How to: Get rid of your Weber wavy blade for under $4 and 10 minutes!!!!!
- Thread starter Jinx18
- Start date
Ok, this is in the spirit of fun, I am an engineer and I can't help it. As I mentioned last night, I leveled the bars with a waterstone and got rid of the irregular wave in the blade but was left with a distinct smile. I suspected the top cap. Today I replaced the top cap with an EJ DE89, which is very similar in design. No smile, blade is straight on both sides. My weber top cap will rock back and forth if I put the part that contacts the blade on a smooth surface due to a high center. One side is more severe than the other and it corresponds to the side that has the most pronounced U curve in the blade.
Again, I like the razor and have no intension of sending it back, especially after milling the bars
, but I think I have solved the mysterious smile, at least in my case.
Again, I like the razor and have no intension of sending it back, especially after milling the bars
, but I think I have solved the mysterious smile, at least in my case.
My theory is the baseplate gets wavy or worn down more on the ends during the polishing process. If they're polishing by hand on a wheel, I certainly see how this could happen. I believe the standard way of making parts like this is to polish first, then machine critical surfaces to their final dimensions. My guess is Weber is polishing last and that's how this happens. Also why there's some variation between different individual razors.
Sounds like the company might be going through some growing pains.
I'm interested in their razor, but will wait a while to see if this issue gets addressed.
I'm interested in their razor, but will wait a while to see if this issue gets addressed.
I tend to agree with the theory that they've been polished to irregularity.
Mine's flat on the bars and cap and even on both sides to within a 10 thousandth or so.
I purchased it in early 2014.
Ps: It does feel more aggressive than most of my other razors - but this is mostly due to the weight. Ie: if I put the weber heavy handle on the other razors then they are almost as aggressive. If I concentrate on using no pressure (ie: the razor doesn't dent the skin as it glides along) then the weber's aggressiveness disappears.
I purchased it in early 2014.
Ps: It does feel more aggressive than most of my other razors - but this is mostly due to the weight. Ie: if I put the weber heavy handle on the other razors then they are almost as aggressive. If I concentrate on using no pressure (ie: the razor doesn't dent the skin as it glides along) then the weber's aggressiveness disappears.
I am a big fan of the Weber Polished Head Stainless Steel Razor but was always disappointed in the quality of the head. I bought one months ago and the blade was very wavy. I contacted Weber and they exchanged it for me. The next one was better but it still bothered me. I ended up selling it. I recently have become intrigued with it again so I bought another. Again the blade was slightly wavy although not as bad as my original. I decided to fix it myself.
The issue:
The rails that the blade line up against are not perfectly flat. This causes the blade to have an inconstant gap along the blade. So to fix it the goal is to level that out.
Test:
To see if you have this problem you can load a blade and take a good look at how the blade sits. Is the gap even across the blade or is it wavy and inconsistent? This is the most obvious test. Another thing is to take the baseplate and lay it on a hard flat surface on the rails. Most likely it will rock back and forth slightly due to the rails being uneven.
What you need:
- Weber Polished Head Razor
- Hard, Flat Surface. I used my bathroom countertop.
- Cup of Water
- 1500 grit Wet/Dry Sandpaper
Process:
- Lay the sandpaper on hard flat surface.
- Pour some water on the sand paper.
- Dip the base plate in water and place on sandpaper.
What you are going to do is keep the sandpaper stationary on the counter and move the baseplate. Use light, consistent, and even pressure. You will sand parallel to the rails. Back and forth in the direction of the green arrows. Do not go the other direction. Try to be a even and symmetric as possible.
- GO SLOW. After 10-20 strokes dry off the baseplate and assemble the razor with a blade and see how it looks. Test if the baseplate still wobbles on a hard flat surface.
- I was able to get rid of the wobble and get the blade much improved in as little as 30 seconds.
- It will take a little longer to get it perfectly straight.
- GO SLOW.
- Sand slightly, reassemble razor and check blade.
- Make sure the sandpaper is always wet. Add water if needed.
- Continue sanding and checking until you are happy with the new blade alignment.
Enjoy your new straight blade Weber!
Question... Does this remedy to remove the 'Weber Wave' make the razor any more or less aggressive? Or is there no noticeable difference in the shave? I may be wrong, but removing a small bit of metal looks like it may make the razor a slight bit more aggressive and give a little more blade exposure. Thoughts?
The issue:
The rails that the blade line up against are not perfectly flat. This causes the blade to have an inconstant gap along the blade. So to fix it the goal is to level that out.
Test:
To see if you have this problem you can load a blade and take a good look at how the blade sits. Is the gap even across the blade or is it wavy and inconsistent? This is the most obvious test. Another thing is to take the baseplate and lay it on a hard flat surface on the rails. Most likely it will rock back and forth slightly due to the rails being uneven.
What you need:
- Weber Polished Head Razor
- Hard, Flat Surface. I used my bathroom countertop.
- Cup of Water
- 1500 grit Wet/Dry Sandpaper
Process:
- Lay the sandpaper on hard flat surface.
- Pour some water on the sand paper.
- Dip the base plate in water and place on sandpaper.
What you are going to do is keep the sandpaper stationary on the counter and move the baseplate. Use light, consistent, and even pressure. You will sand parallel to the rails. Back and forth in the direction of the green arrows. Do not go the other direction. Try to be a even and symmetric as possible.
- GO SLOW. After 10-20 strokes dry off the baseplate and assemble the razor with a blade and see how it looks. Test if the baseplate still wobbles on a hard flat surface.
- I was able to get rid of the wobble and get the blade much improved in as little as 30 seconds.
- It will take a little longer to get it perfectly straight.
- GO SLOW.
- Sand slightly, reassemble razor and check blade.
- Make sure the sandpaper is always wet. Add water if needed.
- Continue sanding and checking until you are happy with the new blade alignment.
Enjoy your new straight blade Weber!
Question... Does this remedy to remove the 'Weber Wave' make the razor any more or less aggressive? Or is there no noticeable difference in the shave? I may be wrong, but removing a small bit of metal looks like it may make the razor a slight bit more aggressive and give a little more blade exposure. Thoughts?
hmmm, I'll try to say this in a respectful manner. This thread is ridiculous!
If Weber can't fix their production problems, are disrespectful and ignore valid customer concerns, they don't deserve to be in business, PERIOD!
If Weber can't fix their production problems, are disrespectful and ignore valid customer concerns, they don't deserve to be in business, PERIOD!
- Thread starter
- #50
There is no appreciable difference in aggressiveness. If anything by removing material you are making the gap smaller and the razor less aggressive.
Checked mine today for the hell of it (I have been using it for about a year with a great shave). The blade is straight to my eyes.
Only thing I noticed is the base plate is not a square but has an angle top part so the blade is not touching a corner but an entire flat surface as a support. So sanding, if not needed, is actually not what I would consider a good idea. You would be removing the peaks which provide support to the blade and make it potentially less stiff. So modify at your peril.
Only thing I noticed is the base plate is not a square but has an angle top part so the blade is not touching a corner but an entire flat surface as a support. So sanding, if not needed, is actually not what I would consider a good idea. You would be removing the peaks which provide support to the blade and make it potentially less stiff. So modify at your peril.
- Thread starter
- #52
The blade does not sit on that angled rail flat. It is bent over the top corner. There is no harm in sanding. Also you are not sanding it square in any shape way or form. You are taking an extremely small amount of material away.
Thanks for this thread, was thinking a long time ago that I was one of a very few and being paranoid (even though I know I wasn't). I had complained that the top cap had a lot of scratching from not being polished enough and the blade gap was uneven across the edge (shows wider gaps at the end and narrower in the middle. I sent off the head completely (top cap and base plate) only to have just the top cap replaced but Ed said he couldn't see any problem. Don't know why both weren't changed and still have a gap issue so may have to try this as I hardly use the Weber due to rough shaves which my Merkur 34C HD doesn't do.
Customer is always right especially if more complain about the same problem and you see ALL the complaints. Easier to ignore the problem but if they can't output precise heads then stick to handles.
Do the rails show any sign of wear after attempting to even them out with wet and dry or are they still polished?
Customer is always right especially if more complain about the same problem and you see ALL the complaints. Easier to ignore the problem but if they can't output precise heads then stick to handles.
Do the rails show any sign of wear after attempting to even them out with wet and dry or are they still polished?
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