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Post by PJGH on Feb 21, 2014 13:17:41 GMT -6
How could I resist? Slightly blurred auction pictures, a bit of a dog and a low price ... it'll polish up ... surely ... Upon arrival it was worse than I expected and worse than I could see in the pictures. It had what appeared to be dramatic plate loss all over; that, or some kind of varnish or lacquer that had significantly degraded. Content with just giving this lame dog a quick spruce up and some single edge loving here after, I gave it a quick go over with my usual routine: De-Solv-It Metal Cleaner, Peek Polish and a yellow duster. Well, I so with I'd take some "befores". So wish! You'll have to imagine from the auction pictures: You can see the areas that I thought were plate loss or some degraded varnish ... Well, blow me down! It all started coming off! Well, I had to carry on, didn't I? So now I have either (a) a bare metal razor, or (b) a delaminated razor with perfect plating. I think the former. Concur? If I enjoy the shave, which I have with its open comb VC3 sibling, I'll get it plated.
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Post by lutebro on Feb 21, 2014 13:23:27 GMT -6
Very nice looking! Good work. I don't know if these came nickel plated or not. Still seems like it would be tough to get through it all without a ton of work.
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Post by PJGH on Feb 21, 2014 13:37:47 GMT -6
Comparing to my VC3, actually, I think I've got it back to the plating. I think it must have had some kind of nasty lacquer applied for some reason or other.
Well, it's a perfectly good, clean shaver now and will be Feathered up for a shave in due course ...
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exapno
Shave Master
Posts: 108
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Post by exapno on Feb 21, 2014 14:51:04 GMT -6
Grandad Paul... you and I are going to have to start communicating about eBay bids. This is the second time you've snapped up something on my watch list and I hate the thought of the two of us bidding each other up. Maybe I should just let you know when I'm in the running for an item and just presume that you're going to be bidding on every other SE bargain that is on the 'Bay. Nice catch though, it's cleaned up very nicely.
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Post by PJGH on Feb 21, 2014 14:56:30 GMT -6
We'll just have to play first dibs ... or share afterwards.
This was a dog, mate - really, very poor condition. It was only by chance that I figured whatever coating was coming away and spent an hour and a half with a cocktail stick and an ear bud (q-tip?) meticulously rubbing away.
When I send you my Micromatics (got a 13 tooth Clog Pruf as well now, BTW) I can send you on a Valet or two.
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Post by drumzalot on Feb 21, 2014 15:29:53 GMT -6
I only have the VC1 and don't know how the rest of the Valet models shave. The VC1 shaves rather mild with a modded Gem blade but I don't know how the Feather blades shave. It's actually quite easy to find Valet razors in near mint condition for a cheap price. Recently, I passed up two near mint models for $12 (including shipping).
Paul, I like how you transform old razors into new. There are many great razors that go for a low price only because they are dirty. For all of us it's a labor of love transforming old razors into almost new condition. Another good job on the Valet Paul.
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Post by PJGH on Feb 21, 2014 16:46:44 GMT -6
Cheers, Joe. This was a trial with an hour and a half of concentrated scrubbing - cotton bud (q-tip), polish and a magnifying glass. I rather hoped it was just dirty and might have stayed that way ... but it responded, so I carried on.
Rewarded, I'll grab a pack of Feathers and see how it plays. I can use the same blades to liven up my GEM Featherlights and Contours. NOS blades are not that easy to come by over our side of the pond.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 18:41:48 GMT -6
The VC4 is my numero uno razor in the rotation. With a Feather: consistently close and comfortable. Yours was in rough cosmetic shape, but turned out looking sweet.
Enjoy.
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RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
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Post by RocketMan on Feb 22, 2014 21:56:22 GMT -6
The VC4 is my numero uno razor in the rotation. With a Feather: consistently close and comfortable. Yours was in rough cosmetic shape, but turned out looking sweet. Enjoy. Can you share why the vc4 comes out on top for you over the other models mr flay? And, have you found a 'best ' price for picking up Feather SE blades you might share too? : ) Real nice clean up on this razor. You bagged a winner PJGH!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2014 22:42:02 GMT -6
The VC4 is my numero uno razor in the rotation. With a Feather: consistently close and comfortable. Yours was in rough cosmetic shape, but turned out looking sweet. Enjoy. Can you share why the vc4 comes out on top for you over the other models mr flay? And, have you found a 'best ' price for picking up Feather SE blades you might share too? : ) Real nice clean up on this razor. You bagged a winner PJGH! I would guess that the "runner guard" does the trick for my face/beard configuration. I've never found the open comb versions of most razors to be superior to the ribbed- or smooth-bar guard version (e.g. Clog-Pruf > MMOC). As reported elsewhere, I do like the OC Gem de Luxe, and I could happily shave with the other AS open comb models for the rest of my life. I just get that "perfect shave every time" experience with the VC4. As to the price of Feathers, Connaught ( link ) offers the following: Edit: Oops.The screenshots didn't come out the size I had anticipated. Follow the link as supplement. The US dollar prices are in parenthesis. If you buy 240 at a pop, the price is: With free shipping, that's $0.42 cents per blade. I know many people say they can't get more that three good shaves from the blade, but I can get a quality week's worth (at least) so I'm getting my money's worth for something I enjoy. I wouldn't mind cultivating a direct source for the blades in Japan, but I don't know if it would be cheaper in the end.
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RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
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Post by RocketMan on Feb 24, 2014 9:35:28 GMT -6
Thanks for the info Mr Flay. You have left me trying to figure out which of my few C4's I can get soapy! This thread inspired me to take out a Feather SE blade and toss it into my FrankenStrop which has a silver B head threaded onto a C1 handle. It was my first and I just keep using it. I have never tried out the new models, but I will definitely dig into the pile a bit and see what I can find.
These prices look reasonable. The blades seem to keep well. My current batch is almost finished now, but at four yrs old they still seem as sharp as ever.
Thnx for the info and the inspiration in this thread. I am going to pick up some more blades. They really do make for an excellent shave. Now I just have to pry out a minty C4 and give it a whirl.
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