Rolls Razors, have I been foolish??

T

TRXnMe

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Just beffore Christmas I put a £1 bid in on a listing for a pair of Rolls Razors, one with a partial outer, cardboard, box.

I won as the only bidder for £0.99

Thing is, I've no idea about these things at all, other than a comment I read on here, something about them being "a straight on a stick".

What sort of restoration am I like to have to undertake before I can try to shave with one of them? Is there a restoration guide anywhere I can take a look at?

I found a youtube clip of someone using one, it looks like a very simple idea, sharpen one side, strop the other, then shave.....
 
if the blade and especially the edge is not rusty, honing stone is not cracked and strop is not dried out. Then it can be classified as 'good' and 'usable'.
what I would do; providing the blade is not rusty, give the blade and the handle a good wash in warm water with fairy liquid then brush clean, then soak it in the sterilising or antibacterial liquid of your choice. this can be, diluted barbicide or Dettol or whatever you prefer.
some people hone it properly on honing stones like coticule etc.. but this may not be necessary.
Providing that the hone and strop is usable just hone it first, then strop.
When it comes to shaving; Assuming the blade is shave ready sharp, It gives a good shave on the cheeks and neck area, but when it comes to moustache, under lip, chin, jaw area(especially if you have a skinny face) I find it tricky and difficult but that's my opinion from my experience.
However they are inexpensive, interesting and over engineered piece of razors in the shaving history, they are nice to look at and a Must for a shaving enthusiast and collector.
You may be able to get a decent shave, also try to buy a spare blade(try to find one without rust) and the strop dressing in the Bakelite boxes. good luck
 
OK, in between a few other things I did find a wiki on the B&B website, looks like it's possible to ge a reasonable shave with these things.

Following a thread on here I've got my eye on some 3M honing paper on the bay.

Not found any strop dressing yet, but not really looked, I will once they turn up.

I doubt they will ever take a permanent place in my shaving routine, but will probably get saveed for this time of year when I've got plenty of time to have a 'special' shave :)
 
yes you can get a reasonable shave, the difficult parts that I mentioned above, is my own experience and the main reason is; the blade is too wide(the distance between the edge and the handle) and most important, probably didn't shave that much to develop a technique. I never used a honing paper before, but you can take the safety bar out(prize it out) from the blade for honing on a separate stone But be very very Careful. If the blade and edge is not rusty and can actually see the bevel all clean, shiny and no chips, and the honing stone is not cracked, then it should be sufficient to hone the blade. Strop dressing would be good but, you can also use a little bit of sadlle soap and/or other strop dressings(white tube with yellow stripe) if the strop is badly dried.
 
I quite like the rolls, although I have honed the blade myself and have an additional leather strop (I replaced the leather) and coated it with chromium oxide. Having done all that the it gives a cracking shave, that said I've not used it recently might get it out again tomorrow.
 
pjgh said:
I'd be very interested to see how you get on ...

I have looked and looked and looked at these razors and never plucked up the courage to drop a bid on one - if I did, I would have to shave with it.

Good luck! I hope it works out.
Click to expand...

99p for the pair and a couple of quid for postage, plus the look of the things, I couldn't resist.

Problem being, once they arrive I am going to want to shave with them, so getting the cutting edge sorted out will be a challenge for 2014 :D
 
Well, I've got the two of them.

From what I know one of them appears to the later version, the 1950's reintroduction, it feels lighter, cheaper and is not in such good condition as the older one. Don't get me wrong the blade is in good nick, no rust on it, the hone ans strop are sound all be the strop could probably use some TLC before long.

The older razor is a number 2, nickel plated, the blade is almost perfect, no rust at all and a very sharp edge on it. This razor came with the original instructions, half the box and a the paper wrapper that woudl have originally gone around the box, it's in that sort of condition.

I'm going to spend a little time on Friday honing and stropping the new razor and then see what is shaves like, the reputation is 'a straight on a stick' so I'll stay away from my jugular for now.

All in all, very pleased with my £0.99 purchase, and if the older razor is as good as it looks iit may well become part of my rotation, all be only on high days and holidays :)

If I get a decent shave out of the newer one I'll offer it to the likes of pjgh to try out :)
 
After having received some strop treatment, and cleaned the hone up as advised on one of the other shaving websites I spent 20 minutes honing the newer blade and then another couple of minutes stropping it.

A quick test on my forearm showed it was hair cutting sharp, two gentle passes leaving a big patch of bare skin on my otherwise hirsute arm.

I gave the blade another couple of goes on the hone and the strop, just to be sure, and went for a shower, 5 minutes under a really hot shower and a good face scrub, I'd left the brush to soak while showering, so out, dry and get a lather going and on the face.

What a disappointment, no matter what angle I attacked my face the bristles were left intact, so much for the forearm test :( WTG, XTG and ATG all failed to give me a good shave. A quick swap to my Gillette Slim Adjustable and Astra SP blade saw a perfectly acceptable shave delivered, so no waste shower ;)

I'll be looking into other ways of getting an edge on the blades, YouTube has these things being used and I want to be able to get a good shave from one, after all, it's 'only' a straight on a stick, so what's to stop me getting a good shave? Apart from the ruddy safety bar thing...
 
Well, I'm in the same position now ... ready to give my Rolls a go. I have a very sharp blade which has left a bald patch on one of my legs.

The hone and strop are both in good condition, but can I ask ...

What treatment do I need to perform on them? I gather some sort of oil on the strop - will Vitamin E oil do? Also, how should I clean up the hone?
 
The Rolls Razor's strop needs to be moist before stropping ( I use ballistol on it ) they do shave well but the amount of stropping with the tin as quiet a lot, you'll have to be determined to get them shave ready.:mad:
 
According to a thread on B&B you need to use a light grit on the hine to clean it up, then leave the hone dry and without oil.

The strop needs strop paste, I got some from the bay for a couple of quid delivered. I also got some neatsfoot oil to treat the strop with as part of the cleaning regime for it.

Honing and strooping with the tin does take for ever, but as the bladde is presented at the correct angle when in the tin I'm loathe to try and hone the blade externally. I will be honing my blade for a while each evening for a couple of weeks, cleaning up the hone each weekend.

I think it was Jeltz who suggested using 3M lapping paper in the razor in order to get a good shave, spotted the stuff on the bay, but it's around £15 delivered so I'll keep honing for a while yet :)

Also, arm / leg hair shaving sharp does not equate to face shaving sharp, at least it doesn't in my experience of these pieces of artwork.
 
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