Uneven Blade Gap, Gillette Slim.

Roscotanna

Roscotanna

Messages
184
Location
Cardiff
Hi,
I know this is a common problem with the old adjustables but I can't seem to find the necessary info for remedying it. I saw somehwere about taking it to bits and cleaning everything and if its still wonky then some sort of bending is needed.
Can anybody with experience guide me though stripping it down or failing that, offer tips on what to bend and where?

Cheers,
Ross :)
 
You won't be stripping a Slim apart if you can help it ...... You won't get the cap back onto the push rod; just like the later model Fatboys ... they're crimped on, rather than threaded. If it's just the safety bar that needs to be bent back into position, it's easy enough. It's probably helpful if you know your way around a set of feeler gauges though, if you want to get it bang on exact, but if you have a good eye for level and true you should get away with it.

Assuming you have the gap on one side where it should be, to match that you'll need to bend the wonky side. How you do that is the trick; if the gap needs to be opened, use a small coin like a 5p piece or an edge to get into the slots and casrefully lever down on either side to open the gap a little at a time. If you need to close that gap, use a thicker coin and get it into the groove between the back of the safety bar and base plate. Use it to lever pressure onto the safety bar and bend it upwards toward the doors until the gap closes to where you need it.

Don't use edges that are too hard for this .... you'll mark the plating and could dent the brass if you overdo it. A little insulation tape around your tools or coins works wonders for this ;)
 
I
Roscotanna said:
Hi,
I know this is a common problem with the old adjustables but I can't seem to find the necessary info for remedying it. I saw somehwere about taking it to bits and cleaning everything and if its still wonky then some sort of bending is needed.
Can anybody with experience guide me though stripping it down or failing that, offer tips on what to bend and where?

Cheers,
Ross :)
Click to expand...
I'll sell you one when the inevitable happens.
 
Feeler gauges / spark plug gauges ..... same thing, mate. My ones have a huge range of gap sizes on them for doing my bikes; spark plug ones tend to have a little more limited range, but if you can use them to measure the good gap and match the wonky gap up to the same gauge, it's all good.
 
I have just done this on a 1973 Super Adjustable I picked up, it basically came free with a Fat handle tech I was after. The razor came up lovely after cleaning but the blade gap was uneven on both sides. I bent it back into shape using a knife, I got the tips from Badger and Blade, see links below. However I like @Wishbone advice using a coin and using tape, I made small gauges in the slots, it will not affect the shave but had I put tape on the knife I suspect this minor damage would not be there . Good luck @Roscotanna with your efforts to do this, one tip I have is take it easy and take your time, it may not feel like you are bending the safety bar so keep checking with your feeler gauge, I was surprised how easy this was to do but each incremental bend was tiny. It took me about about two hours to do this, but I am really pleased with the result.

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/how-do-you-adjust-the-blade-gap-on-a-slim.426344/

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/super-adjustable-head-or-safety-bar-bent.448893/

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/issue-with-gillette-slim.410091/
 
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