Anyone use a safety razor?

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Pokey
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#201

Post by Pokey »

Woodpuppy wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 11:37 am
I can’t wait to start arguing about if MIM razors outperform and outlast traditionally manufactured razors 😁

Or like CPM-AEB-L razor blades outlasting ingot AEB-L razor blades. :winking-tongue
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#202

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Question for the safety razor shavers out there- ever flip the blade over to milk that last little bit of goodness? Would the Henson break the blade?
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#203

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Pokey wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 6:47 pm
Woodpuppy wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 11:37 am
I can’t wait to start arguing about if MIM razors outperform and outlast traditionally manufactured razors 😁

Or like CPM-AEB-L razor blades outlasting ingot AEB-L razor blades. :winking-tongue
Or Sandvik 13C26 outlasting both. :grin-big eyes
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#204

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Woodpuppy wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 8:44 pm
Question for the safety razor shavers out there- ever flip the blade over to milk that last little bit of goodness? Would the Henson break the blade?
I've never done that, but thought about it. I don't think it would work very well, which is why I never tried it. As for breaking the blade, wouldn't that depend on the temper of the blade?
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#205

Post by Woodpuppy »

I think both temper and extremity of bend would both play a part.
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#206

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I have never broken a blade, though I occasionally (rarely) hear of it happening. I think it would be fine to flip the blade over, but like a knife, dull is dull. Once you flip it that blade will still be a bit dull or will get that way fast.
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#207

Post by Ric »

Flipping the blade: I do sometimes after disassembly and cleaning.

Does not notice a big difference.
But I change my blades not often...
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#208

Post by Pokey »

Woodpuppy wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 8:44 pm
Question for the safety razor shavers out there- ever flip the blade over to milk that last little bit of goodness? Would the Henson break the blade?
I've only flipped the blade over once, but it was because the last Personna blade in the dispenser had a bend in the middle running down the length of the blade. I figured it wouldn't really make any difference, considering that the razors I own, (Parker Variant, et al,) really arch the blades over and clamp them down like a vise. As far as I could tell it made no difference.

I've read on a website that caters to straight razors where the author wrote that you should own more than one straight razor and rotate their use. The theory presented was that the edge gets rolled over and giving that razor a day off allows the edge to relax and straighten out. I don't know if it's true or not, but I did notice they sell straight razors, too. ;)

I thought I saw some electron microscope images on another website, (maybe it was here: https://scienceofsharp.com/) where you could see the wear and tear at the edge of a razor blade after one, two, three (?) uses. The gist of the article was that a whisker is a horrible thing to cut through if you're a steel blade. It showed how whiskers can really rip up the edge of the blade. Teflon, platinum coatings, worn off after one shave with chunks missing from the apex of the edge. Oh humanity! :anguished

The good news was the images didn't show any rolled edges. :winking-tongue
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#209

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A lot of blades are made from 13C26/AEB-L that is as tough as 52100. That the blades suffer so much damage says a lot about whiskers.

This may or may not the page you were looking for: https://scienceofsharp.com/2014/05/28/a ... ed-blades/
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#210

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Thanks for that! A little light lunchtime reading…
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#211

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I shaved a couple of days with the Henson AL13 mild/standard and then a couple with the Gillette Tech. I used Shark blades in them. I came to the conclusion that the Henson and the Tech are both superb razors. They both bend the blades quite a lot and give similar shaves. The Henson, however, does have the blade tabs covered and that is a comfort factor when getting in tight places. I love both of these razors. My Slim Adjustable, Merkur Progress, both Game Changers, and other razors all wish they shaved as good.

I found that the soap I use makes a huge difference in shave quality. I was using a hard shave soap that felt really slick on my face, but it didn't give as good of a shave as a shave cream from a tube that I like. I used the La Toja (from the volcanic hot springs of La Toja) shave cream and it was night and day. This gives me great shaves and makes the razors be the best they can be.

What secrets have you guys found for a good shave?
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#212

Post by ChrisinHove »

I’ve started using the Proraso (white) pre shave balm. Certainly zingier than any other product I’ve tried, but then I’m really only just starting on this journey…

Along with the Proraso, this weekends shaves have been a (pre-war) Vokshod in my de89, using Cella almond oil shave soap. The mild combination is certainly very kind, but also very effective.

I have to thank you guys for prompting me to start down the de route.
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#213

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I haven’t tried any of the balms. No pretreatment, and no alum block. Just a shave cream or soap, so far I prefer the Taylor of Old Bond Street cream to the Proraso green soap. Then an aftershave. Voila!
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#214

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I've not ventured out into the preshaves. I might need to give them a try. I soften my beard with a mist of hot-ish water or a hot wet cloth.
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#215

Post by Ric »

As pre-shave I wash my face.
If I want to go brush-less I give shave-cream to my face, rub it in and afterwards wash it of and apply once again. The first pass. Wash and apply again and second pass.

Often the lather on the second pass has a better consistency.
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#216

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I only use foam for my wife to shave the back of my neck. I normally don't use it, otherwise. I can get a lather up on the La Toja cream or stick nearly as fast and it is much slicker.

The stick is cool, though I don't use it much, preferring the cream. All one has to do is wet the face, rub the stick on it, and take a wet brush and work up a quick lather on the face. It can be done in the hand, too.

Here's a video using a shaving stick. The La Toja does not need a special holder.

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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#217

Post by Doc Dan »

I put my Ti22 away and got out the medium AL13, slapped in a Shark blade and I got a very fine shave. The Shark blades are not the smoothest, but they cut well. Nice to see my electric blue razor, again. It never fails to deliver on the good shave. I don't really need the Ti because of this razor, but I wanted it. I had a two day growth of beard to rake off and I had no issues. No irritation, no weepers, no nothing but a clean shave.

There are not many products that can actually deliver what they promise. This one does, every time.
I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof! (John Adams regarding the White House)

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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#218

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I got a “New” Gillette razor at an antique store today. They’re called New because of a patent reissued in 1930. There’s no telling how old this one is because they were made from the early ‘30’s and they were never stamped with a date code. The gold ones had a flash plating of gold that usually wore off exposing the copper and brass underneath.

After cleaning and disinfecting it I gave it a try with an Astra green label blade. I was a little leery of the open comb, but found the right angle and let the blade do the work. It felt more aggressive than my other razors, but I think the top cap wasn’t gliding on my skin due to the cap not having any plating left. The blade did a good job, it even seemed to do under my jaw bone better after one pass vs. my other razors.
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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#219

Post by Doc Dan »

Pokey wrote:
Sat Apr 02, 2022 11:23 pm
I got a “New” Gillette razor at an antique store today. They’re called New because of a patent reissued in 1930. There’s no telling how old this one is because they were made from the early ‘30’s and they were never stamped with a date code. The gold ones had a flash plating of gold that usually wore off exposing the copper and brass underneath.

After cleaning and disinfecting it I gave it a try with an Astra green label blade. I was a little leery of the open comb, but found the right angle and let the blade do the work. It felt more aggressive than my other razors, but I think the top cap wasn’t gliding on my skin due to the cap not having any plating left. The blade did a good job, it even seemed to do under my jaw bone better after one pass vs. my other razors.
Take a picture of the bottom of the base plate, the end of the head, and etc. I'll see if I can find out more for you. Nice find, BTW.
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Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King--
Else, wherefore born?" (Tennyson)



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Re: Anyone use a safety razor?

#220

Post by Pokey »

Thanks, Dan. I poked around on the web last night and found they were made in USA, England, and Canada over time.

There were two different top caps made, one with a full length rail and one with two shorter tabs to hold the blade. There were short and log comb models, this one is a short comb model. Some had a ball end handles and others had a cylinder end.

One issue the handles had was when they were assembled, the top hourglass portion and the ball end portion were over- tightened on the knurled part. So, if the razor was dropped, over time the handles would crack. Mine has cracks at both ends, but it’s still mechanically sound. (razoremporium.com sells repro handles) One of the corner teeth on the comb is cracked from being dropped. (but not bent) Despite being made from copper and brass it’s lighter than my “modern” razors.

There was another one for sale with a case, blade holder, and 3 old blades for $42 USD. The end teeth of the comb were bent on that one, and knowing what I know now, I’ll bet the handle was cracked, too. This one was $15 USD.(With some USA made blade already installed!)

I was thinking of going back to look at the other one with the thought of canabalizing both to make one good one, but I think all of the parts are damaged on both. I'd end up with a lot of broken parts. These aren't collectable, so no sense trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. ;)
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