has anyone used a rolls razor? they come up very often on ebay UK but i wouldnt have a clue how they work, does anyone have any ideas??
rolls razors
- Thread starter themilkman
- Start date
There is an entire Social Group dedicated to the Rolls Razor:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/group.php?groupid=111
The jist of using one, is that it is basically a "straight razor on a stick". It's less of a safety razor, and much more like a straight razor. As such the technique to use it is very similar to that of a straight razor with skin stretching be of utmost importance.
The biggest key to success, is making sure your blade is in a proper shave ready state. A blade that has been in storage for 50+ years will not be shave ready, and the included hone is not sufficient to return a blade to shave ready state.
I would suggest you get in touch with someone experienced in Rolls blades (Ambrose comes to mind) to have your blade honed.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/group.php?groupid=111
The jist of using one, is that it is basically a "straight razor on a stick". It's less of a safety razor, and much more like a straight razor. As such the technique to use it is very similar to that of a straight razor with skin stretching be of utmost importance.
The biggest key to success, is making sure your blade is in a proper shave ready state. A blade that has been in storage for 50+ years will not be shave ready, and the included hone is not sufficient to return a blade to shave ready state.
I would suggest you get in touch with someone experienced in Rolls blades (Ambrose comes to mind) to have your blade honed.
With some (OK maybe a lot) of patience, it will usually be possible to use the hone in the box to bring the razor back, but the strop is often in bad repair. If you carefully remove the strop from the box, you will probably see some nasty perished rubbery stuff glued to the back of the leather. That will have to be replaced with some high density foam of just the right thickness, but make it the whole width of the strop, not just the width of the nasty perished stuff.
The leather may need some reconditioning, or at worst replacing too. If you manage all of this, then the Rolls is a very nice piece of kit.
Oh, I should mention: don't try to use the hone at all if it has a crack. You would need to glue it and then lap it flat before it would be useful. If you still don't have a Rolls at all, find one with an intact hone. That's the part which is hardest to replace.
The leather may need some reconditioning, or at worst replacing too. If you manage all of this, then the Rolls is a very nice piece of kit.
Oh, I should mention: don't try to use the hone at all if it has a crack. You would need to glue it and then lap it flat before it would be useful. If you still don't have a Rolls at all, find one with an intact hone. That's the part which is hardest to replace.
