Carbon Steel Blade Weight

[den fly]

I've been using a Single Ring Old Type lately and noticed how light the head is. Honestly makes it a bit challenging to let the weight of the razor do the work. It got me thinking how the razor was designed for the old "3 holer" blades that were thicker and made of carbon steel. Has anyone weighed them? I'm curious if they weigh much more than modern blades.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

I just measured with calipers a three holer and a new blade, both come up the same because my calipers are calipers, not micrometers in increments of two fifths the width of a bees anatomy.
Weight? yes one is heavier than the other, this I determined to be 0.06 grams by just throwing them in the air, letting each fall into my hand. the difference in weight is going to be again in bees anatomy scale.

You probably better off filling the handle with lead or if lead poisoning is a worry, try tin.

 

[psfred]

I think the original Gillette blades were 0.020" thick, modern thin blades are about 0.005" thick, sometimes 0.004". Which means the originals weigh four or five times as much as a modern one, but I suspect you would never be able to tell the difference. Thin blades arrived in the 1920s when better machining and diamond dust polishing became available.

 

[DesertIguana]

Wow some people are OCD about little stuff.

 

[Quaznoid]

??????

 

[BigJ]

I think the original Gillette blades were 0.020" thick, modern thin blades are about 0.005" thick, sometimes 0.004". Which means the originals weigh four or five times as much as a modern one, but I suspect you would never be able to tell the difference. Thin blades arrived in the 1920s when better machining and diamond dust polishing became available.

+1! Definitely! The difference is below my level of detection.

 

[Theodore]

I've been using a Single Ring Old Type lately and noticed how light the head is. Honestly makes it a bit challenging to let the weight of the razor do the work. It got me thinking how the razor was designed for the old "3 holer" blades that were thicker and made of carbon steel. Has anyone weighed them? I'm curious if they weigh much more than modern blades.

Ever pick up a Gem 1912? They're surprisingly light too. I think the popular notion that heavy razors are somehow more premium, is a modern conception.

Anyway, the idea of letting the weight of a razor do the work? That falls apart as soon as you move the razor in any other direction than down. Once you do that, you're resisting the weight, not using it.

 

[Brutus]

??????

Yeah, that’s what went through my mind as well…



B.

 

[Quaznoid]

Ever pick up a Gem 1912? They're surprisingly light too. I think the popular notion that heavy razors are somehow more premium, is a modern conception.

Anyway, the idea of letting the weight of a razor do the work? That falls apart as soon as you move the razor in any other direction than down. Once you do that, you're resisting the weight, not using it.

I’ve been saying this for years. Welcome aboard