The day before yesterday, as promised, Luc's package arrived. (Despite repeated PMs not to, he sent the case, thus costing a small fortune to ship and refused (I mean really refused) to accept a penny for!) As Luc had described the neck had two fractures on opposing sides of the barrel which made it impossible for the head to sit firmly. It was badly tarnished and had a jagged edge at the root of its chipped tooth. Minor surgery was in order and I promptly got to work (needless to say, dinner was delayed for the family as I was doing the cooking.) I sanded the snaggle tooth with 4 grades of paper ending with 000. On to polishing, a triple combo of Never Dull, followed by Silvo, followed by Flix, followed by Silvo. (I don't have any Maas, but I'm told from good sources [Jakespoppy] that it is most excellent and its on my list.) All of the tarnish came off but as Luc had reported, some of the plate loss revealed a few brass spots which only add "character" to the piece. A thin glazing of two part epoxy on the neck and inner rim of the barrel was applied and the two pieces were joined (forever). This was then bound with some lashing wire which was cranked (twisted) down tightly with a pliers. 18 hours later, firmly cemented, it was bathed in Barbicide. This morning's shave was excellent. Zero prep. Hot soap and water face wash. A base layer of Trader Joe's Shave Cream (Mango), followed by a heavy scouring with the Speick Shave Stick. Then I sicked the Rooney 1/1 (Super) on things. Loaded with a new Red Pack Personna, the Bostonian/New Standard went to work. Mmmm, there was a little jagged quality on the initial passes. Even though the combs were all sanded and polished smoothly, the lost tooth resulted in an over exposed, unprotected blade corner. No problem. The New Standard design is so forgiving, you can bevel the angle of the razor head so that corner hardly touches your face. Ultimately, I relied on the other side of the razor for a perfect shave. So I am forever grateful to Luc for this wonderful gift. And as promised, it has found a new and safe home, literally on the other side of the world, in Brooklyn. Cheers and G'day. Now for the pics, before followed by after.
Bostonian value
- Thread starter Luc
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- #42
Very nice! It's awesome to see that you got it nice and shinny! Next time, I won't play teeth bender man! I'm happy that you like it!
Wow. If I would need such a thing, this thread would be a perfect reminder on why I joined B&B.
Darjeeling. Thanks for the follow-up as intimated. YOu've done a great job with the razor. Your comments on the New Standard match what I think of mine (Aristocrat). Nice one. Interesting donkey, and if you resurrect that case and mechanism. that too would be nice to see.
Lennon/McCartney : Luc/Darjeeling okay big stretch, but a sucessful collaboration.
Lennon/McCartney : Luc/Darjeeling okay big stretch, but a sucessful collaboration.
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- #45
I wouldn't go that far, I will get shot eventually... unfortunatly...
I love what Darjeeling did with the razor! That's awesome!
Thank you all for your kind thoughts. Bushranger, I think the case is beyond me, but I'll take a close look at it. I'm not quite sure if Luc and I rise to the level of L&M, maybe Abbot and Costello. Best regards to all. Its a great shaver. Darjeeling.
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- #48
Darjeeling, nice job. That razor turns out to be fine looking, even with the missing tooth. This has been a great story to follow. Gentlemen, behaving like gentlemen.
Hear, hear!!
Hear, hear!!
Wow. If I would need such a thing, this thread would be a perfect reminder on why I joined B&B.
+ 1.
Excellent, Gentlemen! The Lennon/McCartney reference surely brings to mind Lennon's "Imagine" for others, too? Imagine, if we could see such excellent behavior in all areas of our lives. But then I suppose B&B wouldn't be such a special place.
Bravo!
I've had a chance to look at the case Luc sent me a bit more carefully. Quite an ingenious piece of engineering. The razor rests on a platform, which are attached to hinges, which are attached to the case cover. As you open the cover the platform rises, presenting your razor in dramatic fashion. As you close the cover, the platform descends in the recessed case. Currently, the right hinge is detached from the cover. I'm confident it can be restored. Further, the original signature Gillette purple velvet which lines the case is well worn, though the printing which identifies this as a Bostonian is still clearly legible. I'm going to try to pick up some matching velvet in Manhattan (you may not have heard of this little village, its just over the Brooklyn Bridge), cut out the original printing and glue it to the new velvet. I'll keep you posted.
Happy endings are always good to hear.
good stuff, looking forward to 'my vicarious restoration' 
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- #54
Yes, Darjeeling did a wonderful job on restoring that Bostonian! I am curious to see the case...
I recall someone saying you need to heat the tooth to soften the metal, otherwise the brittle metal will easly separate.
Cooncatbob, recommended heating the tooth with a torch for about 10 seconds, this softens the brass to permit it to bent back into shape. Tricky business. P.S. I haven't made it to the village across the river yet, but I'm hoping to do it this Sunday. I will report back.
I tryed heating some bent teeth on a junk old type I have, all 4 teeth broke when trying to bend back
This thread makes me proud to be a Bostonian owner. Mine is a hodgepodge, as the case came with a NEW in it (online auction), and I found the razor at a second hand shop.
My favorite part of this rig, besides the great shave, is the tag, now in two pieces...The front reads "Gillette - known the world over- $5.00", and on the back in cursive is penciled "June 23rd, 1923 Johnston, PA".
I wonder why that Saturday? How did the NEW get in there? What happened to the original case for the Razor I found? How did it come to the Seattle area?
I know one thing, after reading this thread I'll not be tempted to straighten that tooth!
I checked an inflation calculator - that $5 in 1923 woud run $62.57 in 2008. I paid $5 for the razor...for the NEW and the case I popped $15.95, shipped.
My favorite part of this rig, besides the great shave, is the tag, now in two pieces...The front reads "Gillette - known the world over- $5.00", and on the back in cursive is penciled "June 23rd, 1923 Johnston, PA".
I wonder why that Saturday? How did the NEW get in there? What happened to the original case for the Razor I found? How did it come to the Seattle area?
I know one thing, after reading this thread I'll not be tempted to straighten that tooth!
I checked an inflation calculator - that $5 in 1923 woud run $62.57 in 2008. I paid $5 for the razor...for the NEW and the case I popped $15.95, shipped.
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- #60
That's one nice kit!
