Rolls razor

rolatruck

rolatruck

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863
Bought one of these off the bay, as i was intrigued on how they worked. The blade that came with it was nick free and looked quite sharp. I stropped and honed it using the supplied equipment, seemed very sharp. I then stropped the blade on my leather strop a couple of hundred times, and decided to give it a go tonight.

They call these razors a straight on a stick, so was expecting a bloodbath. I had 3 days good growth, and took my first swipe. No blood, but i could tell it wasnt quite sharp enough, but got a good shave on the cheeks and neck on one pass, struggled a bit on the chin area.

Overall i was impressed what it took off in one pass not being shave ready. No nicks, very forgiving and smooth as they come. I finished off with my slim adjustable and probably had one of the best shaves in ages. These razors are unloved and little used, which is a shame really as i would bet once shave ready, they give as good a shave as a straight.

I am going to persevere and try a bit more honing and stropping, and hope to get it that bit sharper. For the price you can pick them up for, as long as there are no chips out of the blade, they are well worth a go if you are that way inclined. I love shaving with antique razors, and at £5, this was probably one of the best i have bought.
 
Back in the day, the sold bucket loads of these things ... picking up mint, unused for literally nothing is not unheard of.

They're fun, aren't they? :D

When you're honing, go gently. You don't want a rapid clacking in case you crack the hone. Wet it, too. On the strop side, clack it like the clappers!!! So long as the blade is nick-free, it will come up quite quickly on the hone. Another tip is to paste the strop with FeOx.

It's been a while since I shaved with mine - I have an Imperial No.2 and a Viscount. I also have their soap in a bowl and stick, which is lovely to use. Their strop paste is simply jewellers rouge, so get some proper FeOx and you'll have an improvement. I'm still on the lookout for a mirror. In the bumph that came with them, they did shaving brushes, too.

One thing I particularly liked about my Viscount was it came with a booklet of international retailers and service outlets, just in case you were stuck in some outpost in Rhodesia with a busted Rolls. There are some great names and addresses in that booklet.
 
Thanks for the advice Paul, i will try the feox, the hone and the strop are in good condition, so hopefully i will be able to get the blade that bit sharper. The one i have is in the original box with all the leaflets too. What great razors they came up with back in the day :)
 
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