Thread: i dont understand rolls razors

Look up Rolls Razor? on the web. Badger and Blade has a quick article. Basics are a stainless or polished case, one side has a hone stone and the other has a leather strop. It has it's own handle for shaving contained in the case. The other "handle" is used for sharpening and stropping. The blade is put onto the honing mechanism at a 90 deg angle from point and then simply twist it parallel to the handle. Now you are ready to hone or strop. When done with this exercise, and wanting to shave, twist off the blade from the hone handle and retrieve the handle for the razor. This handle slides across the "spine" of the razor blade and locks in place by twisting the handle. Shaving with this can be tricky, the angle of the blade is somewhat close to a SR but the handle angle will be almost perpendicular to the face. The blade is very sharp and probably unforgiving until practiced. I have had a couple of these and now I have one with an extra 2 pack of blades in a case. I have instructions for the razor/shave and a nice lined box for the case. I think it is pretty cool. They come in a variety of boxes, red or blue cartons and some are more in line with a presentation case and there is even a gold case and razor I believe.
Some internet reading is available if this does not help.

Robert

Yup, had one, tried it, didn't like it. I wound up honing the blade on my coticule to perfection as the small hone inside the package just isn't big enough. The same goes for the strop. It's just too short. Next to that, the mechanism is just "flapping" the blade on to the hone or strop, whichever side you're on. It's quite hard and it made me worry about the edge a lot. Then there's the angle for shaving. It is of major importance with this razor. I got it right one time and that gave an okay shave, but aside from that i had so-so shaves. Yes, there was a time when King Gilette started introducing his cartridge kind of razors, that other manufacturers started to produce SE razors. I have a Wilkinson Pall Mall razor that is part of that era. It's a great shaver and I would choose that any time over the Rolls, but I may be biased. Heljestrand and other manufacturers also produced SE razors, but they still needed honing. Eventually, the DE won. It was so thin and disposable that one didn't have to worry about honing. I find honing one of the pleasures of shaving and thus I am biased, but be that the case, your mileage may (and will) vary. I know some people who get on great with the Rolls, so all I'm saying is try it, see if YOU like it and let THAT be the factor for deciding.

I have both a Rolls, and a Henckels version. The Henk gives a better shave imo, but I do just fine with the rolls too. When using the strop/hone they are certainly not supposed to "slap"
properly maintained, the blade flips easy, and you can feel the safety bar "click" into place with every stroke.

I won a bid on one. Told the seller to keep it and just send the brush that came with it. She sent 2 brushes for me. I feel like I missed something but I'm not losing sleep over it. May be great in a back pack or something is what I was thinking but naaaaaa. I have a hard enough time getting all the straights I want. :<0)

I shave with mine once in awhile. They can give a superior shave if you hone and strop them well. Mine has been so good that it takes a realy good straight razor to give a slightly better shave.

I have a couple and shave with them occasionally. I did remove the bail on the blade and hone them on a normal progression of hones before replacing the bail(wire skin stretcher) Do not strop them in the case with quick strokes. That can break the hone or leave two nasty creases dug into it.
Also be aware of how the blade is positioned before putting the case together, it is friction fitted and can slip to a cutting position on the strop it you are not careful. Get the hone and strop on the proper sides of the case. The ends should be keyed to the case to do so properly.
A heavy kit but if I were to look at spending a couple months in the wilds, one and a couple extra blades would be in my kit. That is what the folks used to shave when on missions into the deep darkest regions of the continent before WWII. You can imagine the problem if you dropped a straight razor or you little thin blades rusted beyond use.
~Richard