A few months ago I saw one of the worst condition Fatboys on a wetshave forum. Chunks of metal were missing, the plating was completely eroded, patina had turned the razor black, and it had zero function left. Once it was determined that the razor was destined for the trash can, I stepped in and offered to give it a chance in our Revamp service. I say ‘a chance’ because there are limitations that come with vintage Gillette razors and the damage done by water and time.
Before photos show a broken razor with zero function and years of aggressive corrosion. This is the worst razor we have ever received for a Revamp Service. The handle turns when the TTO knob is engaged, the clicker does not work, the guard is completely broken, and there are holes in the brass on the doors, guard, and TTO knob.
The photo below is the razor fully disassembled.
The photo below is the razor during the beginning stages of chemical stripping and before resurfacing began.
The photos below were taken after the razor had undergone the following steps:
Disassembly, chemical stripper, ultra-sonic cleaning, resurfacing, tumbling, brazing, mechanical adjustments, paint, copper plating, nickel plating, and reassembly. The holes eaten through the brass from moisture and time are not repairable. These parts can only be replaced but I wanted to show the limitations of our service.
Here are a few close ups of the damage we cannot fix during resurfacing. Unfortunately we cannot add brass back to fill in corroded holes. Fortunately, we have been offering this service for many years and have an extensive catalog of replacement parts available for purchase. We wanted to keep as much original as possible. We attempted to only switch out what was completely necessary for function.
One door, lower TTO Knob, and Guard were replaced. Upon replacing these parts we decided to also replace the top portion of the handle because the brass was too thin to be structurally sound, and we replaced the second door after the completion of filming. So the photos you see here are one original door, and one replacement, but we sent the owner a razor with two new doors. The razor was painted, lubricated, and the blade gap was brought back to its factory settings.
Overall I am very proud of the work this demonstrates. There are limitations with the Revamp Service, but we think this is a great representation of what our service has to offer.
Who patented the safety razor in 1895, it was not a King G Gillette Safety Razor, the first Gillette patent was filed in 1903. Over 100 years some of these razors have stored corrosion and moisture inside the razor. Don't wait until your razor is in this condition to preserve it. We offer our Tune Up service to keep your razor, both double edge and single edge safety razor in good working order and the Revamp service to address both mechanical and plating issues. Have a razor that could use some TLC?