Can you make a DE razor more aggressive

Say a person has a Merker 34 and he likes it but wants a little more closeness out of it.

( lets figure he has checked out blades and still desires a closer shave)


It there a procedure that one can use to make it more aggressive -
Has this ever been done ?
Has this ever been discussed ? links ?

This is when you explore the realm of SE razors like the Gem 1912 or Micromatic and find that they shave a lot closer than any DE could.

Open comb Gillette NEW from the 1930s shave good too though if you wanna stick DE.

Of course then there's straights...I won't go there.

Try the Futur, you can open that up pretty wide.

Loosen the handle a quarter turn, then shave VERY carefully.

Go West Young Man said:

Loosen the handle a quarter turn, then shave VERY carefully.

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Or a half turn. i do this on a regular basis. I shave with the razor normally on my neck, upper lip, and chin. But for the jawline and rest of the face I do the half-twist trick. I get a very close shave. Be careful when you do this as the razor is much more aggressive then. My Edwin Jagger razor came with a little "how to shave" sheet that suggested the handle twist for aggressiveness trick (amoung other things).

The other thing you can do is take one (or more) old razor blades. Then cut off the sharp edges with a pair of scissors and stack then underneath a new blade. The stack then creates a bigger gap when you clamp it all down. You can adjust the gap by adding more or less modified blades underneath.

IMHO, more agressive razors don't necessarily give you a closer shave. They only alow you a greater range of angles that the razor will still shave. Less agressive razors (e.g. vintage Gillettes) will still shave close, you just can't be too far off the optimal angle. That said, my recomendations would be:

• Work on your technique. I bet your shaves will get better.
• Put stints on the posts of your 34c as suggested by Masterblaster. I've even heard of people getting small washers from the hardware store to open the gap. Just make sure you do it evenly on both sides.
• Try a straight. This is what I did.

everyone

thank you

you can also make a shim. they were a rage with old-style heads a year or two ago.

just get a used blade, cut off the edges and then out it below the good blade. that way it changes the angle

mdunn said:

you can also make a shim. they were a rage with old-style heads a year or two ago.

just get a used blade, cut off the edges and then out it below the good blade. that way it changes the angle

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I tried your suggestion .

WOW

Was very pleased with the results. I was in fact surprised at how much difference it made I mean a razor blade shim ( not very thick ) -- but not only did it do what I was looking for ( give me a super close shave ), it made some blades I had and wasn't too impressed with preform in a whole new satisfactory manner.

Two surprises after one modification.

Again thanks for the advice

mbrossar said:

IMHO, more agressive razors don't necessarily give you a closer shave. They only alow you a greater range of angles that the razor will still shave. Less agressive razors (e.g. vintage Gillettes) will still shave close, you just can't be too far off the optimal angle. That said, my recomendations would be:
...[/LIST]

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My feeling is that a more aggressive razor will remove more stubble in a single pass than a mild razor will. Agreed that you can get a very close shave with a mild razor, but IME it takes an extra pass.

To solve this problem for myself, I bought a Slim adjustable. I use it at 5 for the first pass and then dial it down to 3 for the second pass. This results in a CCS. A little touch-up produces DFS. I don't shoot for BBS and I never do an ATG pass.

Today was the first time I got a one pass shave that was good enough for the quick shave I took.

If doing a ritual shave and taking some time to do it right and making more than one pass it would have been awesome .


This is going to work well for me -- only downside is fussing with the shim during blade exchanges , a small price to pay .

Disburden said:

This is when you explore the realm of SE razors like the Gem 1912 or Micromatic and find that they shave a lot closer than any DE could.

Open comb Gillette NEW from the 1930s shave good too though if you wanna stick DE.

Of course then there's straights...I won't go there.

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You still may want to look into a SE shave as well.
Glad the shim is working for you.
John

I find that I can get an equally close shave from either my SE or DE razors.

mdunn said:

you can also make a shim. they were a rage with old-style heads a year or two ago.

just get a used blade, cut off the edges and then out it below the good blade. that way it changes the angle

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What would you use to cut off the edges that won't bend the blade?

Phil1-6 said:

What would you use to cut off the edges that won't bend the blade?

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A pair of kitchen scissors will do.

Newcastle Neil said:

A pair of kitchen scissors will do.

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Don't tell your wife you are doing this.