Valet Auto Strop

fly3k

fly3k

Messages
3,442
Location
Colchester, Essex
Hi everyone,

I have a very old Valet Auto Strop razor. All the blades in the box are rusted. It would seem that you cannot buy these blades anymore. I wondered if there is another blade that may fit this razor. They are quite a strange shape. The leather strop in with the razor is very very dried out almost feels that it may crack or break unrolling it. Any advice on alternative blades and perhaps saving the strop (if possible) would be appreciated.

Also should I be able to find some blades are there any tips how this razor should be used? Blade angle etc?
 
Quality might be an issue with them. I have had a couple of unopened blades in wrappers but they were no good on inspection due to deterioration of the edge over time. I'd go with the connaught blades where you are sure of the integrity of the blade...the NOS are a gamble. Hope you can resolve this anyway.
 
Greetings

Feather SE blades will fit most but not all Valet Razors, there are very many models of autostrop probably at least thirty and the models with the hinged gate that open to one side for the fitting of the blade vary as to where the pins/cutouts are positioned I personally have three of this model with the cutouts in different positions and one of them will not take a Feather blade.

I have also seem another model that will not take the Feather blade that is different from mine.

There is just no way of knowing without trying the blade.

The models that do not have hinged gates or side hinges ie those models where the blade slides in the blade holder from the side will all take Feather blades. These types will also take the modified GEM blades ie GEM blades with the spine removed and a piece snapped of the back at each corner

In short if you buy or are thinking of buying a Valet Autostrop there is a good chance the Feather blade will fit but you need to try it before you know!

I have several original Valet Blades they are IMHO useless, they need stopping before first use (according to the old company literature) and my personal success rate at so doing is 0%. I suspect most of the old strops are knackered and you will need to remove and replace the old loop on the top, every one of mine had rotted and then broke when I used it. My personal advice is that it's the Feather blade or nothing with the model you have.

Feather SE blades are superb shavers but are very short lived, I mean very short ie two shaves and they are quite expensive! IMHO Valet Autostrops are great shaving razors and dirt cheap on e-bay.

This is the best site for seeing the different models: http://www.stropper.com/home/stropper_index.php?category=

Regards
Dick
 
I do have some Valet blades in their wrappers in the Bakelite box but you can see the rust without even unwrapping them. I managed to soak the strop in a sink of water for about a day and its came back to life, gave it a rub with baby oil to try to feed the leather a bit as well. Still no real need for the strop as I have the feathers blades. I havent tried them out yet so lets hope they fit.
 
NorfolkDick tried stropping a modern blade this week and came to the conclusion that it made it worse - probably because it removed the coating. The theory behind stropping a blade (I'm talking straights here) is that it aligns the microscopic elements that make up the edge and results in a smoother shave - imagine a saw tooth that is smoothed over. This is achieved by wiping the edge over a decent quality leather strop immediately before using the blade so I assume that the same reasoning applied to carbon steel SE blades - that they needed some refinement, hence the auto strops.

Where they differ from straight razors is that a straight will be honed on a stone regularly in order to maintain the edge - but it will still be stropped prior to shaving.

My personal opinion is that a modern blade is much superior to its carbon predecessor - although I'm aware that Dick finds the modern carbon equal to the equivalent coated one, I find it very harsh. At some stage I'll try an older blade that has been stropped and see if it makes any difference - I have an Ever Ready Stropper so just need to get a decent piece of learther to fit.

p.s. to fly3k - I'm not sure soaking the leather in water is the right thing to do. If it was in reasonable condition, I've heard that Neatsfoot oil is recommended.
 
The strop was so dry there was no way it would have unfolded without cracking. I ran the strop through the razor yesterday after its treatments and it went through nicely and even felt softer for doing this. I will probably never use the strop anyway as the consensus is this doesnt help the newer blades. But at least I have got it back in a good condition for show purposes.
 
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