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Rolls razor?
- Thread starter LNHC
- Start date
Yep that's the razor.
Looks like that one is in good shape. The lids are specific to the side they are on so don't try to force them on. You use the lever handle to strop the blade with the hone off and to hone with the strop off. Stropping is a pulling motion and push to hone. To remove the blade you move the mechanism so the blade it pointed in the air and then twist the blade to remove it and slide in into the handle.
I have a couple Videos Shaving with mine and one of honing a blade on my normal stones for @Spider in my vlog thread spaghetti western Shaving
That's it. I absolutely love using mine.
I have never been brave enough to use the built in hone but I do use the strop
Chris is correct, that is the head/blade of the razor he circled. The handle that it's on in the photo will move the blade back and forth across the strop side or the hone side depending on which lid you open. It will automatically flip it as you change direction.
The blade will turn a half twist and can be removed from the pin that holds it in place. It can then be placed on the other handle for use.
I never had any luck using them myself. Even being proficient with straights and gem style SE razors, I found them very awkward to use. It is rare to find one with the stone in one piece. Most I have seen have been broken.
The first patents were in 1917 in Brittan and 1918 in the US, and they were sold until 1958 when the company was bought out. I'm not aware of a list that relates the serial numbers to any dates though.
Yours appears to be an "Imperial model 2". If it had come in a red orange box, it would be from around the 30's. If it was in a green box it would be newer.
Edit....
Man I type slow, You guys got it all figured out already....
The blade will turn a half twist and can be removed from the pin that holds it in place. It can then be placed on the other handle for use.
I never had any luck using them myself. Even being proficient with straights and gem style SE razors, I found them very awkward to use. It is rare to find one with the stone in one piece. Most I have seen have been broken.
The first patents were in 1917 in Brittan and 1918 in the US, and they were sold until 1958 when the company was bought out. I'm not aware of a list that relates the serial numbers to any dates though.
Yours appears to be an "Imperial model 2". If it had come in a red orange box, it would be from around the 30's. If it was in a green box it would be newer.
Edit....
Man I type slow, You guys got it all figured out already....
They are definitely in a class of their own. I actually like mine better than my GEMs because of the hollow grind.
Thank you again. I love your videos and appreciative all the great information. The one I have was my dad's.
You are most welcome and thank you as well. That having been your dad's is really cool!
Thanks Shawn. I watched uacowboys videos which were great and informative. I'll have to look up the serial number and find out how old. This was my dad's razor.
I see threads like this and all the helpfulness of our members and realize what we have here at TSC is truly unique. Thanks Guys
I really really want one of these. Almost got a Swedish version with 6-7 blades in a set but I was out bid by seconds.
A yes, the good old Rolls Razor.
I really enjoy mine. It gave me some very nice shaves after I got to sharpening it outside of the metal bracket. That was a scary thing to do and getting it back in was even scarier. Honing was pretty self explainatory for me as I just laid the blade flat on the stone, did a progression, and finished on a bench strop. I was suprised how well the blade took that edge. Thanks for reminding me, I definitely need to dust mine off and use it more haha
@LNHC how did you like the shaves? (if you remember, years later)
I really enjoy mine. It gave me some very nice shaves after I got to sharpening it outside of the metal bracket. That was a scary thing to do and getting it back in was even scarier. Honing was pretty self explainatory for me as I just laid the blade flat on the stone, did a progression, and finished on a bench strop. I was suprised how well the blade took that edge. Thanks for reminding me, I definitely need to dust mine off and use it more haha
@LNHC how did you like the shaves? (if you remember, years later)