I've been looking for a VC3 or VC4 to complete my small valet collection. But I'm not a big fan of natural brass or gold plated razors, and for some reason nickel plated versions of these models are exceptionally scarce in the U.S. (the british factory seemed to churn them out in huge volumes though). I was lucky enough to spot one in reasonable shape on ebay, made an offer and scored one of those scarce U.S. made nickel VC4s.
I think this is my favorite Valet aside from the VB2 (which I cannot use with new Feather blades which is why it won't be #1). It's slightly heavier than the earlier model C razors and actually will provide a very smooth shave with NOS valet blades. It's not as aggressive as the VC1 or VC2 but it provided the same quality shave.
Interestingly the VC3/VC4 were the only Auto-Strops not designed by Gaisman. They were developed by one of Gillette's engineers, Nicholas Testi and feature a couple of neat changes that eliminate the major problem of blade chatter earlier models suffered from especially after lots of use. The first difference is the blade axle was made thicker, the second difference is a cam shape was added to the axle support and this pushes against the back of the blade holder when it is locked into shaving position - therefore the axle doesn't have to take up any force when shaving - even if the axle develops play from lots of stropping the blade holder will still be held tightly in place by the cam.
Oddly the little "wing" blade clips on the blade holder were patented by Gaisman in 1924, but he decided not to use them for the VC2 model, and they were picked up by the VC3 instead.
I still prefer my ER 1912, but this is a really nice SE razor to use.
I think this is my favorite Valet aside from the VB2 (which I cannot use with new Feather blades which is why it won't be #1). It's slightly heavier than the earlier model C razors and actually will provide a very smooth shave with NOS valet blades. It's not as aggressive as the VC1 or VC2 but it provided the same quality shave.
Interestingly the VC3/VC4 were the only Auto-Strops not designed by Gaisman. They were developed by one of Gillette's engineers, Nicholas Testi and feature a couple of neat changes that eliminate the major problem of blade chatter earlier models suffered from especially after lots of use. The first difference is the blade axle was made thicker, the second difference is a cam shape was added to the axle support and this pushes against the back of the blade holder when it is locked into shaving position - therefore the axle doesn't have to take up any force when shaving - even if the axle develops play from lots of stropping the blade holder will still be held tightly in place by the cam.
Oddly the little "wing" blade clips on the blade holder were patented by Gaisman in 1924, but he decided not to use them for the VC2 model, and they were picked up by the VC3 instead.
I still prefer my ER 1912, but this is a really nice SE razor to use.
