most everything, got it cleaned up and now painting the knob with the correct red color paint. No dings or snatched on the doors. Last evening I shaved with it and it was a dream! Great BBS shave with 2.5 passes. So smooth that I got careless with it and I got a weeper on my upper lip. No irritation on my sensitive neck area too! My first experience with a Red Tip and I'm sold.
The red tip is a great razor. It has a reputation as an aggressive razor, but I find the red tip to be mild to slightly aggressive and is an excellent daily driver.
I’ve had super speeds without end caps. If you remove the solder and polish it up, it’ll look as if it came that way. Becareful how you remove the solder, I’ve done it with a razor blade and it removed the plating