Inherited a safety razor. Now what?

mlanghornes

mlanghornes

Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
798
Hey guys, I recently inherited my grandfather's safety razor, and I'd like to restore it and start using it. But I basically know nothing about restoration and care of these things. What should I look for to make sure its functional? The top opens and closes smoothly enough. What's the best way to get rid of the light surface rust/ soap scum on it? Anything else I need to know? Thanks in advance.
 
i dont knowmmuch about them and had my first DE shave today but you could probably use an old toothbrush and some soap to clean it. Check out badger and blades forum.
 
Soak in a cup of vinegar and water for about 20 minutes. Scrub with old toothbrush.
 
That's a lady Gillette safety razor fyi. Don't mind the name. I use one from time to time. I like the longer handle.

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gillette_Lady_Gillette

I actually own two. My wife uses one and I sometimes use the other. I prefer my merkur though.

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As long as it opens and closes all the way you're good to go. Get yourself some Feather blades via Amazon. Not the ones from the drugstore or Walmart.
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You can use any kind of shaving cream and just shave like normal. Just go SLOW and don't use a lot of pressure.
 
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a quick soak and scrub will clean it up nice. the main thing to watch for once you put a blade in it and close it up, is to be sure the doors are tightening down evenly, and that the gaps between the blade and the guard are pretty close on each side. That shouldn't be a problem, but you never know.

I would recommend finding a blade sampler pack and trying out a few. I wouldn't recommend starting with feathers straight off, they are considerably sharper than most, so are less forgiving to learn on. Every razor and every face has a blade that works best for it, so rather than tell you which one to use, its better to try them all (and at a couple bucks a pack, its cheap education) the reason I say that is some of my favorite blades don't work at all for others, and the most commonly mentioned "starter" blades don't work the way I'd like for me. But I think most guys thing feathers are the sharpest.

Its also a great time to switch to a brush and soap if you have not. by far better value and a better shave than canned gunk, and your skin will do better as well.
Manitic59 on youtube has some great tutorial videos on getting started.
 
Your razor looks like it's in decent shape. Either vinegar soak, or the product 'Scrubbing Bubbles' and an old toothbrush will work to clean the gunk off. A cream polish, like Flitz, can help to restore the shine.
 
Everything above is solid advise. I also would caution about starting with Feather Blades. If you're used to the crappy razors with 15 blades that irritate your face, the Feather Blades may be a bit sharp to start with. Tons of great info on Badger and Blade. Great group, I learned a bunch.

I have been using safety razors for a couple years. I can whole heartedly recommend them.

Start with a really warm washcloth and wet your face. Go to a good pre shave oil. Apply your soap with a good badger hair brush, and begin your shave. The key is to not use much pressure. Let the weight of the razor do the work. You will get an incredible shave once you get the hang of it.

Any questions, feel free to PM me. I'll gladly help as much as I can.
 
Don't use vinegar if the finish is nickel - it can pit the surface. Instead just soak it over night in dishwashing soap. You can clean it further with an old toothbrush and toothpaste.

My favourite blades are the Astras. You can buy over a years supply for $10 on Amazon.

For shaving creams, Proraso is a good one to start. If you are looking for local and inexpensive shaving creams, look for Nivea Sensitive. About $3 a tube. For a brush, check out the Omega boar brushes for about $15. You can lather in a bowl, or in your palm or even on your face.

Key tip: very short strokes rather than long ones like modern cartridges. Go with the grain for your first few shaves. Once comfortable with that, try a second pass across the grain. Once both of these are working well, you can also try against the grain, but in all honesty, I find the first two remove my beard growth well enough.

I love safety razors and am never going back to cartridges and canned goo...:)
 
I would probably hesitate to try vinegar just in case it takes the finish off. *** Another thing - DO NOT BOIL IT in a pan of water. ***

Soak in dish washing liquid/water as said above. Hot tap water and a tooth brush is perfect. It'll probably clean up really nice. I've heard some recommend Scrubbing Bubbles bathtub cleaner works great ref the soap scum.

Anything you could ever want to know about DE razors can be found here... This is a great forum and really helpful bunch of people.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php/33-double-edged-razors
 
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