Gillette Slim - non-straight heads

[sev-8]

I've been looking at some Gillette Slims on eBay and I've noticed that a lot of them seem to not have level heads or the handles aren't straight. I've seen good photos of a couple of these and it looks that the base of the head and the doors are out of alignment, i.e. on one side the doors are closer to the base than on the other.

Is this a common problem? I tried searching for it but didn't turn up any good information. For some of them could it just a bad photo? See this as an example, but I've noticed many.

Cheers,

sev-8

Edit: this one too

 

[Thug]

My Slim is 55 years old and everything is aligned perfectly, so I would imagine that it's through lack of care/maintenance that results in misaligned head/doors.

 

[sev-8]

That's possible. I was expecting it to be one of the things to look out for. I know that the alignment of the doors if a common problem, but hadn't seen anything referring to the handle or base.

I'll take care when looking at others, but often the photos aren't too useful in determining the condition, so need to ask for more.

Cheers

 

[SeanC]

The handle could well be a camera trick as slims are solidly built there. Converging verticals similar to when you photograph a building

 

[Shaver X]

Maybe it is a Gillette Slant Adjustable? Seriously, it could be due to the photo, as others have noted. You could always ask the seller if the razor is aligned properly.

 

[sev-8]

I did ask one seller who said that the razor wasn't straight and that they had a second one in the same condition.

I've ordered one now, but it's in the US as I was trying to avoid the import tax. Will see how it is when I get it in a couple of weeks.

 

[Shaver X]

Slims can be found for $30 (£22), and sometimes $20. There is that much import tax on such a small value item? If you ever buy vintage razors from the US in the future, you could always go onto the Buy / Sell / Trade section of The Shave Den or Damn Fine Shave forums. The razors sold there tend to be in reasonably good condition and accurately described. If you find an item say for example $30 and $10 shipping, just ask the seller if they could charge you $5 and $35 for shipping + handling. You shouldn't get taxed for handling charges. The seller just wants the fixed amount of money, and a vintage razor is worth pretty much whatever they say it is.

I hope you enjoy using your Slim! I use one every day and it works very well with a wide variety of blades.

 

[Shaver X]

My Slim is 55 years old and everything is aligned perfectly, so I would imagine that it's through lack of care/maintenance that results in misaligned head/doors.

Or more likely being dropped.

 

[sev-8]

There is that much import tax on such a small value item? If you ever buy vintage razors from the US in the future, you could always go onto the Buy / Sell / Trade section of The Shave Den or Damn Fine Shave forums.

I try and avoid paying it whenever possible, but I think for small items the handling charge (£8 ?) is more than the actual VAT, etc. that I'd pay. Plus there's the hassle of having to go and collect the item to make the payment OK, so I'm overstating it a bit.

I'll take a look at those forums when I order my next razor, but for the Slim I was keen to try/buy one sooner rather than later