It's DIY gone mad, I tell you!

Bruce, if you've got access to a machine shop you might want to start with something more interesting but less complex - maybe machining razor handles for existing heads?
 
As I intimated in my first answer, you need more than a school/college machine shop to do this sort of high tolerance work.

You need toolmaker/prototyping skills and equipment. Stick to handles as Neo says.
 
As I intimated in my first answer, you need more than a school/college machine shop to do this sort of high tolerance work.
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Unless I'm mistaken, the first Gillettes were made of stamped steel at the beginning of the 20th century. while something that's +/- 5 Angstroms would be impressive, I'm guessing that's not the precision needed for it to work, maybe even for it to work well. But that leads me back to my original question. There's been talk of high tolerances, but what are they? I've seen the shave angle of 30deg thrown around for example. is that 29-31 deg? or 29.999-30.001? etc.

I realize a thread started to point out the absurdity of my razor probably wasn't the best place to ask, but it was worth a shot.
 
Although my previous post was played for laughs, I really do think this is an interesting project. If I had the time and inclination to have a go, I'm pretty sure I could come up with something which would work, but it would be after a string of prototypes. And I wouldn't give a damn about micro tolerances either, that's hardly the point. You keep at it, br3ttb, and prove the naysayers wrong.
 
Well if the head flexes (under pressure or torsion) then you'll have pretty instant feedback that you're apply too much pressure or holding it wrong :mrgreen:

51o-oHW37ZL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
br3ttb said:
As I intimated in my first answer, you need more than a school/college machine shop to do this sort of high tolerance work.
Click to expand...

Unless I'm mistaken, the first Gillettes were made of stamped steel at the beginning of the 20th century. while something that's +/- 5 Angstroms would be impressive, I'm guessing that's not the precision needed for it to work, maybe even for it to work well. But that leads me back to my original question. There's been talk of high tolerances, but what are they? I've seen the shave angle of 30deg thrown around for example. is that 29-31 deg? or 29.999-30.001? etc.

I realize a thread started to point out the absurdity of my razor probably wasn't the best place to ask, but it was worth a shot.
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It's not the accuracy of the shave head angle that's the biggest issue here. As suggested earlier you might be able to produce something that shaves well with one edge of a D.E blade, reproducing something that exposes and holds both edges accurately is the real challenge. Its the blade edge, angle and gap relative to the safety bar and cap that is crucial. As you've demonstrated, you can make something that resembles a razor but whether you can shave with it is another matter entirely. A blade is about 0.1 mm thick, you need to be working at a finer accuracy than that, more like plus or minus 0.02 - 0.05mm.


SHAVE_ANGLE3.jpg
 
That picture is fantastic antdad, thank you. I'll admit I didn't dig too deeply, but I wasn't able to find an image with that level of detail. For the angle and exposure it looks I'm going to have to rely on the geometry of the PVC. I can probably get some wiggle room by adjusting the clamping tension though. That's how it was done in the olden days no?

the biggest impediment to success in my mind is ensuring that on my razor, no matter where this cross-section is taken, the picture looks the same. until I figure out some sort of test/refinement procedure (that doesn't involve actual shaving,) that's just not going to happen.
 
Wiggle room, variable tension? Not intentionally no. Some shavers slacken the tension to increase the blade gap and therefore aggression but they were not designed for that.

You really need to get hold of a real D.E razor and learn how to use it, you'll then have more of an appreciation of what's required. Contact IKON razors, tell him it's a school project or something.
 
This still doesn't look like an impossibly daunting project to me, though Tony is certainly right to say that getting both edges to work well is the real challenge. Once the basic geometry is established, ie. springing the blade to the right curve, bedding it down on the bottom plate and providing the correct gap, my approach would be to make the cap oversize and refine the exposure by removing material cautiously until it shaves. I'd also be inclined to use a toggle mechanism for clamping the cap, just for the fun of it. The principle is very similar to making a plane or a spokeshave - done that.
 
br3ttb said:
I realize a thread started to point out the absurdity of my razor probably wasn't the best place to ask, but it was worth a shot.
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... but I didn't intend it in a mean nor a bad way.

I think it's great. Scary as finding out that your sweet, kind and tolerant mother-in-law is actually a vampiric shapeshifting tazmanian tiger that sells 'amway' products and is a card carrying tory (and the card is a "Happy 'Screw You and Your Bank Account, Loserboy' Day" card from Hallmark to boot), but in a cool un-cool sort of way.

... if that makes sense.
 
... but I didn't intend it in a mean nor a bad way.
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oh absolutely! I didn't think that at all. what I meant was I kind of jumped in ("Joined 7/25/2010!") and was asking the thread to change gears. worth a shot, but understandable if it didn't happen
 
Is it only me, or are other non engineering or design shavers finding this a really interesting concept thread. Since in my narrow wee world design follows function I've always just been content to enjoy my fave razors without giving much thought to the design parameters involved. This is getting to be fun to watch as well as informative, thanks to all for their contributions thus far, I continue to gaze on with interest & admiration.

JohnnyO. :geek:
 
There's only one reason to use plastic and that's because it's cheaper not because it's appropriate, even in this very small market I don't think there is a huge demand for lighter or stronger razors and that is functionally why you would choose to replace metal. Depending on complexity there isn't a huge differential between the tooling costs of moulding plastic parts and die cast metal alloy. The unit cost per item however is more for die cast because of the material and any secondary operation that may be required such as finishing, further machining or plating, these can usually be designed out of plastic moulded products in the first place. I'm a modernist but lets leave plastic where it belongs, with the disposable generation.
 
I had a Wilkinson Classic (a plastic..... thing) as a first bash at DE shaving, the only surprise is i carried on. It is now residing in a landfill in Shropshire, refusing to decompose this side of the next ice age, waiting to be found by future archaeologists (or aliens) who will hold it up as indicative that life on earth at this point in time really wasn't up to much.

Just to prove this is so, they will take DNA material residing on the razor (should be no shortage there :roll: ) and retro engineer me - to prove the point. which will be nice ;)
 
I've always just been content to enjoy my fave razors without giving much thought to the design parameters involved
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I think that sums up why I love DIY so much. you don't even know what you're not thinking about until you try to do it yourself. With mechanical things or even with something like music or cooking, taking a whack at it gives you a whole new perspective.

is metal important? maybe. let's try and find out :)

(for the record my instincts say that it is important. in the long run I don't think PVC will yield the required rigidity. if a replace my epoxy with some metal though, that would make things much stiffer)
 
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