On an old Valet Razor, do you have to use Valet Blades or will regular Gem SE Blades work. Or any blade besides Valet Blades ?
I do not know much about these razors but some info in this post might help. http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23908
Depends on the razor Some Auto-Strop razors require a special cutout blade. On the older blades, the cutouts in the middle of the blade actually spelled "Valet". However, these Feather blades also fit the cutouts. Other Auto-Strops can use a regular SE blade which has been modified. There are a couple of videos which have been cited frequently in this and other forums to show you how to do this. First you remove the spine from the blade, as inThe first video here. Then you snip little pieces out of the sides as in the second video, here.
If you never saw a Valet razor you probably don't understand the cutout purpose behind the Valet and the Feather blades and why a standard se blade doesn't work. Most of the Valet razors you find have little nubs where the blade rests. The only blades that work in these razors require the cutouts for the nubs which position the blades. In the photo below there is a blade in the razor on the left which has a hinged metal strip which locks down the blade. If you look closely you can see the little nubs at the top of the T and the A. The razor on the right is slightly different. There is a blade in the razor but there are four nubs poking through. They are located at the V, the A and the E on the blade plus an elongated nub which goes through the round punch out after the T. I have over a dozen nos Valet blades never opened. But even the new valet blade is not very sharp. That is why the new Feather blades, which fit onto the nubs, is a real find for Valet razor users. Len
