Aluminium rocket?

[razors_ej]

Was out and about and came across what I believe to be an aluminium rocket razor. It's a TTO, seemed fairly light and the colour was very light compared to chrome or Nickel finish, more like a greyish type of finish. It says Made in England, and has patend pending under the blade plate. Looked in quite good condition and from memory I think the knob screwed up into the handle as I opened the doors. I've done some searching and I believe this makes it a rocket.

Now, have some questions. Is it a good or bad thing for it to be made from aluminium? What are the advantages and disadvantages? I would imagine that being lighter would be a disadvantage, but maybe if it is made from aluminium it would last longer and not have issues with plating damage, since it wouldn't be plated? What would be a good price for this razor?

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures as I didn't purchase it, wanted to find more about it first.

 

[alex2363]

Was out and about and came across what I believe to be an aluminium rocket razor. It's a TTO, seemed fairly light and the colour was very light compared to chrome or Nickel finish, more like a greyish type of finish. It says Made in England, and has patend pending under the blade plate. Looked in quite good condition and from memory I think the knob screwed up into the handle as I opened the doors. I've done some searching and I believe this makes it a rocket.

Now, have some questions. Is it a good or bad thing for it to be made from aluminium?

it just makes it lighter, for me that is not an issue. It still functions great.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

I dont find any on my behave, i do like the aggressive razors though.

I would imagine that being lighter would be a disadvantage, but maybe if it is made from aluminium it would last longer and not have issues with plating damage, since it wouldn't be plated?

A huge variety of brass razors made by Gillette have withstood the test of time, aluminum made razors dont significantly decrease their functional longevity. Some people are allergic to brass and other metals so Gillette most likely just capitalized on using various metals to accommodate different situations.

What would be a good price for this razor?

see the terms of usage policy #7...


7. B&B is not an appraisal site. As such, asking values here isn't acceptable behavior. All B&B members, asking and answering, new or old, should be aware that B&B is a community of users, and not an appraisal or identification service for lazy individuals to optimize their sales without having to invest in the B&B community beyond an odd post here and there asking for info.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures as I didn't purchase it, wanted to find more about it first.

 

[tacchini]

i have 3 rocket hd razors, a rocket md and a rocket ld, the rocket ld is the aluminium one, all are in great shape and have smooth action bar the ld,it is the only razor so far that i cant get the tto unseized, and i have got a few rough ones to work smoothly in my time, this thing is seized solid, i think its to do with it being aluminium.

 

[rxonmymind]

I'm not a visual kind of guy. Please post pics of this [Ne] 3s[SUP]2[/SUP] 3p[SUP]1[/SUP]
2, 8, 3
26.9815385 rocket.

 

[razors_ej]

Ok, so I went back on Saturday (the very next day) and snaffled it. They had dropped the price by $2 overnight so I hope it was a good buy at $14 (hope it is okay to post the price, apologies if not. Also didn't mean to violate the acceptable use policy earlier by asking for what it was worth. My bad).

I asked the guy and he also believes it is aluminium by the weight and colour of the metal. So don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing. It does make it feel quite light and a bit toy like, but then again I didn't even know they made vintage razors in aluminium so maybe they weren't that common?

It looks to be in good condition apart from a little grime and what looks to be sand or grit sitting on the blade plate. No signs of corrosion, dings, scratches or plating loss at all. The doors open okay, but could probably be improved with some cleaning.

It definitely says "Patent Pending" under the blade plate, and "Made in England" on the back but don't think that came out in the picture. So, can someone confirm what I have and possibly what year or year range it might be from?

Did I do good? It's one of my first vintage razor purchases. (My first one was only about a week ago, so still very new to vintage razor acquisition. Feeling the RAD kicking in now!

Now I just gotta figure out how to clean this one up, should clean up nicely I hope.

 

[alex2363]

1952-53...here is a nice link from Achim;

I´ll show you all 9 Rocket HD´s, that I know (here you can see a high res.pic):

• 
  [1] 1951: Anniversary Set No52A, anodized gold finish Rocket, Patent Pending, 29g

• 
  [2] 1952: Paperclip, Anniversary Set No52A (X1 on blade), all aluminum made, only the doors and the centerbar with endcaps are nickel plated, Patent Pending, 35g

• 
  [3] 1952: Anniversary Set No52A (X1 on blade), aluminum handle, nickel plated head, Patent Pending, 36g

• 
  [4] 1953: aluminum handle, nickel plated head and knob, Patent Pending, 57g

• 
  [5] 1953: all nickel plated, Patent Pending, 70g

• 
  [6] 1957: Rocket HD 500 (C3 on blade), Brit.Pat.694093, 72g

• 
  [7] 1959: Set No52 (E1 on blade), Brit.Pat.694093, Made in Germany, 71g

• 
  [8] 1957: Monobloc Set No55, no rings on the knob, Brit.Pat.694093, 71g

• 
  [9] 1955: Rocket HD gold, Brit.Pat.694093, 71g

 

[Copierguy]

Looks like #2 in the Rocket line up. Being light, it should yield a milder experience than the razors further to the right. With a sharp blade like a Feather this could be a great everyday razor depending on your preferences. Congrats on your "1952 paperclip".

 

[razors_ej]

Thanks Alex, I had thought it was the 40's, but looks like number 2 or 3 on your list, so '52 or '53 it is.

 

[Motonut]

I love the looks of these razors. I'm kinda on the lookout for HD.

If I understand correctly, are they somewhat middle-of-the-road as far as the aggression level? Adjustable setting equivalent?

 

[rxonmymind]

You did great. Congrats on a good find. Light but thorough toothbrush scrub with how water and dish soap followed by a good bath in alcohol should do the trick. Actually scrub, polish then alcohol. This way you won't small the polish when you shave.

 

[mistercitizen]

Nice score! My parents were born in 1952-53 so I really go for these razors. I like the way they shave too.

Ben

 

[tacchini]

if its a ld rocket it should weigh just over 30g, heres a pic of my 2 piece rocket ld.

 

[razors_ej]

Hmm . . I don't have any accurate kitchen scales, should get one I think. I'm guessing that rocket wasn't meant to come as a 2 piece. How did that happen?

I've done my best to clean up the rocket, but after 2 long soaks in near boiling water with dish soap and some scrubbing with a toothbruse, it seems to be having spots of some resude stuck to it. It's near impossible to scratch off with my fingernail, and if I didn't know better it looks like some kind of glue. Could it be laquor? I know gold-plated razors were laquored, but didn't think Gilette would have laquored aluminium or nickle plated razors. I guess someone else could have put it on at some point.

If it is laquor, any idea how I could get this off without damaging the razor? It seems the more I soak and scrub the more of it becomes apparent.

 

[rxonmymind]

IF and that's a big if it's lacquer then get something very mild that takes lacquer off such as household vinegar in combination with a paste such as baking soda. This way you'll target that area specifically by making a "putty" of sorts and leave it on there for not longer than three - five minutes stretches then rinsing it off. DO NOT LEAVE IT UNATTENDED! That acid will react to aluminum. It's a slow process that has worked for me in getting rust off plastic cases. Do it in stages otherwise you risk ruining the plating. Also any "orange" product will get that off.
Good luck.

 

[tacchini]

no razors ej its not meant to be a 2 piece, just joking,when i went to open the razor doors up they screwed off from the handle, the bottom tto knob is seized solid in the handle.

 

[Haegar]

IF and that's a big if it's lacquer then get something very mild that takes lacquer off such as household vinegar in combination with a paste such as baking soda.

If you get it off with vinegar and baking soda it was not lacquer. Vinegar can affect metal while lacquer thinner won't.

 

[Zeppelinkarte]

You did great on finding the Paperclip, which is a hard to find razor. Soap and water, tooth brush then some Maas or similar metal polish. One of the nice things about aluminum is it is not plated and I do not think Gillette anodized them. So it will turn a rag black from the oxidation on the surface of the aluminum but will look great in the end after polishing with a soft cloth....microfiber if possible. A Q-tip can be used to get to hard to reach places. Here are pictures of an aluminum Rotbart following the above procedure.