1958 Gillette Toggle Restoration
We were recently sent a vintage Gillette Toggle from a customer in Australia. The razor belonged to his father and the customer wanted to use the razor.
Upon inspection the razor was found to be seized, with the adjuster mechanism frozen solid.
Despite multiple ultrasonic cleans and days soaking in releasing fluid, the mechanism would not budge. The only option was a complete strip-down and inspection.
To safely carry out the dismantling of the razor, the pin needs to be driven out of the toggle section. Care is needed here as there's a tiny spring and ball bearing located in the toggle handle.
Next, the collet at the bottom of the handle needs to be removed using a vice with soft jaws, so as not to damage the parts. Once removed, two small springs are seen, these can be removed and then the tiny circlip that fits into a groove in the centre shaft. A tricky operation, but patience and gentle coaxing will allow removal.
The next task is to separate the Head and baseplate, adjuster ring and clicker from the handle. The head and adjuster are pressed into the handle shaft, so we used a specially designed press to safely separate the parts without damage:
Note: The razor shown in the press above is a conventional Gillette Fatboy
Once the head and adjuster had been separated from the handle shaft, it could be seen that every part was clogged with soap and hard deposits. A long ultrasonic clean and polish had them back to good condition. The tiny clicker was cleaned and safely stored, ready for re-assembly.
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Parts above before cleaning
Before re-assembly, any parts where the gold plating had worn, were polished and sympathetically 'spot plated' in 24ct Gold. The red indicator dot and black numbers were also painted. Finally the razor was adjusted and lightly lubricated.
This restoration was not a complete striping of the old plating and complete renewal, but rather a partial touch up of any parts where the gold plating was badly worn. This ensured that as much of the original razor and patina remains.
Restored D1 Date Code 1958 Quarter 1 Gillette Toggle Adjustable Razor
