Features of the razor
This razor glossary helps you understand the words and phrases that people use when describing razors and their parts. Often these define a model or help us identify a particular vintage. For further descriptions of these and other phrases, see also Glossary: A few terms and phrases.
Adjuster knob — This is the knob that controls the blade exposure gap. It can be just under the head, in rare models near the base of the handle, and in the Merkur Progress it is combined with the open/close knob. In all cases, it is labeled with setting numbers, usually either 1-9 or 1-5.
Alignment pins – Some razors use three pins protruding down from the cap that go through the blade and hold the blade in position.
Ball end (Gillette open-combs, Tech) — Gillette produced a variety of handles for its three-piece razors; two were commonly known as ball-end handles. The Old and Improved types in the late teens and 1920′s had a rather large ball on the end. The Tech starting around 1946 had a narrower handle with a ball end.
Base plate (TTO), bottom plate (3-pc) — The plate that defines the lower floor of the blade chamber in a TTO, or is pressed underneath the blade. In a 2- or 3-piece razor, the blade is sandwiched between the bottom plate and top plate. In a TTO, the blade is between the base plate and the doors. For an open-comb razor, the comb teeth are on the bottom plate.
Cap, top plate — In a 2- or 3-piece razor, this is the part on top of the blade. In a TTO razor, the cap is formed by the closing of its doors.
Center bar – The center bar can be either a tab that runs the length of the inside of the razor cap in a three-piece razor, or its the tab you center the blade on inside a one-piece TTO razor. In a TTO razor, the center bar is attached to a rod that runs down the length of the handle; its threaded end is what allows the TTO knob to open and close the razor doors.
Center bar notch – A small notch in the side of the center bar allows you to hook a blade onto the bar directly from its dispenser. Introduced by Gillette in 1948, before date codes were stamped on razors, the notch is the main feature distinguishing a ’48/49 from a ’47 Super Speed.
Closed-comb, safety bar, guard bar — A closed-comb razor really has no comb at all, so it’s rather a misnomer. Instead of a comb under the blade edge, it has a safety bar. Some modern varieties have a rippled guide under the blade, which is more properly a closed-comb than a safety bar.
Date code — From late 1950 onward, Gillette stamped a date code on the base plate of all its safety razors. In the code, the year is identified by a letter, and the quarter by a number 1-4. The letters ran a 25-year cycle, from A to Z, skipping Q. The A years were 1955 and 1980. So V=1950, W=1951, etc. For example, if your razor is stamped F 2, that’s from the 2nd quarter of 1960. The razors below are W 3 (’51) and N 2 (’68).
Doors, silo doors, butterfly doors — The flaps that open up on the TTO razor so you can change the blade.
End caps — Gillette put end caps on the ends of the razor head from 1946-1962. These occasionally fall off. A razor missing either end cap is seriously diminished in value, but it does not effect the shave at all. If you’re not concerned about the aesthetics of the instrument, you can get a very good bargain picking up a razor with a missing end cap with everything else in good condition.
Knurling — The roughed or carved surface of the razor handle, usually in some distinctive pattern. This provides a better grip, especially with wet or soapy hands.
Open-comb, teeth — An open-comb razor has what appear to be rake-like teeth protruding underneath the blade.
Rings (single, double) — Part of the handle design of some very early Gillette models. Today these rings help to distinguish the models. The earlier double rings are more rare, and correspondingly more valuable to the collector.
Safety bar — see Closed-comb.
Slant — A razor that holds the blade somewhat twisted, so that the edge is slanted where exposed to the shaving surface. This provides a slight lateral sheering to the cutting of the hair, arguably resulting in a cleaner cut.
Toggle — An early version of the Gillette adjustable used a toggle lever to clamp the doors shut. The later standard version of adjustables used an extra twisting of the close knob to assure the doors’ tightness.
TTO knob, open/close knob, door knob — The knob you twist to open a TTO razor. Most commonly this is at the bottom of the handle, but in some razors it is just under the head.
Twist-to-open, TTO — A razor whose doors are opened by the twisting of a knob on the handle, originally billed as a one-piece razor. This contrasts with the 2- or 3-piece razor, which requires disassembling to change the blade. A small point of confusion for the newbie can arise because you unscrew (or twist) the handle of a multi-piece razor to take it apart; so technically you twist to open any razor. But the term “twist-to-open” (TTO) specifically refers only to the one-piece razor, sometimes called the butterfly-open razor.
Problems with a razor
This section of the razor glossary identifies some common flaws you might run across or hear about.
Handle cracks — The Gillette Old type razor had a wide handle that was made of rolled sheet metal with a soldered seam. In effect, this is merely a flimsy tube, into which was inserted the ends. As a result, these handles almost invariably developed cracks over time. The cracks might be only a centimeter or so at either end, with the ends firmly held in place. Or the cracks might lengthen and widen until the ends loosen and fall out. There are a number of remedies from filling, gluing, to soldering. Fortunately, the cap screw threads are a standard size, and so the handles are also easily replaced.
Missing end caps — As indicated above, a razor can lose one or both caps off the ends of its head. If you still have the cap, it can be glued on with marine epoxy or other waterproof glue.
Plating, plate loss — Similar to wear, plating is when some of the surface metal plate is missing, but rather than being worn off, it has flaked off because of some compromise. In my experience, the razors I have seen with plate loss seemed to have been left exposed to household chemicals for too long.
Pitting — Pitting is an indication of some corrosion of the base metal underneath the plate surface. To me, this resembles a case of acne. The outer plate might still be intact, but the surface is marred by tiny bumps.
Wear of the finish — If a razor was used a lot, its plating might have been worn down or rubbed off in certain places on the razor, exposing the core brass. Usually, the wearing is quite smooth and gradual. The most common places for wear are where it’s touched or rubbed: the handle, the head near the blade edge, the safety bar. Although it might not look pretty, this does not effect the shave. Polishing the razor will indeed improve the look of the exposed brass, so that might be the simple solution for you. Remember also, that you might be able to pick up a bargain in a razor with some gently worn spots. Like a razor with plating, a razor with worn spots might be a good candidate for a replating.
