Help Me Fix a Slim with Doors that Don't Open

[Dirty Harry]

I picked up a few razors recently and I got this one for free with a bulk buy because the doors wouldn't open. At least not properly.

I have soaked this many hours and even ran it through the dishwasher. I checked the "clocking" and it seems ok.

The doors just don't seem to open very far.

I found that the T- bar just doesn't seem to rise up far enough to force the doors open. When held vertically the doors open maybe 1/4" then stop.

When I set both razors on "1" and just tighten the knob with out engaging the 1/4 turn lock, the ring inside the adjustment knob is recessed in the knob more than the known good razor. See pic.

Another item of note is that the 1/4 turn lock is more like 3/4 to 1 full turn until a stop. What part determines the 1/4 turn stop.

The distance from the bottom of the twist knob to the top of the T bar is right at 3 3/4" on the good one and maybe 1/16" less on the problem one.

I can snug both razors down and when holding the handle I can pull up on the head and feel similar resistance in the internal spring

I've never had one apart but I'm close to doing that. The adjustment knob spring is wonky and I suspect some serious internal issues.

Can anyone explain what might be going on here.

The razor on the right in the two pics is the problem child.

Thanks,
dirty

PS. I should explain the pile of stuff in the console.

I went to a sale and asked a dealer if he had any safety razors. He said "hold a minute". He went into his trailer and pulled out a plastic bag and dumped the contents on a table. Out tumbled 2 fatboys. 2 Slims and two SA109s. I grabbed the FB's and Slims and passed on the SA's. My jaw dropped when he dumped the contents out of the bag. He said he's had them for a long time but never offered them for sale. I also grabbed a Souplex from another vendor and the Fat Tech is one I brought to show people what a safety razor looks like. I lot of folks have no idea.
The FB's got cleaned an a tune up as well as the other slim.

I had a good day.

 

[Dirty Harry]

I picked up a few razors recently and I got this one for free with a bulk buy because the doors wouldn't open. At least not properly.

I have soaked this many hours and even ran it through the dishwasher. I checked the "clocking" and it seems ok.

The doors just don't seem to open very far.

I found that the T- bar just doesn't seem to rise up far enough to force the doors open. When held vertically the doors open maybe 1/4" then stop.

When I set both razors on "1" and just tighten the knob with out engaging the 1/4 turn lock, the ring inside the adjustment knob is recessed in the knob more than the known good razor. See pic.

Another item of note is that the 1/4 turn lock is more like 3/4 to 1 full turn until a stop. What part determines the 1/4 turn stop.

The distance from the bottom of the twist knob to the top of the T bar is right at 3 3/4" on the good one and maybe 1/16" less on the problem one.

I can snug both razors down and when holding the handle I can pull up on the head and feel similar resistance in the internal spring

I've never had one apart but I'm close to doing that. The adjustment knob spring is wonky and I suspect some serious internal issues.

Can anyone explain what might be going on here.

The razor on the right in the two pics is the problem child.

Thanks,
dirty

PS. I should explain the pile of stuff in the console.

I went to a sale and asked a dealer if he had any safety razors. He said "hold a minute". He went into his trailer and pulled out a plastic bag and dumped the contents on a table. Out tumbled 2 fatboys. 2 Slims and two SA109s. I grabbed the FB's and Slims and passed on the SA's. My jaw dropped when he dumped the contents out of the bag. He said he's had them for a long time but never offered them for sale. I also grabbed a Souplex from another vendor and the Fat Tech is one I brought to show people what a safety razor looks like. I lot of folks have no idea.
The FB's got cleaned an a tune up as well as the other slim.

I had a good day.View attachment 1713631View attachment 1713631View attachment 1713632View attachment 1713633

Just a little update. I found a diagram with Slim Dimensions that another B&B person posted. My good Slim is spot on with the dimensions but the bad one is not. The distance from the end of the TTO knob (bottom) to the top of the adjuster column is a few mm longer than what it should be. I think this can be changed by rechecking but that will only mess something else up.
I forgot to mention that the TTO Knob had "dropped" a little. I fixed that by recrimping it with the paper clip method.

I'm wondering if the TTO knob had slipped on the collar that it engages with effectively changing some dimensions.

Thoughts?

 

[malocchio]

The old " lazy door " syndrome . Harmless , really doesn't need repair , but if you really want to:

 

[Dirty Harry]

Not the same issue I'm afraid. My doors are not misaligned and the blade gaps seem reasonable.

Two more pics to view. First is the problem razor and a known good wide open. At this point I'm not sure I could get a blade in the opening. The other shot is with the razor wide open and my hand gently holding the doors together. The reason they open as far as they do in the one pic is because the doors just reach a tipping point and just lay almost vertically.

Something internally is at fault I feel.

Dirty

 

[Breen]

I picked up a few razors recently and I got this one for free with a bulk buy because the doors wouldn't open. At least not properly.

I have soaked this many hours and even ran it through the dishwasher. I checked the "clocking" and it seems ok.

The doors just don't seem to open very far.

I found that the T- bar just doesn't seem to rise up far enough to force the doors open. When held vertically the doors open maybe 1/4" then stop.

When I set both razors on "1" and just tighten the knob with out engaging the 1/4 turn lock, the ring inside the adjustment knob is recessed in the knob more than the known good razor. See pic.

Another item of note is that the 1/4 turn lock is more like 3/4 to 1 full turn until a stop. What part determines the 1/4 turn stop.

The distance from the bottom of the twist knob to the top of the T bar is right at 3 3/4" on the good one and maybe 1/16" less on the problem one.

I can snug both razors down and when holding the handle I can pull up on the head and feel similar resistance in the internal spring

I've never had one apart but I'm close to doing that. The adjustment knob spring is wonky and I suspect some serious internal issues.

Can anyone explain what might be going on here.

The razor on the right in the two pics is the problem child.

Thanks,
dirty

PS. I should explain the pile of stuff in the console.

I went to a sale and asked a dealer if he had any safety razors. He said "hold a minute". He went into his trailer and pulled out a plastic bag and dumped the contents on a table. Out tumbled 2 fatboys. 2 Slims and two SA109s. I grabbed the FB's and Slims and passed on the SA's. My jaw dropped when he dumped the contents out of the bag. He said he's had them for a long time but never offered them for sale. I also grabbed a Souplex from another vendor and the Fat Tech is one I brought to show people what a safety razor looks like. I lot of folks have no idea.
The FB's got cleaned an a tune up as well as the other slim.

I had a good day.View attachment 1713631View attachment 1713631View attachment 1713632View attachment 1713633

I can't offer any guidance on a repair, but came here to say congratulations!! That's a score!

For a very reasonable fee, Back Roads Gold could fix you up.

Either way good luck!

 

[jaro 101969]

How about this ????

Gillette slim doors not opening all the way .

Hello All, This is my first post although I've been lurking a bit. I recently started to get into wet shaving with a double edge razor. My first razor is my Grandfathers 1962 Gillette slim. Its Not In perfect condition (has some brassing and a dent in one of the safety bars presumably from a...

www.badgerandblade.com

I just did an extremely quick search on Google and saw there are about a dozen or more threads addressing the same issue you have..

 

[Dirty Harry]

Thanks Jaro,
I guess I didn't type the correct search. This article may help.
I'm still working on this issue. I've learned a lot but haven't made much progress.
I'm out of town for a while and won't be able to work on it till I return. Maybe a 12 day soaking would clear things up.

 

[srm_92000]

Just a little update. I found a diagram with Slim Dimensions that another B&B person posted. My good Slim is spot on with the dimensions but the bad one is not. The distance from the end of the TTO knob (bottom) to the top of the adjuster column is a few mm longer than what it should be. I think this can be changed by rechecking but that will only mess something else up.
I forgot to mention that the TTO Knob had "dropped" a little. I fixed that by recrimping it with the paper clip method.

I'm wondering if the TTO knob had slipped on the collar that it engages with effectively changing some dimensions.

Thoughts?View attachment 1713640

Hi,
This is my diagram from a few years ago. Unfortunately some of the finer lines of the head are not visible in this view. I think your problem is that the press fitted (lightly pressed in) black piece on the left has been pulled from the handle - green. To get this back seated correctly, close the razor with no blade on setting 9, include the last bit of spring tension, then with the top of the 'T' bar resting squarely on a firm surface press/tap the whole handle -orange and green- back fully onto the black part. Of course other problems may still exist if some PO has tried to remedy this in another way. The black ring between the adjuster and the handle visible in later photo's of this post should not be there and will close if successful. Try loosening and tightening again after each tap/press. Hope this helps.
Steve.

Edit- I also see that on one photo the 'good' razor seems to have the lugs of the end plates popped out of the bottom door holes, these need to be gently bent back into place.

 

[DesertIguana]

The old " lazy door " syndrome . Harmless , really doesn't need repair , but if you really want to:

Very cool Tube.

 

[srm_92000]

How about this ????

Gillette slim doors not opening all the way .

Hello All, This is my first post although I've been lurking a bit. I recently started to get into wet shaving with a double edge razor. My first razor is my Grandfathers 1962 Gillette slim. Its Not In perfect condition (has some brassing and a dent in one of the safety bars presumably from a...

www.badgerandblade.com

I just did an extremely quick search on Google and saw there are about a dozen or more threads addressing the same issue you have..

Unfortunately not a great example and incorrect advice given to the OP of the quoted thread - ended in mangled endcap! and conclusion of what 'fixed' ? the razor makes no sense?

 

[jaro 101969]

Unfortunately not a great example and incorrect advice given to the OP of the quoted thread - ended in mangled endcap! and conclusion of what 'fixed' ? the razor makes no sense?

The fact was that on this forum there are plenty of previous threads about how to solve what was asked by the OP.. The individual who wrote the thread was able to fix his problem, although he mangled the end cap.... I would think that if someone were to do as the person in the thread did BUT NOT mangle their endcap that it could very well be a success... I mean most people , I think , can learn from others mistakes and see what they should and what they shouldn't do... Either way , it gives the OP a starting point on how to fix something that otherwise is not useable.... BTW ,, No offense intended by my post.......

 

[romsitsa]

Both safety bars are bent down, the small tabs on the doors can not clear the opening. There is the smooth edge of the saftey bar under the ridged edge, this should be parallel with the sides of the adjuster plate or the handle.
The butter knife trick should help.

 

[romsitsa]

Ps. "length" of the final 1/4 turn depends on the setting.

 

[srm_92000]

Both safety bars are bent down, the small tabs on the doors can not clear the opening. There is the smooth edge of the saftey bar under the ridged edge, this should be parallel with the sides of the adjuster plate or the handle.
The butter knife trick should help.

If the safety bars were bent down, towards the handle, the doors would open further. This is not evident in the photo's.
The center 'T' bar (and end caps) are not being allowed to rise enough due to the handle being pulled away from the inner adjuster threaded part. This would also increase the '1/4 turn' until corrected. See the gap between handle and adjuster in first post.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Hi,
This is my diagram from a few years ago. Unfortunately some of the finer lines of the head are not visible in this view. I think your problem is that the press fitted (lightly pressed in) black piece on the left has been pulled from the handle - green. To get this back seated correctly, close the razor with no blade on setting 9, include the last bit of spring tension, then with the top of the 'T' bar resting squarely on a firm surface press/tap the whole handle -orange and green- back fully onto the black part. Of course other problems may still exist if some PO has tried to remedy this in another way. The black ring between the adjuster and the handle visible in later photo's of this post should not be there and will close if successful. Try loosening and tightening again after each tap/press. Hope this helps.
Steve.

Edit- I also see that on one photo the 'good' razor seems to have the lugs of the end plates popped out of the bottom door holes, these need to be gently bent back into place.

That diagram has been a big help. I agree that the "head" of the razor is not allowed to seat in the handle sufficiently to hit the dimensions in your diagram. I have two other slims and they measure exactly what you show.
The black collar is what determines the position of the "head" to the handle as I see it.

The razor doesn't seem to have been worked on before the little button on the end of the handle looks rather pristine.

I have put the razor in a vice and gave it a little squeeze to try and reseat the part but no luck.

This razor will be disassembled in a few weeks to determine what is happening.

Good catch on the end plates. That razor was the other slim that came in the bulk buy and I've been focused on the problem razor. I'll give that a tweak as time allows. Oddly enough, I just got a great shave with the razor you mentioned. First time shave with that unit. Love Slims.

Dirty

 

[srm_92000]

That diagram has been a big help. I agree that the "head" of the razor is not allowed to seat in the handle sufficiently to hit the dimensions in your diagram. I have two other slims and they measure exactly what you show.
The black collar is what determines the position of the "head" to the handle as I see it.

The razor doesn't seem to have been worked on before the little button on the end of the handle looks rather pristine.

I have put the razor in a vice and gave it a little squeeze to try and reseat the part but no luck.

This razor will be disassembled in a few weeks to determine what is happening.

Good catch on the end plates. That razor was the other slim that came in the bulk buy and I've been focused on the problem razor. I'll give that a tweak as time allows. Oddly enough, I just got a great shave with the razor you mentioned. First time shave with that unit. Love Slims.

Dirty

Hi, glad it helped. Just as a note, the black part is partly slotted and expands outwards when the pink part (guard plate) is pressed into it. With all the ones I've done it would still move but only just, maybe yours is a better fit!
Note that the rotational position of the black and pink parts (thread start position and index) also affects the settings when re-assembling.
Steve.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Success,

I put it together today and it had not changed a thing. I noticed that I had no "spring" in the head section so I grabbed it and gave it a pull and I heard a clunk.

After that, everything seems "right on the money". The length is spot on at little over 90mm with the setting on one and the TTO tight. The doors open fully enough to install a blade.

It ain't pretty but it was a good candidate for me to learn about the guts of these things. I don't argue with success when it happens. Maybe something not seated properly.

I intend to shave with it soon.

Dirty

 

[Doc Dan]

I am no expert so don't pay any attention to me. That razor looks like it was stepped on, or something. The safety bars are bent and the handle protrudes from the adjustment ring...at least that is what it looks like to me.