A Tale of Two Slims

[Mark1966]

(... with apologies to Charles Dickens)

Some of you will have noticed my use of two vintage Gillette 1966 L 1 slims, one being rhodium replated.

The replated Slim was a long held dream razor, birth year but refurbished to last my son's lifetime (although he already has a NOS, at least when he got it, Slim Aristocrat).

I've never really found the replated Slim to be as comfortable though, I've ended up dialing it down to '4' rather than my usual '6' to get a sort of equivalent shave.

Hard to get a good pic but looking at them closely it is very clear to the naked eye that the blade gap on '1' for each is very different -



Less obvious at '9' - they seem pretty close -



Hmmm

 

[Ferret619]

Out of curiosity what sort of tail cap do they have?
Some where punch clip things and the others threaded. I have often thought the punch cap might be a bit more… um..varied.​

 

[Mark1966]

Out of curiosity what sort of tail cap do they have?
Some where punch clip things and the others threaded. I have often thought the punch cap might be a bit more… um..varied.​

Punch cap from memory

 

[Gargravarr]

Interesting, I would have thought replating would close the gap if anything...

 

[Chad]

Send it back to Gillette for a replacement.

 

[Ferret619]

Punch cap from memory

I’m not sure but I suspect that when those where stamped in it may load the mechanism a bit and close the gap with some more than others. I have modified the gaps on a couple of fatboys in the past (I mean who uses the 1-2 settings anyway, thus allowing me to turn it up to 11) however I didn’t think much of making a data set for stamped caps vs screw

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Yes, this is what worries me about the punch cap and why I dislike them. I have never owned either one but just the limitations of maintenance makes them a more variable razor imho particularly if they have been restored/replated.
Can the punch cap be replaced with a screw cap one without changing out the T bar... I mean is the T bar threaded on the bottom and just the bottom cap is different if so then I would say there should be a market for them. I vaguely recall someone selling reproduction ones a few years ago but I could be wrong.

Even if the bottom cap doesn't make a difference to the gap as to where its punched on the T bar or where it is screwed I would say being able to open it up and inspect things and make your own adjustments is a huge advantage.

I have absolutely no experience with them though but I think I can quietly take the word of @Ferret619 and learn from his experience myself.

Has anyone else noticed that there is definitely more happening here than just the gap in the pics?

 

[Ferret619]

If someone could please advise on the entire production process including machinery and jig info that would be great.
@Mark1966 probably has this on hand

 

[Rusty Bridges]

I lost my previous edit but here is what I meant. I feel like there seems to be more discrepancies on the non plated stock one however I love that it shaves even better than the new one. I'm definitely the student here when it comes to vintage razors as far as everyone posting on this thread so don't mind me.



The other picture @Mark1966 posted reveals something different also but I might be imagining things here. lol

Who replated the razor for you. I am assuming the person that did it tried to get it as close to what they believe were the original specifications but I guess that depends on who did it for you. They may have different ideas or its possible that over the years of wear the non replated one's gap changed and its what you are accustom to instead but I find it hard to believe since you're one of the people that I look to for opinions on vintage razors here and know you have a wealth of knowledge and experience on the subject.

P.S. Don't mind the file name for the pic I meant slim