Thread: Getting into DE after a trip to the local antique store

Decided to stop at my local store to see if anything new had popped up. I've been toying with trying a DE for a couple of weeks and saw a nice looking Gillette for $10. The gentleman helping me with the Gillette led me to his area of the store where I found a Gillette Milord DE in its case with an unopened box of Star brand blades. The case appears to be covered in alligator (right pattern and it smells right) and is in really good condition. So, that went into the buy pile and he knocked $10 off a package of two straights and an Asco brand Champion razor hone in it's original box with instructions.

The hone appears pretty flat and lightly used. I'll probably clean it up and give it a try at some point, as I've no experience with the old barber style hones.

The straights are a "Clean cut" stamped with Germany and some faint gold wash on the blade face. The pivot pin is a bit loose, but it otherwise appears to be pretty clean. The second straight is The Torrey and has some active rust around the pivot and near the edge. I'm fairly certain the rust near the edge with get taken care of with some honing, but I'll probably take the blade out to clean up the pivot area. The scales could use a good cleaning and some polishing.

While I know how to deal with the straights, I've not a clue about the DE razors. I'm thinking toothbrush and some dish soap and maybe a little mineral oil on the pivot mechanism? The handle of the unboxed Gillette appears to be Bakelite. I think I'll leave the Star blades in the unopened condition and get a 5 or 7 blade sampler from Maggard. I'm thinking about the Gillette silver blue, Wilkinson sword, maybe Kai and Feather? Any advice or suggestions on the clean up and blade choices would be appreciated. The pics are below...

The whole purchase


The clean cut


The Torrey


The unboxed Gillette


The Gillette Milord

Nice score

I'd use an old toothbrush and some Dawn Dish Soap to clean the DE up with then after a good drying use the toothbrush and some Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish on them, you'll probably need to go back to the Dawn to get it out of some places but once dried both of those DE's should look really nice.

Some oil down the shaft after really dry will be of some help.

You might find this interesting on when your razors were made:
Gillette Date Codes

Yes, soapy water and a soft tooth brush should be good for cleaning the DEs and a little lub won't hurt either. A sample pack of blades is a good idea because not everyone likes the same blades. Personally Gillette Silver Blues have worked well for me in DE I have tried. The Feather blades are very sharp and can be a bit harsh the first shave or two.

If you never shaved with a DE before, it still is all about finding and keeping the right angle while you shave. The same with using minimal pressure as in letting the weight of the razor do the work while you guide it around your face.

To find a good starting angle, place the head of the DE flat on your face with the handle parallel to the floor. Then lower the handle till you just start to feel the blade's edge. That should be close and adjust as needed from there. You want the right angle so you are cutting the whiskers and not scraping them off.

Have fun.

Bob

I found the basic angle by setting the razor with blade in on the counter top. Get a good eye on it and lift the handle until the blade starts to touch the countertop. Remember that angle and shoot for it. If its too little the blade wont cut much. Too much and your shearing the whiskers off. Not good! And as Bob said, blades are a personal choice, but I also found the Gillette Sliver Blue to be a great blade. Keen but not too much like the Feathers. Plus a decent amount of shaves from it. I could go a week of shaves with them.

Hope the rust on that edge is not very deep in the steel or you will take a lot of the edge off to get clean and solid steel.

Thanks for the good info Cudarunner and BobH, that's really helpful. Haven't used a DE before, but figure it shouldn't be more challenging than the straight. Good tip about finding the angle. Kinda hoping this works well, as it might get my son into wet shaving. He's starting to have some interest.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I found the basic angle by setting the razor with blade in on the counter top. Get a good eye on it and lift the handle until the blade starts to touch the countertop. Remember that angle and shoot for it. If its too little the blade wont cut much. Too much and your shearing the whiskers off. Not good! And as Bob said, blades are a personal choice, but I also found the Gillette Sliver Blue to be a great blade. Keen but not too much like the Feathers. Plus a decent amount of shaves from it. I could go a week of shaves with them.

Hope the rust on that edge is not very deep in the steel or you will take a lot of the edge off to get clean and solid steel.

'Shearing' or 'SCRAPING'--just wondering--

Ok. My words are not always the right ones. But you know what i mean.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

You might find this interesting on when your razors were made:
Gillette Date Codes

Thanks for the link. Looks like the black handle one was made in the first quarter of 1971. I can't find any serial or date codes on the Milord so possibly between 1931 and 1951?