PLANofMAN
Retro Razor Junkie
The Shave Den had an excellent 20+ page thread on restoring Rolls Razors and maintaining them. That thread contained information found nowhere else on the internet. This is my attempt to condense the important information I can remember, plus my own observations, into a few posts. My first observation is that no YouTube video on the Rolls Razor contains correct information. This includes Matt's and Keith's videos on the topic. I respect them deeply, but some stuff they just get wrong. You should still watch their videos anyways for the visual aspects.
As this is primarily a British forum, I expect many of you have a Rolls Razor in good condition, tucked away in a forgotten cubby years ago after one or two attempts at a shave. Some of you, sadly, probably re-sold them to fund other razors. Here's why that might have been a mistake.
Millions of Rolls Razors were sold. If it were a bad razor, that wouldn't have happened, regardless of the stories of a Rolls being a 'traditional' graduation present or 21st birthday present. There are also stories of hotels being filled with the clatter of the rolls razor as dozens of men prepared to shave in the morning. King Camp Gillette confessed that the Rolls Razor was the only competitor that he feared. In 1937, during the great depression, the Rolls Razor sold for $5, an exorbitant amount of money for the time.
The traditional British stoic stiff upper lip only goes so far. A razor that once serviced a million faces is now only used by a handful of wet shaving enthusiasts. Nothing about the razor changed except for time.
Time has not typically been kind to these razors, and lack of maintenance has made them completely unusable. Luckily, it's a fairly straightforward task to return one to service.
Part One: The Blade.
The NOS fallacy. You may see many blades advertised on eBay and other sites as being "New Old Stock," unused blades. That does not mean it is usable straight out of the packaging.
A blade with a good edge will be in a bakelite or metal case, inside a paper sleeve, covered in Cosmoline (or rather, the U.K.'s equivalent), a translucent coating of gold and brown goop that, once cleaned (a moderately difficult task), and lightly stropped, will shave as well as any newly honed straight razor. I suspect it truly was a NOS blade. It also remains the only vintage blade I've ever found that required no honing.
All other blades will require honing, outside the case, on stones more suited to the purpose. The steel is good Sheffield steel, slightly softer than the steel found on a Wade and Butcher razor from the turn of the previous century. I messed around with various contraptions to make the honing job easier, and settled on the best combination being simply a strip of electrical tape on the spine and the guard left in place to make handling easier. Once honed, it gets stropped using the mechanism in the case.
There are enough Rolls Razors left in the world for a person to be picky when purchasing one. Look for rust free blades, and select for blades that still have most of their length. Zoom in to make sure there is no pockmarks or pitting near the edge.
Part Two: The Hone.
These appear to be substandard synthetic light gray oxide hones with an apparent grit rating of about 5k to 6k. Respected honemeisters tend to agree on this point.
What they actually are, is 'permanently lubricated' synthetic barber hones in the 8k to 10k range (if we're being generous). Permanently lubricated becomes a bit of a stretch after 50 years, and 100 years is well beyond the "sell by" date.
One of the key components of the matrix that formed these hones when they were heated and pressed into shape is petroleum jelly, perhaps better known under it's most famous consumer brand name, 'Vaseline.'
This esoteric ingredient can often be found on your wife's makeup stand/desk/bathroom sink. If you lack one of these useful things they can be found at the pharmacy. Or in the U.S., at the grocery store. And yes, they sell petroleum jelly in those places too.
Slather a goodly amount across the surface of the hone and walk away. 4 hours is fine, 24 is even better. Come back and wipe off the hone with a soft cloth that you don't mind throwing away. The color will have darkened to a deep charcoal and the surface will become less friable. The surface texture changes from a fine sandpaper feel to a smoother slate-like feel. Repeat this treatment every decade or so to keep your hone in proper condition.
When honing on it, you want to use it slowly and deliberately. You should hear two distinct faint clicks, one from the guard touching the stone's surface, and another from the blade's edge. If you don't hear them, you're going too fast, and could damage the hone. For myself, I found the company's directions to be true. Do only a few strokes, strop, and check the edge. I have never needed more than six on a previously properly honed blade, and typically only do two.
You are probably thinking, "That's absurd."
No doubt. You must also remember that the combination of lower grit (for a finishing stone) combined with the softer steel rips more metal off the blade than you would expect. It's also one or two degrees steeper than my initial honing angle, so it only contacts and reprofiles the microbevel behind the apex. And finally, a properly maintained system puts a fair amount of pressure on the blade, more than a honer would typically use on a finishing stone. In this case, less really IS more.
At this point, I usually take the blade to my surgical black for further refinement, or to one of my coticules for a few swipes. It's not strictly needed, but without it, the first shave off of the case's stone and strop can be a bit harsh feeling. It settles back down in subsequent shaves.
Part Three: The Strop.
Before we get to the strop itself, I want to touch on the Rolls Razor Strop Dressing.
It typically comes in their trademark black and burgundy bakelite containers, now oxidized into a non-descript dark brown color. The pastes show no evidence of drying out or deteriorating, and all retain their deep red color. A dab on the tip of a finger is enough to treat a strop. I suspect it is a mixture of tallow, lanolin, and red oxide powder. One could easily substitute leather conditioner and red oxide paste for the long discontinued strop dressing. I've even, in a pinch, used red oxide automobile rubbing compound as a substitute. It made for an acceptable "stropping paste," but it was very slow and noticeably finer than the Roll's strop dressing, which indicates speed and brevity continue to be an important design choice.
The strop should be flat, not warped, dried out or cracked from water exposure. Gouges are not necessarily toxic, but I try to avoid strops that indicate a dragged spike in general. Nicks can be repaired with leather glue.
...
To be continued in the following days...
Part Four: The Rube Goldberg Contraption. Also known as the "case and stropping mechanism."
Part Five: Pre- and Post-Shave Care and Routine.
Part Six: What to Look For When Purchasing
As this is primarily a British forum, I expect many of you have a Rolls Razor in good condition, tucked away in a forgotten cubby years ago after one or two attempts at a shave. Some of you, sadly, probably re-sold them to fund other razors. Here's why that might have been a mistake.
Millions of Rolls Razors were sold. If it were a bad razor, that wouldn't have happened, regardless of the stories of a Rolls being a 'traditional' graduation present or 21st birthday present. There are also stories of hotels being filled with the clatter of the rolls razor as dozens of men prepared to shave in the morning. King Camp Gillette confessed that the Rolls Razor was the only competitor that he feared. In 1937, during the great depression, the Rolls Razor sold for $5, an exorbitant amount of money for the time.
The traditional British stoic stiff upper lip only goes so far. A razor that once serviced a million faces is now only used by a handful of wet shaving enthusiasts. Nothing about the razor changed except for time.
Time has not typically been kind to these razors, and lack of maintenance has made them completely unusable. Luckily, it's a fairly straightforward task to return one to service.
Part One: The Blade.
The NOS fallacy. You may see many blades advertised on eBay and other sites as being "New Old Stock," unused blades. That does not mean it is usable straight out of the packaging.
A blade with a good edge will be in a bakelite or metal case, inside a paper sleeve, covered in Cosmoline (or rather, the U.K.'s equivalent), a translucent coating of gold and brown goop that, once cleaned (a moderately difficult task), and lightly stropped, will shave as well as any newly honed straight razor. I suspect it truly was a NOS blade. It also remains the only vintage blade I've ever found that required no honing.
All other blades will require honing, outside the case, on stones more suited to the purpose. The steel is good Sheffield steel, slightly softer than the steel found on a Wade and Butcher razor from the turn of the previous century. I messed around with various contraptions to make the honing job easier, and settled on the best combination being simply a strip of electrical tape on the spine and the guard left in place to make handling easier. Once honed, it gets stropped using the mechanism in the case.
There are enough Rolls Razors left in the world for a person to be picky when purchasing one. Look for rust free blades, and select for blades that still have most of their length. Zoom in to make sure there is no pockmarks or pitting near the edge.
Part Two: The Hone.
These appear to be substandard synthetic light gray oxide hones with an apparent grit rating of about 5k to 6k. Respected honemeisters tend to agree on this point.
What they actually are, is 'permanently lubricated' synthetic barber hones in the 8k to 10k range (if we're being generous). Permanently lubricated becomes a bit of a stretch after 50 years, and 100 years is well beyond the "sell by" date.
One of the key components of the matrix that formed these hones when they were heated and pressed into shape is petroleum jelly, perhaps better known under it's most famous consumer brand name, 'Vaseline.'
This esoteric ingredient can often be found on your wife's makeup stand/desk/bathroom sink. If you lack one of these useful things they can be found at the pharmacy. Or in the U.S., at the grocery store. And yes, they sell petroleum jelly in those places too.
Slather a goodly amount across the surface of the hone and walk away. 4 hours is fine, 24 is even better. Come back and wipe off the hone with a soft cloth that you don't mind throwing away. The color will have darkened to a deep charcoal and the surface will become less friable. The surface texture changes from a fine sandpaper feel to a smoother slate-like feel. Repeat this treatment every decade or so to keep your hone in proper condition.
When honing on it, you want to use it slowly and deliberately. You should hear two distinct faint clicks, one from the guard touching the stone's surface, and another from the blade's edge. If you don't hear them, you're going too fast, and could damage the hone. For myself, I found the company's directions to be true. Do only a few strokes, strop, and check the edge. I have never needed more than six on a previously properly honed blade, and typically only do two.
You are probably thinking, "That's absurd."
No doubt. You must also remember that the combination of lower grit (for a finishing stone) combined with the softer steel rips more metal off the blade than you would expect. It's also one or two degrees steeper than my initial honing angle, so it only contacts and reprofiles the microbevel behind the apex. And finally, a properly maintained system puts a fair amount of pressure on the blade, more than a honer would typically use on a finishing stone. In this case, less really IS more.
At this point, I usually take the blade to my surgical black for further refinement, or to one of my coticules for a few swipes. It's not strictly needed, but without it, the first shave off of the case's stone and strop can be a bit harsh feeling. It settles back down in subsequent shaves.
Part Three: The Strop.
Before we get to the strop itself, I want to touch on the Rolls Razor Strop Dressing.
It typically comes in their trademark black and burgundy bakelite containers, now oxidized into a non-descript dark brown color. The pastes show no evidence of drying out or deteriorating, and all retain their deep red color. A dab on the tip of a finger is enough to treat a strop. I suspect it is a mixture of tallow, lanolin, and red oxide powder. One could easily substitute leather conditioner and red oxide paste for the long discontinued strop dressing. I've even, in a pinch, used red oxide automobile rubbing compound as a substitute. It made for an acceptable "stropping paste," but it was very slow and noticeably finer than the Roll's strop dressing, which indicates speed and brevity continue to be an important design choice.
The strop should be flat, not warped, dried out or cracked from water exposure. Gouges are not necessarily toxic, but I try to avoid strops that indicate a dragged spike in general. Nicks can be repaired with leather glue.
...
To be continued in the following days...
Part Four: The Rube Goldberg Contraption. Also known as the "case and stropping mechanism."
Part Five: Pre- and Post-Shave Care and Routine.
Part Six: What to Look For When Purchasing
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