gvw755
Well-Known Member
I am chumming the ocean once again to get the big fish to show up. This razor was introduced to me a couple of years ago by one particular big fish, and I have always come up short in bidding for one when it came up on an action site. Eventually I gave up finding one and recently one appeared and I was able to get it for a reasonable price.
The Pacific Razor Company was based in California, and this particular razor was made in the 1940s. I am not sure if they made any other razors, but for it's time, it had a bunch of unique features all rolled into one razor. First of all the guard were two plastic rollers that did not have teeth like the Roller Guard or the Worlds Finest. Secondly, one roller was colored and the other clear meaning two different levels of aggression. Thirdly, the head was mounted on a ball and had the ability to pivot so you could use it as a diagonal slant razor. Finally, the handle was thick but had a cap on the bottom so you could store a styptic pencil in it just in case you got a nick, which with all the different features, it would probably have been easy to do.
My razor came with the bakelite case, but unfortunately was missing the instructions, which would have been an interesting read. In familiarizing myself with the razor, I found that loosening the head so it could go in different angles was a challenge. The handle itself was made of plastic and so you needed to be careful not to cross screw the lower collar when loosening and tightening it, and you also had to be careful to not tighten too much because you might strip the threads. Even when tightening the head fully (either straight or at an angle), there was always a small bit where the head would still be able to move. To change the blade, one would have to grip the upper hex nut to unscrew the head and tightening it. If you grab the lower ring, the whole head would move because of the ball it was mounted on.
Tonight I decided to shave with the head in the straight position just to familiarize myself with the razor. I started off on the clear roller side which appeared to be the more aggressive side. WTG pass went very well and I could feel the blade, but the roller just made things glide along as if there were no guard. This felt equivalent to a mid aggression razor. For ATG, I switched to the dark colored side and it definitely was the mild side. I could not feel any blade and the roller made it hard for me to adjust to find an angle where it would do more than move the lather around. Finally I did find an angle and, with some effort, I did manage to finish the ATG pass. The mild side felt more like shaving with your mildest razor and then forgetting to put in a blade. I did need an XTG pass for most of my face , and for this I went back to the clear roller guard side and finished off with a three pass BBS.
Tuesday is my slant night and so I will give the Pacific another try using it as a diagonal razor. Although this is not my best shaver, it is one of my more interesting ones.
The Pacific Razor Company was based in California, and this particular razor was made in the 1940s. I am not sure if they made any other razors, but for it's time, it had a bunch of unique features all rolled into one razor. First of all the guard were two plastic rollers that did not have teeth like the Roller Guard or the Worlds Finest. Secondly, one roller was colored and the other clear meaning two different levels of aggression. Thirdly, the head was mounted on a ball and had the ability to pivot so you could use it as a diagonal slant razor. Finally, the handle was thick but had a cap on the bottom so you could store a styptic pencil in it just in case you got a nick, which with all the different features, it would probably have been easy to do.
My razor came with the bakelite case, but unfortunately was missing the instructions, which would have been an interesting read. In familiarizing myself with the razor, I found that loosening the head so it could go in different angles was a challenge. The handle itself was made of plastic and so you needed to be careful not to cross screw the lower collar when loosening and tightening it, and you also had to be careful to not tighten too much because you might strip the threads. Even when tightening the head fully (either straight or at an angle), there was always a small bit where the head would still be able to move. To change the blade, one would have to grip the upper hex nut to unscrew the head and tightening it. If you grab the lower ring, the whole head would move because of the ball it was mounted on.
Tonight I decided to shave with the head in the straight position just to familiarize myself with the razor. I started off on the clear roller side which appeared to be the more aggressive side. WTG pass went very well and I could feel the blade, but the roller just made things glide along as if there were no guard. This felt equivalent to a mid aggression razor. For ATG, I switched to the dark colored side and it definitely was the mild side. I could not feel any blade and the roller made it hard for me to adjust to find an angle where it would do more than move the lather around. Finally I did find an angle and, with some effort, I did manage to finish the ATG pass. The mild side felt more like shaving with your mildest razor and then forgetting to put in a blade. I did need an XTG pass for most of my face , and for this I went back to the clear roller guard side and finished off with a three pass BBS.
Tuesday is my slant night and so I will give the Pacific another try using it as a diagonal razor. Although this is not my best shaver, it is one of my more interesting ones.