Wilkinson Sword Empire

pjgh

pjgh

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Location
Halifax, Republic of Yorkshire
Is this where I post this?

As bought from eBay. Cheap as chips in a tatty, but undamaged wooden box with the internals all intact, the strop and clasp, a wooden box and some blades.

First, the razor itself ...

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What a beautiful work of engineering.

Cif 'Grime & Lime', gentle scrub, dry, Peek polish, duster, elbow grease, more Cif, IPA and pat dry ...

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Not too shabby, eh?

You know what? I'm going to look up the blade hack for the GEM blades and maybe shave with this one.
 
In answer to your question, this is the place to post any restoration. Originally it was part of the straight razor section but has now been accorded a place of its own.

That's come up really nicely. Don't know what blades they take but if Norfolk Dick is around he's sure to know.
 
Thanks, fellows :D

Well, they do indeed take standard SE blades, but need a hack - the spine needs to be removed and the rear corners nicked off. Then very carefully and fully insert into the razor, tighten up the handle, push the back of the razor so the guide hooks slip forward and over the very corners of the blade. The blade needs to be exactly exact, if that's a phrase.

http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/forum/thread-10963.html

I've yet to shave with it ... I've yet to pluck up the courage to consider it. It'll happen ...

'ere you go ...

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Notice the back corners are snipped off and the front retaining hooks just meet the very corners of the front of the blade.
 
Yeah, it's a frightfully clever piece of engineering ...

You untwist the handle to let the head flop from side to side, which, when a belt is passed through the razor turns it into a stropper. It has a blade reveal adjusting screw, too. Damn clever machine. Previously, I'd popped an original blade in and didn't see that I could anchor it in place - I just thought it flapped about too much and vowed never to use it, but seeing that article I posted above made me look again.

Low and behold, it might be an awesome shave with a new blade in. So, polished up, I'll use it. It'll be Abney Park on the decks for that shave :D
 
I really like them. I used mine with an original blade a little while ago, decent shave with a c. 80 year old blade. I've yet to try it with a modified Gem. Must dig the snips and get modifying.
 
You might want to look out for some of the original Wilkinson Sword wedge blades that the Empire would have used. They will need honing and stropping (as suggested by the integral strop mechanism), but I am sure it would add to the experience, and no need to mod the Gems.

Great clean up, though. Looks superb.

Jon

Addition - just found this Youtube which shows the 7 Day set, but same original blade as yours
http://youtu.be/0uUAYnmbJF8

Cheers

J
 
Cheers, chaps.

I do have a load of original blades, but they're all a bit mucky and many have nicks in the blades. Might they be re-edged?

I'll check out Feathers, too. I'm sure I've seen a post about using Feathers in the vintage Valet razors. Does that ring a bell with anyone with good searching skills? Or, if anyone has both Feather and GEM blades, it would be great if they could post some side by side pictures for size comparison.

Conversely, here's a use for removed spines: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/191241-Feather-SS-SE-Blades ... permitting the use of Feathers in our 1912s. Apparently, they don't fit into the Miromatics, but what a great idea for the 1912s! Comparison of blade sizes, they look about the same - the Feathers will still need snipping by the look of it, but it's a shim gap in reality - it might just squeeze in unmodified.

These are the blades, right? http://connaughtshaving.com/fhs5.html ... just to make sure I'll be buying the right thing in.
 
Feathers SE will fit.

There is a youtube vid of a guy using a valet autostrop, very similar AFAIK? with a feather SE blade, he simply slots it into the razor and it locks into the bits at the back.

Search youtube for "using rolls razor", it came up on the first page of hits :)
 
Yeah, the Feathers fit the Valet. I have a Valet coming ... with original Valet blades. They might just squeeze into these Wilkos - the GEMs are a whisker off squeezing in. If not, snipping off the back corners will do the trick.
 
Paul,

What a beautiful razor, and a lovely co-incidence. Despite my moratorium on new purchases, I'm awaiting delivery of the very same razor from an Ebay auction I unexpectedly won. My bid wasn't that big, and I fully expected to be outdone, but wasn't :huh:

Photos of it look OK, but won't know till it pops through the door. Will give it a bit of TLC like you did, and hope for the best. It was actually you that persuaded me to place a bid after you posting the info on how to get an SE blade to fit it. Out of curiosity, what type of tool is needed to snip the blade corners off? Is a pair of sturdy scissors enough, or do you need a proper pair of tin snips?
 
Good catch, Stephen! My two were gained in a similar manner - my first, a wooden boxed example, was something around a fiver posted, first and only bid. The other, the silver boxed E21, was practically given to me by a local chap who I bought some Gillettes from (eBay, but being local he delivered) and he brought a bunch of interesting things along.

But, boy, are they expensive now! Over a tenner for a tatty one and like thirty quid for presentable.

Good luck cleaning up - there are lots of moving parts on these, so be sure to move all the parts and let the cleaning phase do its thing. If you're using your ultrasonic bath, I'd say run it through, move the flapper, repeat and move it again ... repeat.

Okay, the blade - you have two choices, both of which need just a little snip. You can use a GEM, remove the spine and snip the corners off, or a Feather (not the DE blade :D) ... one of these: http://www.connaughtshaving.com/fhs5.html ... again, the back corner might want snipping. If you do buy some Feathers, keep the spines from the GEMs and you can re-spine the Feathers to use in the 1912s.

I say snipping, it's more like snapping. I used square nose pliers and simply snapped the corner off.

Also, now you find yourself with spineless GEMs and sharp Feathers, there's the Valet range which take them, too: http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/forum/thread-23318.html ... in fact, you might say that the Feather blades are a direct rip-off of the Valet. I'm sketchy on the details, but gather there is a vintage Feather razor which looks very much like the Valet - perhaps they bought the rights, or just waited for patents to expire. Who knows. I have found pictures of vintage Feather razors will some very familiar designs.

I hope it's a good 'un. The roller at the front can crack, one of mine is, one isn't - rolling it down my face, it doesn't seem to interfere. I've yet to shave with it yet, though. You might well beat me to it. Enjoy ...
 
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