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Post by PJGH on Jan 25, 2014 12:15:13 GMT -6
I put in idle bid on a poorly photographed Schick - could have been an E, maybe a G, no idea on the condition but the starting bid was £2 with free postage. I put the starting bid on and won it! Great! Alas, days passed, a week passed and another week ... and I thought it was lost. The seller would not get in touch with me, opened a case and still silence. I would have been due my money back tomorrow for lack of contact from the seller, but blow me down! This morning, it dropped through my letter box. Beauty! I opened it up and my heart sank ... Not for the complete waste of two whole British pounds, but for the state of the poor thing. I must be a real shaver because I looked on this crusty old razor like I might a mange and flea-ridden cat. Poor chap! Once I'd got the rusty blade out I was a little more hopeful for a decent recovery ... So, after a soak in boiled water and a general scrub up with my favourite first line of attack, De-Solv-It Metal Cleaner, it was starting to look presentable ... ... some polishing with Peek and a yellow duster, we've got a reasonable looker! Washed again in scalding water, soap, rinsed and immersed into 100% alcohol for a few minutes, let's drop a blade in ... Good to go!
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Post by mjclark on Jan 25, 2014 13:24:00 GMT -6
Nice work! It's so good to bring these razors back into action and give them the appreciation they deserve. I trust the effort you've put into restoring that G will be rewarded with great shaves
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Post by PJGH on Jan 25, 2014 14:26:47 GMT -6
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Post by birdlives on Jan 25, 2014 15:37:49 GMT -6
Yeah Man!! Nice work! It's so cool to see such a wonderful shaver brought back to do what she does so well... When I saw that first picture, I can imagine what you were thinking...lmao! But you sure turned her around ...Congratulations! Hope you two make beautiful music together...
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Post by PJGH on Jan 25, 2014 15:51:59 GMT -6
I wish I'd snagged a picture with the rusty blade in ...
I have an old injector full of used blades for just this purpose - pushing old blades through and scraping out the insides. The fork in one of the recovery pictures was used to push the inner part of the razor out and let me get it clean. Likewise, the inside can then be proggled with a pipe cleaner to get old soap and blade rust out.
During restoration, I'd managed to bend something out of shape so that the razor rattled if shaken. Pushing it all back together and bending bits back, it all settled out right again.
Having only seen pictures of this type of razor before, I rather imagined that the circular part rotated to permit inner access to the razor. That would have been sweet, but gently prising open and cleaning worked out fine.
Much enjoyed ...
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Post by drumzalot on Jan 25, 2014 16:04:47 GMT -6
That's some real dedication on your part Paul and a wonderful result from all of that hard work. I think half the fun of enjoying these old razors is the cleaning process making them look as new as possible. I took some plating off (the inside) of two injectors trying to install a new blade (these two didn't have a blades installed).
I can't believe it wasn't until much later that I used a cartridge with dull blades I coated with baby oil to make this process easier. Sometimes you can spot a razor in good condition for a low price and all it needs is just some good old cleaning.
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exapno
Shave Master
Posts: 108
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Post by exapno on Jan 25, 2014 16:24:04 GMT -6
The circular part does rotate, or at least it does on a G type (I've done it myself). It's tricky to prise it off the metal lug beneath the head but once done it has a 360 rotation and the whole thing opens up. Lovely restore Paul, must have taken ages!
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Post by PJGH on Jan 25, 2014 17:08:23 GMT -6
Ha! So it does, mate! So it does I knew I'd seen a picture of one cracked open. Now I can clean this little fellow up good and proper. Oh, fantastic! I am so happy now! Joe - You're absolutely right. Now I've plucked up the courage to buy from the US, I can happily bring in quite good looking razors for a pittance, but ... where's the fun? Seeking a street cat and cleaning him up is a labour of love. This is the first Schick I can honestly say I have loved shaving with. It just worked. I'm most definitely "into" the older ones now. I love the looks of the nasty '70s trashy models, but they just don't deliver without a lot of perseverance. This one took me by the hand and showed me how ... Awesome! Time for an internal scrub now
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Post by HoosierTrooper on Jan 25, 2014 19:03:10 GMT -6
What a nice restoration! The gold plating on the Schicks isn't very thick, and usually when you see green it means the plating is gone. I'd be careful prying open any of the G Types, it may bend the spring and not let it hold the blade tight enough. Some of the E Types are designed to open.
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RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
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Post by RocketMan on Jan 25, 2014 21:30:19 GMT -6
The opening to clean is indeed tricky. They can be a real bugger to open and I rarely try anymore. I think like HT says, the spring can bend some during the opening too so caution is advised.
Great clean up! Real nice handle color on that one.
Thnx for posting!
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Post by Alan on Jan 25, 2014 21:47:10 GMT -6
Great job Paul! There's nothing like bringing one of these babies back to life. I've have a couple of razors that had never been used and look like the day they were made but I get more pleasure from the ones I found all gunked up that I cleaned and brought back to life. Do be careful opening it though, I ruined a nice G by doing that continually to it.
Cheers,
Alan
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Post by birdlives on Jan 26, 2014 3:22:55 GMT -6
Another vote to demure on opening a 'G' type....The E2 can be opened regularly without fear of repercussions, the the 'G's were designed to be left intact... ....some cats get away with it but it's a gamble, and she sure looks good already, why risk it?...just sayin'
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Post by PJGH on Jan 26, 2014 8:32:15 GMT -6
Thank you for your kind comments, Gents. Regarding opening, it was late, I was "happy and full of bravado" (yes, I'd been drinking) and so I thought, "what the heck?". I got away with it, but upon re-assembly, there was a slight rattle, so I wrapped some toilet tissue around needle nosed pliers and gave the tension bar a little tweak. Good as new! I got a great shave out of this razor last night - it just took me by the hand and let me through it. I also tried a shave stick for the first time (an Arko) and really enjoyed it. Between the two, I feel great today and can't help having a crafty chin stroke whenever I think I'm not being watched Here is last night's SOTD picture: Something had clicked in the cosmos because everything was going right, even the picture. It's quite a serene composition. Anyway, today, I decided to revisit the composition in better light. Hmmm ... I'm not sure I don't prefer the one from last night. All was going well until a dark cloud loomed into view! Ah, it was just the moggy joining me in playing with my razors Cheers, folks! I've had a lot of fun with this.
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Post by sleddog on Jan 26, 2014 10:12:11 GMT -6
Nice save, love the pics!
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Post by birdlives on Jan 26, 2014 12:18:13 GMT -6
Great Save! Congratulations...
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