Thread: Rolls Razor

You can hone the blade to sharp on the existing stone and strop. Sit down for a long day of about 100 - 200 passes per piece.

Its easier to just put it on a 4/8 norton and go using my previous instructions.

The hone that is included is meant as a barber's hone, that is to maintain the blade. The blades were meant to be replaced so if it dulls the only way to refresh the blade is the hone it.

Got back from vacation to find my ebay rolls razor package. It was sharp but I honed it quite a bit on the built in hone and it is sharp enough for the hair pop test on my arm. I will try shaving with it tomorrow morning and see how it goes. So far it seems to be a great razor!

First shave went great (actually better than most straight shaves). It is just as sharp now as my straights and I love it! Great razor!

Now you have my attention. I have about 10 of these razors and am not pleased with the quality of the hones and would love to get them on my Norton. How are you sharpening them on a regular stone? jmsbcknr

Originally Posted by Klopstick

I have a few, some in good shape, and some for parts. There are different models, but they are all similar. For more information have a look at this page

Rolls Safety Razor Page

You can't get factory replacement hones, but the blades can be honed (by hand) on regular stones. I'm just starting to experiment with using 1/8 inch thick hobby plywood and diamond pastes in various grits for doing honing and stropping using the Rolls mechanism. I'll post more when I have completed my work.

When tuned up, they give a great shave, and are such a high quality item that they are a pleasure to handle. I always feel like I'm supposed to be packing a steamer trunk for a trip on an ocean liner when I pull mine out. Heavy, nickel plated, and a joy to hold in the hand. Ebay is your best bet for a good price.

I sharpened it on the built in hone! It should work just the same on your Norton. I removed the hone from it's lid and honed the blade on the table. I started with the circular pattern Lynn uses with straights and then went to the x pattern. You can take off the guard by just popping each side off the razor and that guard will only go back on one way (the slots on each side are different). I honed for maybe an hour while watching a movie until the razor passed the hair pop test with ease. Hope this helps!

You can get them shave-sharp with the built-in hone. It takes patience and it seems a lot of work going to and fro holding it by its small handle.

just bought one of these today imperial 2, and did a search on here found this forum, i had not a clue what it was at the carboot sale i just saw "razor" and a load of bits. it had £1.50 stuck on the front. so after haggerling i got it for a quid. took it home and its more intact than i thought everything is fairly intact the box is immaculate so are the instructions. i gave it a bit hone gave it a bit strop and worked like a dream! had thick stubble too and so there was no clogging like the plastic throw aways. i think i will keep this as my back up or travel razor. ingenious little device! my blades are a bit stiff with the bar and i only get one click, but a bitta oil might loosen it up. but for 50 year old i think far better than any new multi blade.

Check out Ruby Lane Collectibles, I have seen a couple in decent shape in the past few days Rolls Razor - 0201079

I have 12 of them at the moment. They are great shavers. Once, I removed a pretty healthy chip from a blade using just the hone in the case to prove it was possible. Took about 3 hours, but it did work. Usually, if the blade is not close enough or there are chips, I use my diamond films and glass slab. The Rolls razor is quite honestly the razor I would want to have if I were stranded on the proverbial desert island.

Originally Posted by jmsbcknr

Now you have my attention. I have about 10 of these razors and am not pleased with the quality of the hones and would love to get them on my Norton. How are you sharpening them on a regular stone? jmsbcknr

I just honed mine tonight using regular hones (coticule and bbw for me) heres what I did:
Remove blade, remove blade guard, then half strokes 50 a time on each side on the coti with slurry until it shaved arm hair, thats dead easy if your hone is lapped, just pop the blade flat onto the hone, and with 2 fingers near the edge and your thumb on the spine you can get a right fast shuffle on. then I took a chopstick, trimmed it until it was a snug fit in the plain hole on the side fo the blade and viola! blade on a stick, using the stick as a handle I did 30 regular x strokes on fresh slurry, then same again on bbw with light slurry, back onto coti with water for 50 or so laps and 30 strops on linen then 60 on leather to finish
Put the guard back on, handle on, and shaved. VERY smooth shave and it all took less than an hour
Hope this helps any questions just PM
The rolls is a wonderful invention and would be my choice if I had to equip myself for shaving and only had room for 1 sturdy little box