Rolls Razor

Sxot

Sxot

New Member
Artisan Producer
Joined
Feb 1, 2016
Location
Nth QLD
This razor is not really a safety razor, nor is it a straight razor... but it's closest to a safety in appearance but given the requirement for honing and stropping I guess it goes in the SR forums?

Anyone used one of these?
Anyone honed one?

I've got a handle and a couple of blades at home that was by-catch and I'm thinking of giving it a run. Both blades have a bit of corrosion but I reckon I can find enough clean steel for a nice edge. I don't have the case/strop/hone though so I was planning to go about it the same way as I would a straight. The blades are hollow so should be straight forward. Just curious as to why I have never seen one in a SOTD but I haven't been around that long.
 
I think that @Anthony uses them. Normally too fiddly for straight users to both with and too hard for DE users I think.


Hey - Happy shaving :)
 
For those who don't know what a Rolls Razor look like see youtube below, thank you @Sxot for reminding me after so many years which I've completely forgotten about this I have old family photo's of my great granddad and my granddad shaving with a Rolls Razor long before I was born. I ask my father about these old style razor and he only saw them when he was 10 years old and hasn't see them for many many years, so my grandma has show me some photo's 6 years ago before she pass away.

The Rolls trademark, "The Whetter," was registered in the US in 1950; the claimed first use was 1922. The US patent for the method of attaching the blade to the handle was filed in 1925 and issued in 1930. The name "Rolls Razor (1927) Ltd." was used in advertising. The razor was still manufactured and sold until 1958 when the company was purchased by entrepreneur/corporate raider John Bloom who decided to focus on washing machines rather than the razor.
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Here a youtube clip of a Rolls Razor.
 
@Sxot I have about 15 (or more). I fell in love with the design and clever wat it works.

In terms of honing, I suck at it. I was lucky enough to have them professionally honed however, I wasn't aware of the angle required at the time.

Given the blades were restored I then proceeded to hone it using lapping film placed over the honing stone within the Rolls.

It's a fantastic unit. The shaving angle is a bit of a learning curb but I'm just in love with them!

Im happy to help out in any way I can.

As suggested you can also hone the blade outside of the unit by using tape to try and replicate the angle at which the blade hits the honing stone.
 
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Using the lapping film in the rolls sound like a great way of getting it right, but if you need to repair the blade it would take ages in the rolls with its short stroke, so tapping and using the full hones is a lot quicker.
To get the layers of tape I measured mine in the rolls from the hone to the blade spine gap to get the tape thickness required
Not sure if all models are the same or not in this aspect.
 
Thanks @Anthony & @Substance.
I was thinking as I read the comments about the angle that maybe it is possible to measure it in the OEM hone. I don't actually have that part, just the handle and two blades but since my blades are rusty, and an entire unit is cheap enough i might give it a go just for kicks.
 
@Substance Awesome advise! Thank you sir! Honing is one thing I have not touched yet, although I have been curious....
Agreed, that it would be a hell of a lot easier to hone out of the box and maybe use the lapping film to just keep the edge on it.

Sorry guys, also left out a bit of info I've learnt as well. If you're looking into getting a rolls, always see pictures of both the Hone and the Strop. If the stop shows signs of it being cut up by the blade, it will indicate that something is wrong with the mechanism, and that it's actually digging into the strop before "Flipping". I would stay away.

If however you find a stone which has a few chips in it, or looks like its got a bit of wear, you can still take the hone out and flip it around (If the original person hasnt already done so). It may have some writing on the other side of the hone, but at least you'll know you have a brand new side to use without all the chips in it. Needless to say, if there are chips in the hone, do not use it, as you may damage the blade if it hits against one.

Anything else, please feel free to ping me.

I have fully disassembled my rolls, so if anyone is interested in finding out how to do so, please let me know, and I may post an instruction or possibly a video (it has been a while since I've done a video!) lol...
 
Thought I might revive this thread as I have been looking into the Rolls razor. Did you ever try yours out @Sxot? Did you ever get your replacement parts @the_shaving_sailor ?
I've seen plenty on ebay but really didn't know what they were and just scrolled on past.
Yesterday I was reading about them, on another site, and found it very interesting, they look like something I would like to try.
After reading up on what to look for I immediately started looking on the net and immediately ignored all the good advice as I found one just round the corner on Gumtree $15 and no postage.
Well, picked it up this morning and its not bad, the honing stone is not broken and the blade has no rust or chips. The strop part though looks cracked, from drying I guess. It has the outer case, which is nice
I'll clean it up and then have to find a new piece of strop somehow, then see if I can hone and strop a good enough edge for a shave.
 
Sticky you can replace the strop in them easy enough, if you can find an original replacement they did sell them, or just use a piece of roo leather as it is nice and thin like the original strop, also the originals have a thin foam layer between the leather an metal case Mine was powder so I used some 1mm craft foam and cleaned up the original leather that was in reasonable shape with neatsfoot oil and it all came up right
Have also seen the hones replaced with thin Coticle stones when broken
 
Substance said:
Sticky you can replace the strop in them easy enough, if you can find an original replacement they did sell them, or just use a piece of roo leather as it is nice and thin like the original strop, also the originals have a thin foam layer between the leather an metal case Mine was powder so I used some 1mm craft foam and cleaned up the original leather that was in reasonable shape with neatsfoot oil and it all came up right
Have also seen the hones replaced with thin Coticle stones when broken
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Thanks @Substance, I might well try the roo leather if I can find some. Looking at the crack in the original leather I'm wondering if being in the centre it will be ok as the blade flips over and misses that part. I might well try the neatsfoot (can you tell me where its available?) and see if I can revive it, and check the foam as you also suggest. I'm going to have a proper look tomorrow.
Do you shave with yours? How do you find it?
 
I have shaved with mine. There is a SOTD photo somewhere. I honed the blade manually on a Jnat as it would have taken an age to home in the case.

If your strop has damage in the middle, are you sure it's a crack and not a cut? As the mechanism ages it tends to push the blade back just before the turn hence two parallel cuts in the centre.

eBay has a few vendors of roo cut and sorted for use as strops. Cheap too. Personally I would look for another which has a good oem strop.
 
I'll have to have look for that SOTD. OEM? Its ok , looked it up. Suppose OEM is much better but I don't know that I want a whole new set. Will have to check it out more thoroughly
 
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@Sticky i get neatsfoot from my local feed barn & saddlery, I have also use Glycerine from woollies etc in the comsmetics etc area, I used this on an old box strop and it cleaned the black gunk off & softened the leather from a dry jerky type piece of leather
I get roo leather for strops etc from eBay outthere09 he is in the Airlie beach area
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/outthere09/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
 
Thanks for the info @Substance, I'll probably try the glycerine and see how it goes but I'll maybe have change it out.
It sounds like you are going for the full set
 
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