Razor aggression

[Fido]

I'm sitting here looking at the snow, thinking about razors, as you do.

What determines the relative aggression of a razor? Can one tell just by looking and if so, what is one trying to spot?

Pics appreciated.

 

[hunnymonster]

At least one guide is the gap between the blade and the guard - if you look at the difference between a Slim/Super/Fat Adjustable on 1 & on 9 that's the principle difference.

Another is the angle of the blade edge - look at the adjustable again - on 9 it's a much more acute angle (to the skin).

 

[antdad]

Can one tell just by looking

Not always. Head profile, weight of razor also has an effect. The meanest razor I've used was the old Muhle R41 (Shaving shack - Fatip) Actually that looked pretty mean too so maybe.

There's perennial speculation as to the origins of the open comb, this is my favourite so far...the open comb razor had dual purpose, it was used as a tache and beard trimmer. Sort of made sense.


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.ph ... essiveness</a><!-- m -->

 

[beejay]

Angle of blade edge grind or 'bevel is the determining factor for me in woodturning and this probably applies in shaving as well.
Small angle of grind = more bevel support for cutting edge = sharp smooth cut
Large angle of grind = less bevel support = coarser, dragging cut.
e.g a 45 degree angle will give a smoother cut than say a 60 degree angle on a blade.
Or consider a carpenter's plane with an angle of 20 or 25 degrees and how it can take gossamer thin shavings leaving the wood with a mirror finish. Assuming its used correctly mind you.
Quality of steel also comes into play but how noticeable this is with DE blade I dont know. I suspect its very noticeable with a straight razor though.
Pretty basic I know and there are ways during use to alter the above to suit the grain direction etc.
regards, beejay

 

[henkverhaar]

There's perennial speculation as to the origins of the open comb, this is my favourite so far...the open comb razor had dual purpose, it was used as a tache and beard trimmer. Sort of made sense.

I don't know what the origin was, or why later razors actually still come in OC - I don't think it makes much real difference, but the Gillette Old Type really needed the open comb since it was, effectively, a flawed design, that could only operate with an open comb - due to the fact that the Old Type has NO blade gap. With a closed bar ('comb'), it would have had no cutting power at all...

 

[antdad]

There is no inherent blade gap that's true but it was designed for the much thicker older style blade.

 

[henkverhaar]

There is no inherent blade gap that's true but it was designed for the much thicker older style blade.

True, but that's still a tiny gap, compared to the gap on more modern shavers. Note that the NEW (which does have a blade gap) was designed for those same old thick blades.

 

[antdad]

My old blades are 2mm thick. :lol:

 

[Fido]

Thanks for the responses. I'll be having a close look at all my razors.

 

[merwtje]

No blade gap at all!

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq301/merwtje/razors022-2.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq30 ... s022-2.jpg</a><!-- m -->

 

[antdad]

WTF is that Razor King?

 

[HogoFogo]

Here you will find what other experts feel about that topic:
Aggressiveness of a safety razor can be thought of as the degree to which a blade is exposed to the face and beard, or conversely the degree to which the face and beard are not protected from the blade by the razor's safety features.

The two things that protect your face and beard from the blade are the razor's cap and the razor's guard. The cap and guard touch the skin while shaving and the blade is exposed to the skin between the two. Thus, the blade exposure can be described as the distance the blade protrudes past an imaginary tangent between cap and guard. The "gap" discussed above is not the same as the exposure as defined here, but larger gaps will tend to create larger exposures (and make it more possible for the skin to be caught inside the gap), given that the rest of the geometry stays about the same. So, the above measurements give an approximate ranking.

Another factor in aggressiveness might be the angle that the blade makes with that imaginary line. There is probably an ideal angle, usually stated as around 30 degrees from the face, but that might be different for different beards and maybe even different for different areas of the same beard.

One advantage of an aggressive razor may be that the user has more control over the angle at which the blade touches the skin.

[attachment=1]

[attachment=1]

If you want to know which safety razor is the most aggressive than the other, what I can tell is this:
.43mm - (gap between the blade and razor) Gillette Adj Black handle set on 1 is the least aggressive;
1.75mm Merkur Futur set on 6 .5 is the most aggressive razor on the planet.

 

[Arrowhead]

The most aggressive DE razor I've come across was antdad's NEW, when I forgot to tighten it up. Won't be doing that again in a hurry

 

[Fido]

Thank you HogoFogo!

 

[HogoFogo]

You're welcome, Fido.