DE Gillette Super Click featuring Fusion Flexball- something old, something new

[ErkRusselReserve]

Pulling with the 4.0 is definitely different than pushing. Still getting a feel for it. A 16 hour shave made me think Bic CP may be too sharp. Getting some unusual irritation that may be related to overshaving. But crazy close shave. I’ll try Wizamet for a few days and see how it goes.

Also, I may need to sand down some plastic bits. There seems to be something touching when the pivot is activated.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Pulling is the way to go. BBS with a Wizamet. Even on hard to shave hair on my throat. Kinda crazy.

Will switch back to Bic in a few days when my technique is more locked in. Really great shave.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Glassyface smooth shave today. BBS cheeks, face and neck. I am really onto something.

I tried attaching a Super Click to a Kai Xfit head and it was a nogo. I am not sure if it is blade issue or geometry issue. Some tinkering may be needed, or it might just be a bad match.

I'd love to try this head on the vibrating handle or even try to convert a heated handle as well.

Also, I just took delivery of a few more Clicks. Is a PIF in order?

 

[rbscebu]

Simply amazing and I love your ingenuity. Mind you, it still doesn't get me over my fear of "safety" razors. I'll stick with my straight razors.

 

[Babou]

E=MC²

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Two pass hung over shave with a fresh authentic Bic CP. Glorious dolphin clean DFS+. Still a bit of hair on a ATG touch, but it murdered those hairs on the WTG and XTG. Probably exfoliated a fair few skin cells as well.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Here are some pictures of the v4. You can see that the head is much higher on the cart, so the blade is above/behind the forward pivot when shaving. Thus the blades are pulled (like a Leaf) rather than pushed (like an Atra).

At least with this rig, pulling the blade is better than pushing.

 

[Slapo]

If glueing a head onto a cart head works, I reckon one could yank out the blades, glue a piece of plastic (e.g. from a blank card) with an M5 sized hole to the bladeless cart head, and screw any DE head to it using a nut.

In fact, I might give that a try. Not sure I have a Dremel M5 bit, but a slightly larger one should work, too.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

The weight might be an issue, but give it a go! The China Tech might be the answer though.

If glueing a head onto a cart head works, I reckon one could yank out the blades, glue a piece of plastic (e.g. from a blank card) with an M5 sized hole to the bladeless cart head, and screw any DE head to it using a nut.

In fact, I might give that a try. Not sure I have a Dremel M5 bit, but a slightly larger one should work, too.

 

[Slapo]

The weight might be an issue, but give it a go! The China Tech might be the answer though.

I was actually going to try it on a BiC I have, but turns out that to keep pivot, something like Harry's should be better. So I orded one of those to experiment with.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

I was actually going to try it on a BiC I have, but turns out that to keep pivot, something like Harry's should be better. So I orded one of those to experiment with.

Nice. Keep us updated. I am traveling right now, when I get back I will play around with a China Tech head. Maybe with a washer and washer or try to use the metal handle part of the handle.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Today's shave was with a Vietnam Gillette Super Thin (with Japan flag). It was a premium shave similar to with a genuine Bic CP. Sharp and smooth, the best Gillette I have used to date and superior to the Russian and Indian ones I have experienced. The same blade in a FOCS gave me lots of weepers. I think there is something to a blade being dragged rather than pushed. Think about pushing a wheeled luggage vs pulling.

Also, are these blade unique in that they are Gillette blades made with Japanese steel?

Gillette engineers talk about "drag" in their white paper. The forward pivot receives the drag rather than blades. Also, the head of the Super Click is pretty big, so the load is also distributed (although it is not the whole thing touching you face).

More info here (a great read):

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ics.12330

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Based on Slapo's inspiration, I built a Metal version with a Gillette Super Blue cap. It is a bit more slimlined than the plastic, but I had to move everything up even more to account for the screw. I do not have any M5 nuts lying around, so a Gillette Super Blue handle was sacrificed.

The big lunk of metal is a bit of a counterweight, so the spring doesn't do well in WTG and XYG passes. However, it is a WEIGHT on ATG passes when shaving up! I did a combo shave today. The v4 on down and side passes, the Metal on up passes. Very excellent shave! If I ever get some M5 nuts, I'll have to reevaluate things.

Also, I just took delivery of a razor that has not two, but three pivots. THREE! It will be a further evolution of this project. More info later.

 

[Slapo]

Based on Slapo's inspiration, I built a Metal version with a Gillette Super Blue cap. It is a bit more slimlined than the plastic, but I had to move everything up even more to account for the screw. I do not have any M5 nuts lying around, so a Gillette Super Blue handle was sacrificed.

The big lunk of metal is a bit of a counterweight, so the spring doesn't do well in WTG and XYG passes. However, it is a WEIGHT on ATG passes when shaving up! I did a combo shave today. The v4 on down and side passes, the Metal on up passes. Very excellent shave! If I ever get some M5 nuts, I'll have to reevaluate things.

Also, I just took delivery of a razor that has not two, but three pivots. THREE! It will be a further evolution of this project. More info later.

I actually bought a few carts and today I realised I forgot to buy M5 nuts, so I have some on the way.

However, I have mutilated a Mach 3 cart head, removing the blades and, using a crafting knife, the plastic middle bar behind the blades.
I have also bought the three bladed Tesco cart, but the way the blades are secured in the head made them too difficult for me to extract, and I ended up giving up on it.

I was a bit surprised how much rougher the Mach 3 was during a shave than I remembered it being. I actually bought two, one from Amazon (with a "3D" handle) and another one from Tesco (with a "standard" handle). The blade on the "standard" one was actually marginally smoother, but both a good bit behind a Personna injector blade and a Gillette Platinum DE blade that I trialled them against in the same shave.

I bought Harry's to try it on as well, but that was a bit daft, as even from the pictures, I should've been able to see that blade removal would be problematic. As it turned out, I wasn't able to take the head apart.

I have also modified a Gillette Labs "exfoliating" razor head similarly to the Mach 3 head, but there's a little more plastic around the middle bar, and this would require either a longer thread, or some filing. I don't think

The Mach 3 head is pretty promising, the Gillette Labs head less so. I was able to screw on a Pearl blade head (using its handle, so not usable for shaving) onto the Mach 3 head, though.

Nuts should arrive later this week, so I'll post an update once I've had a chance to try them on.

 

[Slapo]

I should also add that when examining the pivot mechanism of Harry's razor, I'm starting to think that perhaps there might be similar a way of having a two-way pivot mechanism that standard M5 DE heads could use, but the design could be a little tricky.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

I actually bought a few carts and today I realised I forgot to buy M5 nuts, so I have some on the way.

However, I have mutilated a Mach 3 cart head, removing the blades and, using a crafting knife, the plastic middle bar behind the blades.
I have also bought the three bladed Tesco cart, but the way the blades are secured in the head made them too difficult for me to extract, and I ended up giving up on it.

I was a bit surprised how much rougher the Mach 3 was during a shave than I remembered it being. I actually bought two, one from Amazon (with a "3D" handle) and another one from Tesco (with a "standard" handle). The blade on the "standard" one was actually marginally smoother, but both a good bit behind a Personna injector blade and a Gillette Platinum DE blade that I trialled them against in the same shave.

I bought Harry's to try it on as well, but that was a bit daft, as even from the pictures, I should've been able to see that blade removal would be problematic. As it turned out, I wasn't able to take the head apart.

I have also modified a Gillette Labs "exfoliating" razor head similarly to the Mach 3 head, but there's a little more plastic around the middle bar, and this would require either a longer thread, or some filing. I don't think

The Mach 3 head is pretty promising, the Gillette Labs head less so. I was able to screw on a Pearl blade head (using its handle, so not usable for shaving) onto the Mach 3 head, though.

Nuts should arrive later this week, so I'll post an update once I've had a chance to try them on.

Damn, sound fascinating. Yes, the middle bar on the Gillette heads could possibly be removed. Spacing issues with nuts and bolts stopped me from doing so. Looking forward to your creations!

I just shaved with a Feather F3 Samrai. Real good shave. Solid and smooth. It has two pivots plus a floating head. Once the first cart gets a few more shaves on it, I will convert it to a DE Super Click. Some guys get 50 shaves with this cart, it would be a shame to cut its life too short. The Feather F3 Samrai is very quiet, the Gillettes are too damn loud.

More info on the Samrai: Feather F3 Shaving Razor - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/feather-f3-shaving-razor.550759/

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

I should also add that when examining the pivot mechanism of Harry's razor, I'm starting to think that perhaps there might be similar a way of having a two-way pivot mechanism that standard M5 DE heads could use, but the design could be a little tricky.

I am especially curious about the Mach 3D. The handle slewing pivot seems intriguing.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Will two blades fit in a Super Click? First a Kai, then a Bic. I learned this from a Twig experiment. The two blades are slightly offset, so they can act as a "Twin" blade.

Will it give a closer shave? Will it destroy the Super Click?

Will I die? If I don't post anymore, then maybe I have.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

No, no, no. Two blades in a Super Click is a no go. Super tuggy and lack of cutting power. Took out the Kai and just used the Bic and it was smooth sailing.

Wish there was an OC Super Click. That would be even better. Also, I wish there was a way to increase the tension on the up/down spring. Its a really good shave as is, but that would increase the efficiency.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

In light of looking for more tension, I pulled the trigger on sacrificing a Feather F3 Samrai cart as well as another Super Click. This is what I have made, I will give it a go tomorrow. The Samrai came out in 2015/6 so it is a few years more advanced than the Gillette Flexball. The Gillette Labs may be even better, but I don't have access to one of those.

Again, I might die, so if there is radio silence, it was nice knowing you ;p