- Messages
- 166
- Location
- Somerset - UK
Hi guys,
Just a post to introduce myself!
Firstly thankyou to Harry G for pointing me in the direction of this site. I'm not sure of his profile name on here but it was after he read my posts on B&B that he suggested that I should join this site - so thankyou - I've been non-stop reading the forum and love it !!
So more about me .... I'm from the Somerset in the UK and am a relative newbie at DE shaving. After years of frustration and spiraling cost, I ended up buying a Bluebeards Revenge Schimitar. I really liked it but decided that having tried a low cost entry razor I would jump in deeper and buy something more lavish - given that I had survived my first attempts. I went ahead and bought a Merkur Futur - mostly because it looked so cool but also because I liked the look of the gold version. It was nice .... but I should have read up about the relative aggressiveness before buying!
After that, I decided to try and find something that was a little more forgiving. I made a post on B&B asking for suggestions. Several people said to try vintage, others all pointed me in the direction of the Merkur Progress.
I ended up buying the Progress, but as hard as I tried to find a gold one, I couldn't. In the end I bought the chrome version and stripped and re-plated it in 24 karat gold myself. I was really pleased with how it turned out:
I have to say the Progress gave me fab shaves and I was really happy, but I thought maybe I could combine my love of restoration and plating and buy some vintage razors to restore. That way I could get some new razors and try some vintage models too!
I really struggled finding good priced razors in the UK - there just didn't seem to be as many as there were in the USA on Ebay. So in the end, I elected to buy a bunch of razors from one place in the USA so I could save on shipping costs.
I bought:
I've been restoring them and posting step-by-step photo updates - which is where Harry first saw my posts and PM'd me.
The level of restoration is pretty detailed - not just plating, but restoring damage from dents on handles, scratches, etc. I've managed to remove dents without any trace of the original damage and am so happy with my new razors! I probably have been putting a lot more effort into the restorations than a commercial setup would - where it's usually accepted that dents etc are cleaned, polished and plated and that there are some things that are just permanent marks from history. I just don't like leaving something damaged if it's humanly possible to fix! Also, I tend to plate multiple layers of materials - starting from copper to nickel to thick gold - to ensure that the surfaces are uniform and thick - ensuring they outlast me !
Anyway .... here's a few pics of my latest restorations:
Gillette Tech - USA - Fat Handle (Gold)
Before:
After:
Gillette Black Fat Handle Tech
This one had lost pretty much all of it's plating and just had some spots of the original black on the handle and gold on the base plate:
Before:
I decided to re-plate this one in 24 karat gold, and to try and get the feel of the black handle by plating black nickel over a gold base layer:
After:
I've also restored the Gold Ball End Tech but don't want to fill the whole forum with pics !
Needless to say I think I may have an addiction forming for shaving and bringing old razors back from the dead!
I'm hoping to be able to restore lots more razors and hopefully will have a couple of razors to restore for Harry - I honestly can't wait as they look like they will be perfect from the photos I've seen!
Anyway, thanks to Harry for pointing me in the direction of the site and can't wait to be reading more in the future !!
Best wishes,
Jay
Just a post to introduce myself!
Firstly thankyou to Harry G for pointing me in the direction of this site. I'm not sure of his profile name on here but it was after he read my posts on B&B that he suggested that I should join this site - so thankyou - I've been non-stop reading the forum and love it !!
So more about me .... I'm from the Somerset in the UK and am a relative newbie at DE shaving. After years of frustration and spiraling cost, I ended up buying a Bluebeards Revenge Schimitar. I really liked it but decided that having tried a low cost entry razor I would jump in deeper and buy something more lavish - given that I had survived my first attempts. I went ahead and bought a Merkur Futur - mostly because it looked so cool but also because I liked the look of the gold version. It was nice .... but I should have read up about the relative aggressiveness before buying!
After that, I decided to try and find something that was a little more forgiving. I made a post on B&B asking for suggestions. Several people said to try vintage, others all pointed me in the direction of the Merkur Progress.
I ended up buying the Progress, but as hard as I tried to find a gold one, I couldn't. In the end I bought the chrome version and stripped and re-plated it in 24 karat gold myself. I was really pleased with how it turned out:
I have to say the Progress gave me fab shaves and I was really happy, but I thought maybe I could combine my love of restoration and plating and buy some vintage razors to restore. That way I could get some new razors and try some vintage models too!
I really struggled finding good priced razors in the UK - there just didn't seem to be as many as there were in the USA on Ebay. So in the end, I elected to buy a bunch of razors from one place in the USA so I could save on shipping costs.
I bought:
- 1940 Milord Tech
- Gillette Fat Handle Tech
- Gillette Fat Handle Tech - Black Handle and Gold
- Gillette Ball End Tech - Gold
- Gillette X3 40's Style Super Speed
- Gillette B4 Ball End Tech - Nickel
I've been restoring them and posting step-by-step photo updates - which is where Harry first saw my posts and PM'd me.
The level of restoration is pretty detailed - not just plating, but restoring damage from dents on handles, scratches, etc. I've managed to remove dents without any trace of the original damage and am so happy with my new razors! I probably have been putting a lot more effort into the restorations than a commercial setup would - where it's usually accepted that dents etc are cleaned, polished and plated and that there are some things that are just permanent marks from history. I just don't like leaving something damaged if it's humanly possible to fix! Also, I tend to plate multiple layers of materials - starting from copper to nickel to thick gold - to ensure that the surfaces are uniform and thick - ensuring they outlast me !
Anyway .... here's a few pics of my latest restorations:
Gillette Tech - USA - Fat Handle (Gold)
Before:
After:
Gillette Black Fat Handle Tech
This one had lost pretty much all of it's plating and just had some spots of the original black on the handle and gold on the base plate:
Before:
I decided to re-plate this one in 24 karat gold, and to try and get the feel of the black handle by plating black nickel over a gold base layer:
After:
I've also restored the Gold Ball End Tech but don't want to fill the whole forum with pics !
Needless to say I think I may have an addiction forming for shaving and bringing old razors back from the dead!
I'm hoping to be able to restore lots more razors and hopefully will have a couple of razors to restore for Harry - I honestly can't wait as they look like they will be perfect from the photos I've seen!
Anyway, thanks to Harry for pointing me in the direction of the site and can't wait to be reading more in the future !!
Best wishes,
Jay
