safety bar purpose

[Bezoar]

in the original safety bar ads for the Gillette tech razor, the ads gave the bar the following purposes, as printed on the package itself.

1. the grooves to help keep the razor going in a straight line. no risk of suddenly hitting your jawline and going sideways and skinning yourself.

2. smoothing the skin before the blade gets to it.


The thing is, the most common advice I get is to never let the safety guard touch the skin at all. that "properly" used razors will have worn plating on the top cap or doors, but the safety bar will be near mint condition finish wise.

Im just trying to figure out when things changed.

 

[Fergiebilly]

If the Safety Bar isn't Touching the Skin Neither is a the Blade..The Blade is Behind it..You will find that out if you try and shave with a Razor with the Safety Bar Removed as some folks Do..

Billy

 

[Gordy]

The thing is, the most common advice I get is to never let the safety guard touch the skin at all. that "properly" used razors will have worn plating on the top cap or doors, but the safety bar will be near mint condition finish wise.

You'll very quickly learn that unless you hear it on the forum, it will be complete 5h!te!

But then again........[emoji849]

 

[Canuck]

I'm not sure things have ever really changed... the safety bar was (and is) mainly there to stop flesh (including fingers as well as faces) coming into very direct contact with an entire exposed blade edge by accident, particularly at steep angles. Even with a safety bar you can shave at slightly shallower or steeper angles, neither is "wrong", and I'm not sure there should be anything to glean from wear patterns on older razors. Except maybe that the owner shaved with a fine grit instead of soap? ;-)

There's a grain of truth in the "smoothing the skin" claim, but only a grain... the bar may help avoid nicks on spots and flaws. You have to bear in mind that Gillette are past and present masters at inventing fantastical marketing bollocks around shaving advances.

 

[UKRob]

Bloody hell Canuck - you snuck back in there quietly - how have you been?

 

[Canuck]

Oh fine ta, went and had a child, grew a beard, neither of which make for a particularly active shaving forum member.
Shaved my beard off a while back, found myself having a very quiet afternoon at work today and POP! I somehow ended up here.

 

[dodgy]

found myself having a very quiet afternoon at work today and POP! I somehow ended up here.

Hey what's doin The Canuck,

How was the winter way up in Flin Flon Manitoba?

 

[Bechet]

Good to see you, Canuck!

If you want to know what the safety bar is for, Bezoar, and the name isn't a sufficient clue, put a Feather into an R41 2011 and shave with it.- - or, I guess, any OC razor.

 

[Bezoar]

my old type and new improved/new standard shave as smooth as any safety bar does. Even smoother then the slims I have had.