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Post by drumzalot on Apr 3, 2015 18:25:03 GMT -6
Background of the College razor. The College was manufactured by the Gold Manufacturing Company. The company was located at 112 W. 42nd St. New York City. The Gold Company also manufactured military razors, College razors, Vanadium Safety Razor Blades and Gold Shaving Powder. Gold is primarily known for their double edge military razors (which were not common). Even more rare is the Gold single edge military razor. The CaseThe case is (what I would describe as) a common small black hard shell case. My case appears to have been previously repaired. The College logo on the clasp button. The College Safety Razor inscription on the bottom of the case. The College Safety Razor & The WorksThe neat compact set. All of the works! Nine of the original ten razor blades are included. Each blade is separated by thin sheets of wax. Usually, a razor's head comes in two pieces, the top plate and the base plate. With the College it appears that the comb is sandwich in between the top plate and a bottom frame. The College has a unique thin top plate. The two small razor blade banks. Razor Blade Compatibility & Loading A Razor BladeThe College is a proprietary blade razor. A modern single edge blade is too wide to fit into the College. The original razor blades are quite thin, in fact you can snap them in half! Fortunately, an injector razor blade can fit. Instructions on how to load a razor blade into the College safety razor. The Shave ReviewAdmittedly, I didn't have a lot of faith in the college. I wasn't thrilled with it's blade loading mechanism. Fortunately, my skeptical view of the College was proven wrong! Right from the start the College felt like a winner. Going WTG was easy. Going XTG went smooth and comfortable. The College does have a notable blade gap even still it was mild. The College is head heavy but it feels light during the shave. The handle is a bit short for big hands, I had to crimp tightly on the handle during the shave. It doesn't matter if you keep the head flat on the skin or slightly angled away from the skin. No matter which of the two angles you select the College is a solid performer. Going ATG was also mild and comfortable. I did notice that the wide blade gap became a bit apparent (aggressive) going ATG, nothing that a light touch and concentration can't solve. The injector blade aided the College in giving a quality shave. In the end, I can say that there are razors that perform smoother and better. The College is no slouch though, it is both a comfortable and mild razor period. I would define the College as not being the best but definitely an above average shaver. The Bad, The Good & The SummaryThe Bad? Yes, it is a proprietary blade razor but the common injector blades solves that issue. You might find the razor to be a tad too light. The biggest gripe is the handle it is just a tad too small for large hands IMO. The good? The College is waiting to give you a comfortable mild close shave. Paired with an injector blade the razor just can't go wrong. I can best describe the College as a milder more comfortable 1912. It's unfortunate that this particular razor did not stand the test of time. The original thinner blades tend to bow, they are probably not as sharp as injector blades, they are also fragile. Maybe the original blades made a negative difference in it's shave performance? Either way, I find the College to be a very competent razor. The College is easy to use comfortable mild and a close shaver. Finding a College isn't easy, very few show up once in a long while. It wasn't a cheap purchase either. I will definitely be using the College again!
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fergie
Shave Master
Posts: 122
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Post by fergie on Apr 3, 2015 19:40:56 GMT -6
A fantastic review !
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Apr 3, 2015 20:48:41 GMT -6
I am continually astounded at the razors you come up with and the excellent reviews.
Kudus!
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Post by mjclark on Apr 4, 2015 0:03:07 GMT -6
Superb Joe! And it came with the OEM blades, which makes it even better.
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norfolkdick
Master Shaver
Captain of the Razor Blades
Posts: 1,601
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Post by norfolkdick on Apr 4, 2015 0:47:04 GMT -6
Greetings
Another really superb review Joe, yet another quirky old razor I had not even heard of.
I am beginning to think more and more that the use of proprietary blades, doomed most of these interesting old razors right from the word go. I suspect that even in their day many of these blades were not readily available, I would be surprised if you could have just walked into your local drug store and purchased them, there were so many, especially as most of these razors date from a similar period in time.
Well done Joe!
Regards Dick.
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Post by PJGH on Apr 4, 2015 2:53:30 GMT -6
Sound! It's a good looker!
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Post by birdlives on Apr 4, 2015 6:26:21 GMT -6
Bravo Joe....A great review and a great read! Pictures, everything very well put together....I feel like I was there...and I thoroughly enjoyed my shave with it....Whoot!
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Post by drumzalot on Apr 4, 2015 9:50:14 GMT -6
Thank you I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I am continually astounded at the razors you come up with and the excellent reviews. Kudus! There are so many odd/unknown SE razors out there but it's hard to find them.
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Post by drumzalot on Apr 4, 2015 10:02:13 GMT -6
Though the mod below is not necessary, I decided to do it for two reasons. Since the handle pushes into the base plate (to lock the blade), it also gouges the base plate. The blade does tend to slightly bow as well. My Very Sharp safety razor also bows the blade. The Very Sharp also locks the blade the same way the College does. Altering a razor blade is something I have done. However, I don't like to mod razors by physically altering the razor itself. I do employ plastic strips as a mod, I can't stress enough that they are very handy. The mod below is very easy to do. Again, it's not necessary, but I will post it for anyone who faces the issues that I mentioned.
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Post by drumzalot on Apr 4, 2015 10:13:22 GMT -6
Superb Joe! And it came with the OEM blades, which makes it even better. Indeed! I did a few strokes with an OEM blade to test drive one. They are equivalent to an non coated stainless steel Gem. I won't use them they will remain as part of the collection. Greetings Another really superb review Joe, yet another quirky old razor I had not even heard of. I am beginning to think more and more that the use of proprietary blades, doomed most of these interesting old razors right from the word go. I suspect that even in their day many of these blades were not readily available, I would be surprised if you could have just walked into your local drug store and purchased them, there were so many, especially as most of these razors date from a similar period in time. Well done Joe! Regards Dick. Thank you. It appears that some razors didn't last too long on the market. Their fate was especially doomed if they employed a proprietary blade. It seems that some of these hard to find razors required you to buy the blades through the mail. Some companies thought that if they forced you to buy their own blades they would double their profits. Of course, all companies did this but a lot of them didn't survive. I think it's a fun challenge trying to find a way to fit ANY modern blade into these odd razors. It's better to try and mod the blade then to let these jewels sit on the bench!
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Post by drumzalot on Apr 4, 2015 10:17:56 GMT -6
Here is a bigger clearer detailed view of the underside of the College razor. Note the thin bottom frame that runs across the base plate.
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Post by drumzalot on Apr 4, 2015 10:20:35 GMT -6
Sound! It's a good looker! She is quite a looker ay! Bravo Joe....A great review and a great read! Pictures, everything very well put together....I feel like I was there...and I thoroughly enjoyed my shave with it....Whoot! You didn't rinse clean my shaving brush!
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Post by drumzalot on Apr 4, 2015 17:25:30 GMT -6
I thought I would post this picture for anyone who has not seen a Gold Military razor. Gold manufactured razors share similar designs. Both the Military DE razor and the Military SE razor are pictured below. The two razors in the picture share the same small bottom frame as the College razor. The Military DE has a small top plate just like the College. Ironically, the Military SE razor's top plate almost covers the base plate. The "sharp" & "dull" blade blanks are identical to the College blade banks. Some Military razor cases are designed identical to the College case as well. Some Military razors were not stamped "Military Razor" rather simply as "Gold Razor."
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Post by birdlives on Apr 6, 2015 17:08:21 GMT -6
Sound! It's a good looker! She is quite a looker ay! Bravo Joe....A great review and a great read! Pictures, everything very well put together....I feel like I was there...and I thoroughly enjoyed my shave with it....Whoot! You didn't rinse clean my shaving brush! rotflmfao...!
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Post by drumzalot on Apr 6, 2015 18:40:31 GMT -6
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