USA Made Penn Adjustable SE safety Razor..... Another shot... I got my Penn Adjustable SE in the post a few days from the Good Auld US of A ...I gave it the once over and its in excellent condition .....This is a very petite razor for its day...Its a lot smaller than a Schick E Type, but its got a nice weighty feel to it in the hand.....I think this razor was made in the 1920s ....It has USA PENN INC & a Patent Number stamped on the back....The Penn Adjustable came with x 2 apropriety blades that are no longer available, but as you can see in the bottom photo a current standard injector blade is the very same length... The Penn Adjustable adjusts by screwing the Knob on the rear of the handle and this opens & closes the comb to adjust the razor from its mildest setting to the most aggressive setting....I must say that on the most aggressive setting you could drive a Panzer Tank through the Blade Gap....A lot of folks wont purchase these as they don't want to end up with a PAPER WEIGHT.....I had plans to cut the front portion from the propriety blade and use it to seat the injector blade, but I soon realized that it would no longer be an adjustable because the Injector blade would be separated from the propriety blade....I wanted this razor to perform as an Adjustable as the makers intended.....Not second best......SO.....Read ON..... Blade Shot..... Shimmed Blade & Adjustable Mechanism Shot..... Modified Blade in place & Shave Ready...... The Mildest Setting Demo..... Most Aggressive Setting Demo.... I went to Plan B after a lot of farting about and some serious contemplation.....I wasn't going to be beat here....I decided to remove a Spine from a GEM Blade and cut it to the size of the propriety blade with a Sharp Pair of Scissors that I bought today....I ran into problems here as well as a GEM Blade has ruddy big Hole as you can see in the first photograph....The Hole in the GEM Blade was preventing the adjustment mechanism from working as the head of the mechanism was poking straight through it......Bugger I thought....I will not be beaten .... If you look at the Second photograph you will see that I utilized a Shim/spacer by gluing it onto the under side of the Modified GEM Blade so that the Adjustment mechanism has something to work against to open and close the blade gap.....The GEM Blade & Shim/spacer are the exact same thickness of the original propriety blade... Where there is a will there is a way..... The third photograph is showing the modified GEM Blade in place and the PENN is now "Fully Shave Ready" & "Fully Adjustable" the way the razor was originally intended.... If you look at the Third & Fourth Photographs you will see that I have utilized a Full GEM Spine to demonstrate the Adjustable Capacity of the PENN.....As one would expect on the Mildest Setting the GEM Spine is just sitting nicely between the comb and the blade.....On the Most Aggressive Setting, however, the GEM Spine has slipped straight through the Gap Between the Comb and the Blade....I have never came across an SE with such a Wide Blade Gap between the Comb and the Blade..... The PENN Safety Razor was a Design that was away ahead of its time and it is indeed a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing..... I am looking forward to having a Test Drive with this Bad Wolf..... Billy
Excellent write-up and photos illustrating how you approached this. I'll be honest in that I would probably not had gone through this myself if I had a Penn lying around so I'm really happy that you did so that I can learn something Now I want to hear about the shave
A shave report eh ? ....I am Knackered after spending hours on getting this to work.....Naw.....I seriously enjoy getting these Auld SEs to work properly....This one was a bit of a challenge I must say though.....Tested the Auld Brain Matter to the Max.... I will have a Test Drive with it and post a wee report if I've got any face left...
They are sometimes plentiful on USA EBay, but the adjustable is quite a rare bird.....It would appear that these were aimed at the richer folks as $5.00 was a lot of Doe back in them days.....The case is really luxurious with a hidden compartment ......
I had my Maiden Shave with the PENN Adjustable today .... Three Pass Shaving Routine.... Hot Water prep & massage with Coconut Oil PENN Adjustable SE Gem Stainless SE Blade (New) Semogue Classic 208 Boar Brush Nivea Shaving Cream (Germany) Organic Aloe Vera Gel LOGONA Man Aftershave Balm (From Germany) I decided to give this Bad Wolf a Test drive today after my laborious efforts at modifying a Gem blade to perform in the PENN Adjustable....This wee razor has a really huge blade gap on the highest setting and was a bit wary of it.....The razor feels quite dainty in the hand for an SE that was made during the 1920s ....Its one of the smallest SEs that I own....It does have a heavy weight feel to it though....This razor was not made for the poor man on the street that's for sure.... On my first WTG Pass the Gem blade felt as sharp as Chinese Schick Injector Blade...I was really surprized at this...I had the razor set to just over the minimum setting and it felt quite aggressive until I got hold of the shaving angle of almost totally flat against the face...I offered the PENN Adjustable a good 3 days of whiskers to cut down...The PENN Adjustable and my modified blade combo cut down my 3 days of whiskers with ease....Its hard to compare this razor to anything else, but without throwing the baby out with the bath water, I would say it feels something like a cross between a Gem 1912 and an Ever Ready 1914...The PENN Adjustable is not a Mild razor that's for sure...During my second XTG pass which is actually more of a ATG pass for me I turned up the volume to about just over half way and the PENN Adjustable was whacking down my whiskers with short chopping motions in my normal problem areas very much like what I would expect from an Injector.... I turned up the volume again to about the 3 quarter setting on one of my areas on the neck where I have whiskers like a barbed wire fence and the PENN Adjustable was tearing them down quite smoothly....It was getting crazy aggressive around here though and I turned it down again for my final pass which was just a clear up to be honest as I could have walked away at that point with an acceptable 2 pass shave.... I ended up with a BBS result with only a hint of irritation ...The PENN Adjustable takes a bit of focus to use as we have to remember the original blade would not have been anything near as sharp as a factory produced multi - faceted blade ....I have replicated the original blade to perfection and I am happy to bring this wee razor back to life utilizing modern technologies ..... For a wee SE that was designed in the 1920s its a cut above a Gem 1912 for sure.....A Gem 1912 is an old crude spanner by comparison...The PENN Adjustable was not designed for a modern sharp blade however and is not for the faint hearted as its like trying to fire a .45 calibre bullet from a Dillinger ....In other words the PENN Adjustable has a lot of recoil to use that analogy....Too much gunpowder as they say.......:bang: Overall an interesting wee project and I will use the PENN Adjustable in my shaving rotation as its fun to use...Anybody that presses the button on any of the USA made PENN SE variants without the propriety blade give me a buzz and I will send a template to work with to modify a .45 Calibre Gem blade to fit this wee Dillinger ... Billy .......
Great write up! Btw...did you see the gorgeous and rare Penn kit ending in three hours? With strop, etc - never seen that. At a BIN for $60 in surprised no one got it
I never seen it....I have never seen a Penn stropping set either....Folks are reluctant to buy these because when they research it they and get informed that they cant shave without a propriety blade ....That's why I think its good to post these wee reviews on Forums as folks can get another take on it.... Billy
I did notice that the kit got re-listed - now at $10 less (at $50 now...) AND they accept lower offers
Yeah...I saw that...I can see a new what are you waiting for to arrive post coming up from you shortly..... Billy....
Nah, I'm really trying to move away from razor acquisitions for the rest of the year...brushes is another topic though....
