I was browsing through Phil Krumholz's encyclopaedic "Complete Gillette Collectors Handbook" the other day and was intrigued by an AutoStrop ad that said "500 close, comfortable shaves are Guaranteed from each dozen AutoStrop blades". Doing the math that would be about 42 shaves per blade! If you're unfamiliar with the AutoStrop razor, it basically allows you to strop the blade before each shave without removing it from the razor. I'm going to put the guarantee to the test by trying to get 42 "close, comfortable" shaves out of one vintage blade. Has anyone here tried it before? What has anyone's experience been with shaving and stropping with a Valet razor?
I've owned a Valet AutoStrop Razor (Model C patent April 9, 1912) for a couple of years, but have never attempted to shave with it. Along with the razor I have the original leather strop and an unopened waxed paper wrapped package of 2 blades. So I thought I'd check the condition of the blades, and if they looked good, go ahead and put old Mr. Gaisman's (the owner/inventor of AutoStrop Razors) guarantee to the test.
I opened the wax paper seal around the box of blades, and took out one of the blades which was wrapped in a paper sleeve indicating "insert blade into holder before wiping off grease". Inside the paper sleeve the blade was wrapped in another layer of thin waxed paper and was coated with a thin layer of grease. I loaded the blade into the razor and wiped off the grease as instructed. The blade appeared to be in pristine condition.
So I attached the strop to the handle of my wardrobe, inserted the strop into the razor and stropped a dozen times as recommended, then pushed the leaver that locks the blade in place for shaving. I did my usual shave prep of a hot shower and prepared a hot bowl of Trumper Violet shaving cream. I usually shave with a DE (Merkur 39C Barber pole Slant or 70's Gillette Adjustable "Black Beauty"), though I do own a couple of GEM Micromatic SE's that I use occasionally. I expected the AutoStrop would shave similarly to the GEMs since the blade and shaving angle are very similar.
The Shave: First stroke down the cheek was pretty good no pulling, the blade was nice and sharp. As I shaved I had to adjust to the different cutting angle which was very similar to a GEM. Finished up the wtg pass without a hitch and went for the atg (my usual way of shaving), and again found the blade to cut very nicely. Not a single nick or scrape! I cleaned up and applied my usual Nivea Sensitive post-shave balm. The shave was close to BBS, about what I normally get from my Black Beauty. I did notice a slight amount of irritation, but that was probably more due to my rusty SE technique since I don't use them a lot.
Bottom line: The first shave on the blade was successful, 41 more to go! I plan on shaving with the AutoStrop every other day, so I'll be able to compare it as time goes by to my regular shave with fresh blades. I'll post my results here on a regular basis until I get through all 42 shaves!
I've owned a Valet AutoStrop Razor (Model C patent April 9, 1912) for a couple of years, but have never attempted to shave with it. Along with the razor I have the original leather strop and an unopened waxed paper wrapped package of 2 blades. So I thought I'd check the condition of the blades, and if they looked good, go ahead and put old Mr. Gaisman's (the owner/inventor of AutoStrop Razors) guarantee to the test.
I opened the wax paper seal around the box of blades, and took out one of the blades which was wrapped in a paper sleeve indicating "insert blade into holder before wiping off grease". Inside the paper sleeve the blade was wrapped in another layer of thin waxed paper and was coated with a thin layer of grease. I loaded the blade into the razor and wiped off the grease as instructed. The blade appeared to be in pristine condition.
So I attached the strop to the handle of my wardrobe, inserted the strop into the razor and stropped a dozen times as recommended, then pushed the leaver that locks the blade in place for shaving. I did my usual shave prep of a hot shower and prepared a hot bowl of Trumper Violet shaving cream. I usually shave with a DE (Merkur 39C Barber pole Slant or 70's Gillette Adjustable "Black Beauty"), though I do own a couple of GEM Micromatic SE's that I use occasionally. I expected the AutoStrop would shave similarly to the GEMs since the blade and shaving angle are very similar.
The Shave: First stroke down the cheek was pretty good no pulling, the blade was nice and sharp. As I shaved I had to adjust to the different cutting angle which was very similar to a GEM. Finished up the wtg pass without a hitch and went for the atg (my usual way of shaving), and again found the blade to cut very nicely. Not a single nick or scrape! I cleaned up and applied my usual Nivea Sensitive post-shave balm. The shave was close to BBS, about what I normally get from my Black Beauty. I did notice a slight amount of irritation, but that was probably more due to my rusty SE technique since I don't use them a lot.
Bottom line: The first shave on the blade was successful, 41 more to go! I plan on shaving with the AutoStrop every other day, so I'll be able to compare it as time goes by to my regular shave with fresh blades. I'll post my results here on a regular basis until I get through all 42 shaves!