1911 Single Ring Resurrection

You've done a great service to the shaving world. The more razors like this that we bring back to life, the better!

103 years old and it will shave better than a brand new "top of the line" multi blade razor any day of the week.

Congrats

amazing before and after clean up,just shows with a bit of elbow grease and know how what can be done.

Great job! I just picked a Single Ring up myself, and had to do a little cleaning. Nothing close to the work you had to put in, though. I haven't shaved with it yet but I'm looking forward to it. Can't wait to hear how yours shaves on Sunday. Please keep us posted!

One of the most impressive cleaning job I've seen. Good job OP

Hello Daantmaan,

As requested, here is photo of cleaning stuff. I could not locate my can of elbow grease for the photo. The Scrubbing Bubbles is a store brand because I am cheap. The Dremel polishing compound is in the small circular container.

My jig for cap polishing is the 2 x 4 section with the three holes drilled in it.

Nice job!
They shave great too. I may be in the minority but I far prefer the shave from my OT as compared to my New.

zygalski said:

Nice job!
They shave great too. I may be in the minority but I far prefer the shave from my OT as compared to my New.

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I feel the same way about my old types. Learning to use my old types really improved my technique

Well - I put a Gillette Blue in today and put razor to face. First pass was very good and then I got greedy. Ended up with a couple of small weepers and one big nick on my jaw where I just was lazy with applying the razor to my face.

Definitely a BBS, but slightly more irritation than my recent shaves with my Gem 1912.

Bottom line - The SR is a great razor. Much lighter than my other Gillettes.

If I do my part properly, the razor is ready to deliver. Still something very cool about shaving with a 103 year old razor.

Excellent work, you brought it back to life!

Awesome work, I didn't expect the plating to be in such good condition based on the first photo!

Nice job! I love it when old is made new again!

Ketchup? Please explain. That's a new concept to me.

I was stuck on removing the tarnish from the knurling, so I Googled silver cleaning methods. One suggested was ketchup due to its mild acidity. Also, it is thick, so it stays where you put it and works on the metal.

I applied the ketchup, let it sit a little, then scrubbed the knurling with my brass brush. This did a great job of getting the silver cleaned.

You can also use vinegar. Don't let razor soak in this, just apply, scrub, and rinse, then repeat.

Hope this helps.

You've breathed new life into a classic. Enjoy the razor!

Wow now thats incredible ) Thanks for Sharing.

BSAGuy said:

My first Single Ring.

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The cap looks trashed in the Before pics. Was it just dirty, so it polished up well, or did you have to sand/grind it also? If so, how did you not go through the plating?

Great job.

No sanding or grinding at all. I did use a plastic scrub pad from 3M. I guess that is similar to sanding, but being plastic, it was much less abrasive. This allowed me to get a good mix of grime removal with minimal scratching.

OK. So it was just REALLY dirty then. As my grandfather would have said, "you made a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

Yes. It was really dirty. A mixture of dirt, solidified grease, and silver tarnish. Very hard to remove. Required a lot of scrubbbing with the pad. my concern was that maybe I would remove the finish along with the dirt.

Pinan said:

OK. So it was just REALLY dirty then. As my grandfather would have said, "you made a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

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Holy horse poo!!! Great save bubba! You should send the seller an after pic.