Rolls Razor and F.W. Engels Craigslist Find

I came across a Craigslist ad in my hometown for a Rolls Razor and a F. W. Engels 5/8" "SUCCESS" 3pin. I am not living there anymore and was lucky enough to have a family member pick them up for me and send some pictures.

From some basic research, my understanding on the Rolls Razor is that the pebble finish case and box indicate that it is of the first generation of rolls razors. The instructions show a case with the "Greek key" style on it so I don't know if they are truly original. The handle that is used for the stropping action is cracked, but all other parts are in tact.

I could not find any information on the specific model "SUCCESS" of the F.W. Engels, the back is stamped with the "F.W. Engels" over "Solingen GR" over "Germany" while the front is simply "SUCCESS". Its a 3pin as well which I like the look of. If anyone has some information on this model it would be greatly appreciated. Im hoping to give it a basic polish and then send it out to get honed by a member here and turn it into a shaver. The Rolls I will probably sell.

enough with the reading! on to the pics, I will post better pictures when I pick them up in a week or two.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...h/img_1336.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...h/img_1337.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...h/img_1339.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...h/img_1341.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...h/img_1342.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...h/img_1343.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...h/img_1344.jpg

Great finds! I have that exact same Engels and I love it.

Thanks for the reply, I was familiar with Engels (although never used one) but could find nothing on the Success specifically, hoping to clean it up a little and send it out to be made shave ready!

Looks like the razor handle is missing or did you not make a picture of it?

You can see it tucked in on the right side of the last picture, it is in tact and accounted for :)

Here's a quick pic of mine.
Attachment 97564

Nice Work! Engels are sweet, but you have scored a pristine Rolls! Those shave nicely and provide a different experience. Good you have the instructions, too. I have found them to be spot-on with a good one. Enjoy!

I'd say to definitely keep the Rolls. I just bought one and finished honing the blade about an hour ago. Very impressed so far. Plus that is one of the early ones and, if I'm not mistaken, the hone portion of the early Rolls were CF's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Theseus

I'd say to definitely keep the Rolls. I just bought one and finished honing the blade about an hour ago. Very impressed so far. Plus that is one of the early ones and, if I'm not mistaken, the hone portion of the early Rolls were CF's.

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That is interesting. The one the OP has shown has a different exterior finish from most Rolls. It must be an older one.

I thought the "pebble" finish was indicative of the early models

Rolls Safety Razor Page

Here they are after a little bit of cleaning up!

Those both look great. Hone them up and enjoy.:)

One more of the rolls all clean!
Attachment 98507

im pretty certain the hone on the rolls is the synthetic they normally have. i'd never heard of them with CF hones. its nice that it's not broken, they often are as they are quite thin, and many people dont know how to properly place the handle in the case so it closes properly..
i have two rolls razors.. one hone has two indentations from someone flipping the blade in the mechanism to quickly/hard, and im thinking it may affect the honing performance at this point.. have to work with it more to be sure..
the other one has a pristine hone, and it's blade gave a better shave, but the leather strop had an small indentation in it from having the handle crammed into the case improperly.. the clippy part of the shaving handle clips onto the middle of the end of the stropping handle, and the rest of the handle fits within the stropping handle flush.. the blade must be moved all the way to the end and folded over down so there is room for everything.. not quite intuitive, but if you take a moment it will make sense.
i have yet to hone the rolls blade on any other hones, but it doesnt seem too hard. i think i'll give it a try some time. and if the indentations in the one hone pose a problem to honing the blade to perfection i will skip using the mechanism, and hone it by hand on the good portion of the stone.

This being the oldest, first generation rolls, the handle setup is different than all of the later models, the setup your describing is one of the updates rolls changed on the later models. If you notice on this one the handle is actually broken at the side farthest from the blade and when it is fitted together properly there is no room for the razor handle to fit like it does on the later models.
Attachment 98798

Everything in this kit is silver plated, does anyone know or have suggestions on how I could repair this??? perhaps a jewelry shop can solder it to some extent?

I'm not familiar w/ the different Engels, but one shave w/ an Engels 'Leader' was the finest extra hollow shave I've had. 'Most impressive.