Rolls Razors are both interesting and strange. Inside their metal cases, there was a honing and stropping mechanism, a reusable hollow ground Sheffield Steel razor blade, and a handle for holding the blade when shaving. In a way, they were part straight razor and part safety razor; the idea was that the Rolls Razor would be a self-sufficient system for the frugal-minded shaver. They were fairly expensive – the Imperial #2 sold for $15.00 USD back in the 1930s. That relates to about $275.00 in today’s inflated economy. So, let’s see what it takes to get a Rolls Razor to perform as intended.
Here, I will revierw the process I wnat through to clean and refurbish a Rolls.
The blade, friction clip, attachment pin, and the spindle’s outer sleeve have been removed. The shaving handle is also visible.
A page from the original instruction booklet that outlines and names the parts.
When the blade is in this position, the spring arm on the friction clip prevent it from slipping off the main shaft. The spring’s ears provide enough tension to keep the blade stable.
Turning the blade perpendicular to the attachment pin allows it to be removed.
Next, slide the sleeved section of the honing/stropping handle off. It is held in place via spring tension, and it pops off pretty easily. Be gentle, go slow, do not force it
To disassemble this section, use a pair of needle nose pliers to turn the attachment pin so it is parallel with the opening in the main sleeve. That will allow it to come out easily and then the friction clip can be slid off the main sleeve.
Turn the pin from above to avoid scarring the leather shim inside the sleeve. Do not oil any of these parts. they must be dry, if any lubrication gets on the leather, it can ruin it’s ability to function correctly.
Be careful to not bend the sping’s skinny ears, they can snap off. Always pull this part off by holding the two stubby sections.
To reassemble, pop the friction clip onto the main sleeve, then reinsert the attachment pin; once the pin is in place, turn so the curved portion is perpendicular to the main opening. That curve sits in the brass spindle’s groove, which is visible in the previous and next photos.
Removing the honing/stropping handle from the case.
Two c-clips have to be popped off the brass spindle. These clips are pressed into place; exerting pressure on the two open ends will force them off. There are right ways and wrong ways to do this and there might even be a tool for such events. Being impatient, I forced them off with an old needle nose plier and a small screw driver. The spindle is brass, which is soft. Hardened steel can gall soft brass fairly easily. Going slow and applying pressure to both ends of the clip incrementally allowed me to get this done safely.
Once the clips are off, squeeze the handle a bit to allow the wheels to slide toward the center of the spindle. You will probably have to use your fingers to get them to move.
Once the wheels move a bit, the handle can pivot, keep turning and it will come out.
This part goes smoothly if all the parts are in the correct position. If the handle isn’t pivoting easily, chances are that one of the wheels needs to be moved into position.
Removing the parts permits cleaning and slight refurbishing if needed. Occasionally, there is some rust on the pointed blade keeper, and once it is out of that assembly it can be cleaned effectively. Also, once the parts are out of the case, I was able to clean out the dirt, whisker clippings, dried lubricants, etc. The stropping/honing mechanism relies on the lubricant to be in good condition and free of grit, so I’ll put a dab or two of fresh grease on the tracks in the case to keep it running smoothly. I cleaned out the rest of the case to get rid of dirt, dust, whisker clippings, soap bits, shards of leather from the strop and a few flakes that chipped off the hone too.
Reassembly is easy, just go backwards though the above steps. Everything should literally fall into place with a gentle nudge. When putting the honing handle back, make sure that the spindle is perfectly aligned at a 90˚ angle to the rails; it’s easy to see when it isn’t. Before replacing the c-clips on the spindle, be sure to clean the old grease off both sides. These will pop into place. Popping them off removes some of their original circular shape. After reinstallation I employed a needle nose plier to gently squeeze them back into ‘round’.
Once the mechanical aspects are on-point again, the strop is on deck. Some are made of leather, and often that leather is dried out, warped, and useless. Other times we find a slab of cork there, used as a substrate for an abrasive sharpening paste; these too are usually in less than desirable condition. In either case, gently prying up the tabs allows the material to slide out. Sometimes, there is dried up glue underneath. Here we have a cork version, which I used as a template to cut a piece of horse hide to make a new strop. So it stays flat, I glued it in place with 2-part epoxy.
Here, the new leather is fully installed and now that nasty broken hone is on deck.
Lifting the two tabs on the backing plate let the hone pieces slide right out. These synthetic stones are very fast and aggressive, and they leave a harsh edge. I would ball-park them at about 5k or so. I can’t imagine anyone every being happy with an edge off these stones. I believe that this is why the manufacturer swapped the plain leather out for a pasted strop. Because I plan on using a plain (not pasted) leather strop in the case, the internal stone must be equivalent to, at least, a 10k or 12k hone.
The interior of the Rolls Razor case must be kept dry; moisture can cause steel parts to rust and dripping oil ruin the friction clip and the leather strop. So, I need something that will work without any type of lubrication. My first attempt to upgrade the hone will be with some lapping film on a slab of G10 cut to size.
The abrasive paste sold by the Rolls Razor company appears to be a typical FeOx type – ferric oxide. I was not impressed with it, but It did smooth out the edge off the stone a good bit.
Obviously, the most important aspect of the restoration is honing the blade. Here, I am repurposing a Rolls stropping/honing handle for the purpose of honing the Rolls Blades on regular hones. First, I have to be sure that every speck of grease and grime has been removed. To do that, the handle must be totally stripped down.
This experiment will preclude this handle from becoming usable in a Rolls Razor case again. The small drive gears pop off using a plier which bends them and destroys the teeth. Now the rollers can be removed, and the entire handle can be broken down into its parts. Everything except the main spindle sleeve is soaked in naphtha and brushed clean. Upon reassembly, we have the first prototype handle for honing the blades externally.
Here’s the honing handle at work; the wheels turn, allowing the assembly to glide effortlessly along the working surface of the Shapton Pro 8k. Because the wheels are a hard type of plastic, I can also maneuver the blade on an angle to emulate x-strokes, or even circles.
