Klinco Gummi-Elastisch
This is a Klinco Gummi-Elastisch razor.
I wasn't actually aware of this until I saw this one in an auction and an online search doesn't reveal much.
What little I have been able to find:
They were made by Klink & Co. whose address was listed as Solingen-Merscheid, Junkerstrasse 12. (See the patent document)
It's made of different materials, the top cap and the top and bottom pieces of the handle are zamak. The base plate and the center piece of the handle is brass.
It's a completely different take on keeping tension on the blade in that it uses a softish rubber to act as the spring. The rubber was missing on this one. I had a piece of black packing foam and made a new piece. (See the procedure below)
The patent was applied for on 09 September 1952 and it was granted on 10 March 1953 under German patent number 1653239
How does it shave
I've used it once and it's very mild closed, opened about ¾ of a turn on the handle, its gets a fair bit of blade feel and is pretty effecient.
The Repair
This must rate as one of the easiest razor repairs that I've done!
All that is needed is in the first image below.
- I took the piece of packing foam (top right on the cutting board),
- cut a few strips the width of the recess in the base plate, (image 2)
- pushed through a hole for the center thread with the heated nail,
- pushed the top cap into the foam/rubber to mark the positions of the blade alignment posts, (image 3)
- "melted" the other two holes into the foam and trimmed about half the thickness, (image 4)
- assembled the razor, and trimmed off the excess on the sides.
The tension of the foam feels about right but it seems to have a bit of a memory. I don't want to put too much tension on the threaded center pin and have experimented with a thicker piece of foam which is a bit better.
I need to try out a different rubber/foam, but at least now have an idea of the size that I'm looking for.
UPDATE: I think that I have found the rubber/foam that I believe works. It is the one that "Flip-Flop" sandals are made of. It doesn't seem to have too much of a memory. This piece is the wrong color, however I now know what I'm looking for. The last image below is Three pieces of it, the front is the piece that is in the razor the back two were experimenting with different thicknesses and heights.