Thread: Does anyone know how this works? wilkinson rolls razor (i think)

Hi guys

My mums boyfriend just brought this down to look at, this belonged to his father apparently from the early 1900's.. may have been to the Somme and back



It has seven blades (they have a grind profile so not sure if it comes under a safety razor or not) one for each day of the week, but i'm unsure as to how i attach them to the handle

cheers

Simon

That's really different and cool.

Very nice,I thought you only got seven day sets in straight razors.Sorry I can't help though.

That's a Wilkinson Empire 7-day set. You're missing the strop (you can strop on the razor, with the correct strop).

Okay, here goes on the info about that razor:

1) It's a safety, but the blades have to be honed (like a straight razor). They are unlikely to be sharp as is.

You're supposed to have the blades honed and then strop using the strop that would have been present in a complete set. The razor flips the blades as you move back and forth on the strop (similar to a Valet Autostrop, just with wedge blades).

2) To insert the blades you place the blade on the peg on the head (it's on the part that flips back and forth - you can see it on the very left of the razor in your pics). Place the blade on the peg, perpendicular to the head - then twist it to slot into place. Now the blade will be slotted firmly into the head, but it will flip back and forth (this is the position in which you would strop it).

3) To hold the blade down for shaving, you need to push on the little knob in the back of the razor head. This pushes out the guard roller. There are two tabs on either end of the roller. Push the blade down and then release the knob. The spring action will pull the roller back and hold the blade down with the tabs.

4) You can adjust the aggressiveness by turning the same knob above. That moves the guard roller in and out.

5) You then stabilize the head using the knob on the handle.

It sounds complicated, but it's pretty easy to do once you've played around with it a few times.

NOTE: I must stress that the blades are likely to be unusable at the moment. You'll need to get them honed first. The shave is pretty good once you've got the blades honed. However, without a strop, it's not that easy to keep them sharp.

That's really awesome, thankyou so much! I wasn't sure if these blades, although being hollow ground, were meant to be replaced or honed. I had a look at them the day he brought it down and they were definitely not in a state to be shaved with.

So, following on from that, is there anyone in the uk who fancies having a go at cleaning this up and honing the blades so it's a useable piece? think it would mean a lot to it's owner. If needed i can post pics of the blades and holder to show what is being dealt with.

additionally, to complete the set would anyone know where i can get a suitable strop for it?

cheers guys

You're welcome. I hope you're able to get it to work for you.

About the strop: You could scour Ebay. These sets come up pretty often, so you may be able to find one with a strop. No guarantees on how useful the strop will be after all this time, though.

I don't think the Valet strop will work (those are more common). I can check this evening and get back to you.

Your best (and cheapest) bet may be to find a tackle shop and get them to make you a strop for it. Take the razor in with you, as the strop needs to be pretty thin, so you should try it out before leaving.

Originally Posted by yohannrjm

You're welcome. I hope you're able to get it to work for you.

About the strop: You could scour Ebay. These sets come up pretty often, so you may be able to find one with a strop. No guarantees on how useful the strop will be after all this time, though.

I don't think the Valet strop will work (those are more common). I can check this evening and get back to you.

Your best (and cheapest) bet may be to find a tackle shop and get them to make you a strop for it. Take the razor in with you, as the strop needs to be pretty thin, so you should try it out before leaving.

Hmm if i can get an idea of the basic design, maybe pick up a cheap but wrecked one i could get it copied.

thanks again for the assitstance

Folks: still looking for someone uk based to have a go at the blades, let me know if there's any takers, payment is not an issue.

cheers

Simon

Originally Posted by yohannrjm

You're welcome. I hope you're able to get it to work for you.

About the strop: You could scour Ebay. These sets come up pretty often, so you may be able to find one with a strop. No guarantees on how useful the strop will be after all this time, though.

I don't think the Valet strop will work (those are more common). I can check this evening and get back to you.

Your best (and cheapest) bet may be to find a tackle shop and get them to make you a strop for it. Take the razor in with you, as the strop needs to be pretty thin, so you should try it out before leaving.

The Valet strop will work if worn from use or slightly trimmed to be made a little more narrow. I have the Wilkinson Empire set and used my worn, but not trimmed Valet pig skin strop on my Wilkinson. The only reason I tried the Valet strop is because my Empire strop is unused just like it left the factory and I want to keep it that way.

Jim