Better Razors?

saj said:
always wanted to try a rolls razor but a lot seem to worn out and i dont actually understand the ay it works,
whats the aggression level like on it?
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Most are not worn out, so much as improperly stored, used, and abused. NOS razors are few and far between these days, at least in the U.S.

I bought three to put together into one functional kit plus a backup, which gave me spare blades, handles, hones and strops.

How aggressive are they? They are for all intents and purposes a straight razor. It is the end user (you) who will determine how aggressive you want it. They can be honed as keen as a Feather or as dull (smooth) as a Voskhod blade. I've gotten them to point where they are uncomfortably keen, and had to dial back on the stropping to let the blade smooth out to a more comfortable level.

They have all the upsides of a straight razor and none of the downsides. They are more maneuverable, easier to control, and have the proper shave angle built in. It comes with all the equipment required to maintain them in proper shaving condition. The only downside, and it is a downside, is that they have to be disassembled, cleaned, and restored before using. The upside is that it's not very hard to do. There's a thread over on the Shave Den called the "What is and How to" for the Rolls razor that covers all the restoration steps and various models.

Most people believe that the blades must be sent out for re-honing/re-conditioning before use. I'm in the minority that feels that the blades can be brought back to usable condition using the equipment that Rolls provided, albeit using modern tweeks, like rejuvenating the stone with Vaseline and using modern diamond nanometer stropping compounds on the strop, since the vintage Rolls Razor stropping compounds are getting harder and harder to find.

The rounded corners on the blade make them marginally safer, but also makes it less able to edge a beard nicely. It's about the only thing I don't like about it.
 
I have the Hawk V3 with the A plate. I believe the OP said he has all the plates for his. I've only tried the A but I get great results from it. Will I go further down the AC-SE rabbit hole? Probably not, I suspect for me there's more difference to be had from working on technique than spending on premium hardware. Although never say never! I certainly enjoy the format.
 
hotmetal said:
I have the Hawk V3 with the A plate. I believe the OP said he has all the plates for his. I've only tried the A but I get great results from it. Will I go further down the AC-SE rabbit hole? Probably not, I suspect for me there's more difference to be had from working on technique than spending on premium hardware. Although never say never! I certainly enjoy the format.
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You are correct I do indeed have all the plates, I will buy another 1 or 2 razors perhaps just to see how they compare and doesn't even have to be premium just well recommended. I want to try and avoid the rabbit hole as I already have so many various razors now and I don't want to buy another shaving rack to house another stack.
 
I've tried quite a few AC blade razors. My favourite by far is the King Cobra. Like an idiot I sold it a few years ago. Would almost be impossible to find one now.

I found the Vector to mild. For me the Hawk A plate is perfect.

Never found a schick razor comfortable.

Just remembered I have a rolls razor in the garage I still haven't tried. Any tips on bringing the leather strop back to life? Its pretty dry.
 
MrK1 said:
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Just remembered I have a rolls razor in the garage I still haven't tried. Any tips on bringing the leather strop back to life? Its pretty dry.
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Saddle soap followed by high grit sandpaper to level it out, followed by dubbin. Same thing you ought to be using on your leather boots, if you have any.

Well, minus the sandpaper part.

Then treat it with the stropping compound of your choice. Iron oxide (the red stuff, aka jeweler's rouge) mixed with some sort of grease is what Rolls sold to be used on it.

The newer (post 1930's) ones used a thinner leather with a canvas backer strip, and sometimes that needs to be replaced. You can use most anything for that, up to and including non-corrugated cardboard or heavy card stock.

In the mid 1950's they switched to some kind of composite cork board material. It doesn't age well. If you have that stuff, you'll want to find an old belt and cut out a replacement strop.

You'll also probably need to disassemble the stropping mechanism and clean it up. Rubbing alcohol and q-tips to get all the grease and strop compound off it. There's a little fish paper (friction) insert in there. It's fragile, so don't remove it if you don't have to. It provides the traction for the downward pressure on the strop and hone. If it's all greasy, you can strop all day and accomplish nothing at all, so it needs to be as clean as you can get it. Once you've done that you'll never need to disassemble it again, though you will need to wipe off the brass rollers once every couple of months or when you notice black streaks on the shiny brass.

Scrub the hone with an old toothbrush and toothpaste, and rinse it off. Dry it well, coat the hone with petroleum jelly (Vaseline in the U.S.), leave it on for a few hours or overnight, and wipe off the excess. This is a good time to wipe a little bit on the gear tracks. Less is more, be stingy with it. Any excess will eventually wind up back in the friction mechanism.

It takes a few hours to fully restore one to working condition.

After you shave with the razor, unscrew the handle, wipe off the plunger, and blow though the top part. Blow excess water out of the hole in the back of the blade and wipe it dry. Strop before use, and strop after use. You can be fairly vigorous on the strop, but you want a delicate touch on the hone.

Stropping, you want between 30-40 strokes before and after the shave. 100-200 if you've just honed the blade. It only takes a few strokes to hone, but you might need to do as many as 10 to 20 the first time out. That is if you don't decide to hone on different higher grit stones. That's for me, your milage may vary.

I find the Rolls blade to be painfully sharp for the first shave or two coming off the hone, but it soon smooths out and settles down. If you find yourself using a bit of pressure while shaving, the blade isn't sharp enough. If you use it daily, you'll need to hone it about once every two or three months, or once a year. Depends on the person using it (i.e. you). If you use diamond nanometer strop dressing, you may never need to hone it beyond the first time. Any Rolls blade that has been sitting for years, even NOS blades, need to be honed before use. If you have extra blades, coat them in petroleum jelly to keep them from rusting.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but in practice, it's a minute to prep it, shave, and then a minute to strop it and put the parts away. Also don't store the handle in the stropping handle. Store it in the track. This will keep you hone from breaking accidentally. Also, don't store the hone near heat (don't set it on the radiator/register). It will cause the hone to fall apart. One last final piece of advice. Don't take the strop and hone off the panels they are mounted on at the same time. If you switch them around, you can wind up driving the blade edge first into your strop. If you wind up ignoring this advice, the panel with "the whetter" logo is always the one that the hone is mounted on.

Sorry for the novella. I might have gotten a bit carried away with the advice.

Edit: My favorite AC razor is the Tedalus Essence. I liked it so much, I bought a backup.

Edit 2: If I missed anything, Rolls fans, feel free to chip in and correct me or add info.
 
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Forgot to add, there's a little recessed lip on one side of the case. When you are done stropping, rest the stropping handle on that lip. This presents the blade properly for removal and replacement, and prevents any accidental gouging of the strop by the pointy thingy the blade sits on.
 
MrK1 said:
I've tried quite a few AC blade razors. My favourite by far is the King Cobra. Like an idiot I sold it a few years ago. Would almost be impossible to find one now.

I found the Vector to mild. For me the Hawk A plate is perfect.

Never found a schick razor comfortable.

Just remembered I have a rolls razor in the garage I still haven't tried. Any tips on bringing the leather strop back to life? Its pretty dry.
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I did too, I would love another Cobra classic.

Paul
 
PLANofMAN said:
Saddle soap followed by high grit sandpaper to level it out, followed by dubbin. Same thing you ought to be using on your leather boots, if you have any.

Well, minus the sandpaper part.

Then treat it with the stropping compound of your choice. Iron oxide (the red stuff, aka jeweler's rouge) mixed with some sort of grease is what Rolls sold to be used on it.

The newer (post 1930's) ones used a thinner leather with a canvas backer strip, and sometimes that needs to be replaced. You can use most anything for that, up to and including non-corrugated cardboard or heavy card stock.

In the mid 1950's they switched to some kind of composite cork board material. It doesn't age well. If you have that stuff, you'll want to find an old belt and cut out a replacement strop.

You'll also probably need to disassemble the stropping mechanism and clean it up. Rubbing alcohol and q-tips to get all the grease and strop compound off it. There's a little fish paper (friction) insert in there. It's fragile, so don't remove it if you don't have to. It provides the traction for the downward pressure on the strop and hone. If it's all greasy, you can strop all day and accomplish nothing at all, so it needs to be as clean as you can get it. Once you've done that you'll never need to disassemble it again, though you will need to wipe off the brass rollers once every couple of months or when you notice black streaks on the shiny brass.

Scrub the hone with an old toothbrush and toothpaste, and rinse it off. Dry it well, coat the hone with petroleum jelly (Vaseline in the U.S.), leave it on for a few hours or overnight, and wipe off the excess. This is a good time to wipe a little bit on the gear tracks. Less is more, be stingy with it. Any excess will eventually wind up back in the friction mechanism.

It takes a few hours to fully restore one to working condition.

After you shave with the razor, unscrew the handle, wipe off the plunger, and blow though the top part. Blow excess water out of the hole in the back of the blade and wipe it dry. Strop before use, and strop after use. You can be fairly vigorous on the strop, but you want a delicate touch on the hone.

Stropping, you want between 30-40 strokes before and after the shave. 100-200 if you've just honed the blade. It only takes a few strokes to hone, but you might need to do as many as 10 to 20 the first time out. That is if you don't decide to hone on different higher grit stones. That's for me, your milage may vary.

I find the Rolls blade to be painfully sharp for the first shave or two coming off the hone, but it soon smooths out and settles down. If you find yourself using a bit of pressure while shaving, the blade isn't sharp enough. If you use it daily, you'll need to hone it about once every two or three months, or once a year. Depends on the person using it (i.e. you). If you use diamond nanometer strop dressing, you may never need to hone it beyond the first time. Any Rolls blade that has been sitting for years, even NOS blades, need to be honed before use. If you have extra blades, coat them in petroleum jelly to keep them from rusting.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but in practice, it's a minute to prep it, shave, and then a minute to strop it and put the parts away. Also don't store the handle in the stropping handle. Store it in the track. This will keep you hone from breaking accidentally. Also, don't store the hone near heat (don't set it on the radiator/register). It will cause the hone to fall apart. One last final piece of advice. Don't take the strop and hone off the panels they are mounted on at the same time. If you switch them around, you can wind up driving the blade edge first into your strop. If you wind up ignoring this advice, the panel with "the whetter" logo is always the one that the hone is mounted on.

Sorry for the novella. I might have gotten a bit carried away with the advice.

Edit: My favorite AC razor is the Tedalus Essence. I liked it so much, I bought a backup.

Edit 2: If I missed anything, Rolls fans, feel free to chip in and correct me or add info.
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Great posts about the Rolls, thank you. I've just bought one online and can't wait to investigate. Don't be surprised if I call upon your experience at some point!
 
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