Thread: Sticky '52 Gillette SS

Hi All,

In anticipation for Christmas I bought my father a '52 Super Speed off of eBay. The razor appearance and finish are in great shape however, the mechanical mechanism is very hard to turn. When opening or closing it takes a lot of strength, and the hardest points are at full open/close positions.
Having done the DE razor thing for awhile now, I had a good idea how to clean it. I reread some threads and watched some videos, but it seems like nothing I did has helped. Up to this point I have scrubbed it with a tooth brush and Oxy dish soap, hit it with mineral oil, and soaked it in hot soapy water (Oxy dish soap) for 24 hrs. Even after all of that it and fresh mineral oil it has not helped much.

Any idea's?

Thanks,

Kent

I would bet there is old dried up soap in the handle. If you had access to an ultra-sonic that might break it up for you. I've never used the oxy that you used. I bought a pump spray of Scrubbing Bubbles, emptied it into a Rubbermaid container where a whole razor will fit. I drop one in there to soak for five minutes. It can be reused again and again, just put the lid on and store it in a safe place.

Strong stuff. I once forgot a pre war slant, left it in for a couple of hours and it took the plating off. You could also try liquid wrench, silicone spray. I know guys shy away from that sort of thing, but I think if it was throughly cleaned afterwards there wouldn't be anything that would hurt anybody in the way of a residue. Anyway ........

Do repeated soaks in Dawn and hot water. I used quiet a bit of it. I got a couple fatboys unstuck with that.

Make sure nothing is bent as well.

I use a small Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner with warm distilled water, some Dawn dish soap and a squirt of Windex. This seems to clean a safety razor really well. I let it run at least three cycles

if that doesn't work you might be able to take it apart. there are some instructions on line for disassembling a super speed. i[ve done it with a black tip, not sure how the 52s were put together.

Thanks everyone. I tried the scrubbing bubbles dip, 5 minutes X 4 with a hot water rinse in between. It has helped for sure. Also did a very close inspection to all the moving parts, nothing seemed to be extremely out of shape, but I made a couple small adjustments and that also helped. Currently I am letting it soak in mineral oil for a few hours, and than I will reassess.

Just a general question, what should the mechanical action feel like (tightness wise). If it is anything like my '63 Slim, I am no where close. It still takes a little effort to open and close it, but its not sticking anymore.

It should open very easy. No resistance.

Originally Posted by pendletonkm

Currently I am letting it soak in mineral oil for a few hours, and than I will reassess.

Back in my early DE collecting days the word on the street was leave it in the mineral oil overnight. Not sure if that is always necessary, or even better than a couple of hours, but that is what I used to do. I've got a few of that vintage SS and they all open and close smoothly with no resistance.