It's a Sweedo! (Not a Speedo!)

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Maximumsmoke, Jan 12, 2018.

  1. Maximumsmoke

    Maximumsmoke Active Member

    Got myself a Sweedo a while back. Anybody know anything about the history of these little devils? I had no Idea how different they were. Here's a YouTube video that shows one in nice shape:
    Sorry, I haven't got a picture of mine yet.

    These 3-piece open-comb razors look like they should fit a standard DE blade, but they don't. The studs that locate the blade relative to the cap are spaced too wide, and also are too large in diameter to fit a standard blade. Additionally, as you can see from the video, while the blade is located to the cap by these studs, the cap is NOT located to the bottom plate by these studs. Rather, the cap is located to the bottom plate by a fairly large semi-rectangular boss in the center of the cap, which, of course, contains the threaded stud for the handle. Even if the studs in the cap accommodated as standard DE blade, this boss alone makes it impossible to mount a standard blade, so Sweedo must have had their own blades. The outside profile of the blades must have been the same or very close the standard DE blades we have today. I've never seen one. The studs on the cap sit in a "bathtub" depression along the center of the bottom plate.

    My razor was originally gold colored like the one in the video, but when I got it, it was almost black and flaky with old age and surface corrosion. I polished it up carefully to preserve the shape, and then, with info from the internet/YouTube, I nickel plated it -- or at least I tried. The handle is most handsome, I think you'll agree, and under the fake gold plating, it was solid brass. I first copper plated it, and then nickel plated it -- all with stuff from around the kitchen -- vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, etc, etc, and the shop -- some copper wire and some nickel sheet I got on eBay from China, a couple of D-cell batteries and an old cell-phone battery charger. That all worked slicker than the inside of a crocodile's snout! What fun. The handle plated beautifully. I had to buff it a little, but not much. The color and quality of plating looks on par with any other nickel plated razor I have. The head, however, did not plate. It seems to be made of some pot metal -- probably a zinc alloy. I thought it was steel, and steel plates copper very nicely. Anyway it did not plate copper, the base on which I plate nickel, so I polished it as best I could. It's kind of pewter colored now -- not very nice.

    I chucked the cap in my mill and modified it so it would accept and properly locate today's standard DE blades. This remove the center feature that located it to the bottom plate. I filled the "bathtub" in the bottom plate with good 0l' JB Weld, and milled it to accept and locate with the modified top plate. It looks the same as ever, but now it fits todays blades. I guess it was a fool's errand, and I've always been a sucker for a "sow's ear to silk purse" conversion, but it does give me something to talk about, I suppose. So the final product has a great handle, but a somewhat dull head. It works very well. It has a nice size and heft. The shave is moderately aggressive, but smooth enough. I have though about exchanging the head for a better one, but that is a one-way trip, as the threads in the now beautifully plated handle are 8-32, not 10-32. I'd have to drill it out and re-thread it. It works so well now, I haven't the heart to do it -- just yet anyway.

    So please, if you know anything about the Sweedo razor and its blades, chime in and enlighten me. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

    Cheers!
    Tony
     
    RyX likes this.
  2. Maximumsmoke

    Maximumsmoke Active Member

    Woops! Failed to insert the hyperlink properly. Here it is:

     
  3. Maximumsmoke

    Maximumsmoke Active Member

    OK, then Dammit! Here's the text of the link:
     
  4. Maximumsmoke

    Maximumsmoke Active Member

  5. Maximumsmoke

    Maximumsmoke Active Member

    Weird. Can somebody please explain how I can put a link in a message on this forum. Thanks.
     
    RyX likes this.
  6. Jorvaljr

    Jorvaljr Operation Daytona 8000

    I see the video multiple times
     
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  7. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    :signs011:
     
  8. CarlfromMO

    CarlfromMO Well-Known Member

    It's a very nice looking razor. Very classy design.
     
  9. TobyC

    TobyC Well-Known Member

    Similar to a Cooper.

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    CarlfromMO likes this.
  10. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    Interesting... I had 750 and maybe closer to 1000 of those PAL Hollow Blades that I contributed in a TSD fund raising session not all that long ago.

    Do those PAL Blades have a gold wash on them?
     

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