Adjusting blade exposure with HD

Good morning gentlemen,

I've used Wilkinson Sword blades for my HD. This goes very well with little irritation or nicks, but i only had 10 of those. I also had 2 packs fo 5 Derby blades, so tried those out aswell. Those Derby ones seem to give me more nicks (are they sharper?) and a pack of 100 blades is coming soon. So, have to find a solution to this!

I've read on this forum several times, that one can snip of the sharp edges of an old blade and put it in together with your new, fresh (cutting) blade. How does this work? Do i put this old and snipped blade under the new fresh blade or on top? And will one old blade make a difference or do i need more of them?

Thanks in advance!

I too have wondered this. Can one you users with the wisdom explain this?


Thanks

It's called shimming, you can also get 10/32 washers to do it. I used to shim with snipped off blades but I don't do it anymore as it is more complex than simply adjusting the blade angle and getting used to the razor.

If you got a TTO, I wouldn't recommend it, though you can try. You put the shim blades in first, then put in your blade and it will give a bigger gap between the safety bar and the blade. The more you add, the bigger the gap gets. I've used upto 6 shims at one point.

If you got the 3piece like I do, or 2 piece, you put in the blade first, then the shims on top of it, then you just screw it tightly.

It was a good experiment. But I decided to learn the razor's personality over trying to shim it. The shave was way too aggressive. I find that a razor works just fine without needing to be shimmed. I'm still a newb, so don't take my word for it, but I tried it as soon as I heard about it.

Why would someone want to do this?

This would make the blade more aggressive leading to a closer shave I imagine. The more open the gap is though should be reflective of that users skill (read: do not try if you aren't ready).

Oh, then i was mistaken. I thought it would make the razor less agressive! Haha. Thanks guys, will try it out though!

Gentleman, I am not sure, wait for a more experienced member to hop in.

If you want to make the razor less aggressive, put the shims first, then the blade, it should bring the blade closer to the safety bar, but make sure you have it done tightly. I have tried both methods, both work, but I don't do it anymore since it's just more variables to play with. It's just better to learn a particular razor's character and then work on the skill/technique with it. Unless you're dealing with an overly sensitive or aggressive razor, I wouldn't try it. But if you like to tinker with dangerous objects like I do, then go for it. It's a razor, not a gun, you will live

The way I see it, shimming is the "poor man's" version of an adjustable razor. Adjustables are designed to allow the user to easily find the preferred blade gap and to change it on the fly if so desired.

A potential worry with shims is blade vibration. In every razor, the blade is stabilized by it resting to some extent on some surface. A shim may reduce that surface and cause the blade to hang in the air, so to say. The reduced stability may very well cause increased vibrations during shaving. Vibrations increase the chances to get nicks and uneven shaves. Ideally, the blade should be totally rigid.

Best - MM

I really wouldn't shim a razor with washers. This changes the pressure points where the cap connects with the handle. If you were to do this, then more (or most) of the pressure will be at the weld where the screw portion on the cap is made. A quick way to break a razor, IMHO.

New2DEShaving_Montreal said:

If you want to make the razor less aggressive, put the shims first, then the blade, it should bring the blade closer to the safety bar, but make sure you have it done tightly. I have tried both methods, both work, but I don't do it anymore since it's just more variables to play with. It's just better to learn a particular razor's character and then work on the skill/technique with it. Unless you're dealing with an overly sensitive or aggressive razor, I wouldn't try it. But if you like to tinker with dangerous objects like I do, then go for it. It's a razor, not a gun, you will live

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Somebody jump in here if I'm off base, but I don't believe this statement is accurate. A razor blade in its normal position rests against the bottom piece of the razor (the piece where the safety bars or combs are located). Putting a shim on top of the blade would merely increase the gap between the blade and the top piece or razor cap.

That's what I did with my Merkur HD, I took a used blade, drew a nice straight line with a ruler on both blade edges, took tin snips and cut off the edges. Then I filed/smoothed the edges with a nail file, so it won't scratch/damage the razor base plate when I tighten down the razor. It works great. I put the blade in first, then the shim on top. The shim shouldn't slide around since it's a used safety razor blade, the the holes are precision made, so it should line up just like the blade underneath. The extra shim gives a tiny bit more blade gap. I found the Merkur HD wasn't giving me close enough shaves no matter what I did. When I put the shim it, it's perfect, shaves closer. I tried putting two shims in, but found the razor too aggressive.

Kyle said:

Somebody jump in here if I'm off base, but I don't believe this statement is accurate. A razor blade in its normal position rests against the bottom piece of the razor (the piece where the safety bars or combs are located). Putting a shim on top of the blade would merely increase the gap between the blade and the top piece or razor cap.

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It may depend on the razor design. I can see that New2DEShaving_Montreal is right for normal Merkur razors, provided the shim is almost as big as the blade itself. The top cap is responsible for bending the blade down towards the safety bar. If you have a shim between the blade and the top cap, the blade gets bent more and ends up closer to the safety bar (smaller gap). However, other parameters change as well, such as the blade angle with respect to the handle. Also, the blade edge gets pushed a bit further into the razor (towards the handle) and is thus less accessible to the skin. All this just demonstrates that shimming is a complex issue. I would say that people might be better served getting a bona fide adjustable, unless they are adventurous and don't mind potentially getting their faces roughed up a bit.

Best - MM

mozart said:

It may depend on the razor design. I can see that New2DEShaving_Montreal is right for normal Merkur razors, provided the shim is almost as big as the blade itself. The top cap is responsible for bending the blade down towards the safety bar. If you have a shim between the blade and the top cap, the blade gets bent more and ends up closer to the safety bar (smaller gap). However, other parameters change as well, such as the blade angle with respect to the handle. Also, the blade edge gets pushed a bit further into the razor (towards the handle) and is thus less accessible to the skin. All this just demonstrates that shimming is a complex issue. I would say that people might be better served getting a bona fide adjustable, unless they are adventurous and don't mind potentially getting their faces roughed up a bit.

Best - MM

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I stand corrected.

After my initial post I went and inspected several of my Merkurs. I think you're right on in stating that the shim would have to be nearly as big as the blade and that the physics of the razor would also be changed. In short and Due to this fact, I would think a fellow would be better off just purchasing a milder razor.

Thanks guys, maybe i just need to take more time, shaving with the Derby blades!

Have a nice evening!

I'm no expert but I have done this. There is no proof whether a razor becomes more aggressive. Maybe it does, or maybe we THINK it does. I don't believe exposing more of the blade makes it cut any better since the actual cutting edge is extremely small. However, I think that if there is more blade exposure, it translates into more aggressiveness because it requires less force due to a smaller angle as opposed to a larger angle where the force applied is spread out over a larger area. The most important thing is the angle of attack. Shimming causes the blade to bend more than necessary, thus it seems more aggressive using a shimmed blade because what it's really doing is digging into your skin.
Even though it creates a larger gap, with a larger surface area and a larger angle, and should be less aggressive because of that, but it's the bending of the blade which gives it larger potential energy along with tensile strength added to the angle of attack on your beard hair, which causes a more aggressive shave.
The blade in the razor needs to be bent just a little bit, enough so that it it will not vibrate or move out of position. The blades are so thin, that if they were not bent a little, they would cause nasty minor abrasions all over the surface area being shaved, the edge almost bouncing around/skipping on the skin, resulting in major razor burn. It needs to be tense enough to not do that which is why it's bent. It's bent enough so that you can angle the blade properly and shave but not too much so you will end up digging into your skin every time.
Anyways, shimming involves too many variables. I have tried it, and I'll just say it's better to practice with the razor you've got. I had a Weishi, and found it to be too soft and a steeper angle was required to cut, so I just gave it away and got an open comb merkur.
If you like to tinker with stuff, definitely go for the shim and see how it works for you. You may like it, you may not.
As for using the washers, it's not recommended. It's just convenient but he's right, it will cause your razor to get destroyed and the pressure point on the blade will not be uniform. I don't recommend using a washer, but I've tried it. So if I said it works, it works, but if I said I recommend it, then I apologize, just really tired from weekend activities with the wife

New2DEShaving_Montreal said:

I'm no expert but I have done this. There is no proof whether a razor becomes more aggressive. Maybe it does, or maybe we THINK it does. I don't believe exposing more of the blade makes it cut any better since the actual cutting edge is extremely small. However, I think that if there is more blade exposure, it translates into more aggressiveness because it requires less force due to a smaller angle as opposed to a larger angle where the force applied is spread out over a larger area. The most important thing is the angle of attack. Shimming causes the blade to bend more than necessary, thus it seems more aggressive using a shimmed blade because what it's really doing is digging into your skin.
Even though it creates a larger gap, with a larger surface area and a larger angle, and should be less aggressive because of that, but it's the bending of the blade which gives it larger potential energy along with tensile strength added to the angle of attack on your beard hair, which causes a more aggressive shave.

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I am not sure if I totally understand your force argument, but I think your overall conclusion is not quite right.

Exposing more of the blade (larger gap) makes a razor more aggressive (not less), because it allows steeper angles (relative to the skin surface) to be used. With a larger gap, one can set the angle such that the blade will dig into the skin (or scrape along it). Also, shaving curved areas (chin, neck, around the mouth) becomes more treacherous.

For Merkur razors and similar designs, when the shim is put between the safety bar and the blade in order to increase the blade gap, the blade is actually not bent further. So, all you end up with is a larger gap and thus a more aggressively behaving razor as explained above. Only when the shim is put in between the blade and the top cap will the blade bend more. This will result in shallower angles and thus a less aggressive razor (not more).

Sometimes, less is more, and more is less

Ah, perhaps you are right, I just thought of all the variables involved that offset certain other variables. But in conclusion, I state that there's really no need for the shims but rather the emphasis be put on the technique required to get a decent shave...but yeah, it's a great discussion!

Indeed, shims, or adjustable razors are probably something that one can play around with once one has the technique down. These variations of normal razor designs usually have incremental effects but won't make a night or day difference. Although, after hearing that a 1-degree change in blade angle has a significant effect on the resulting shave (as stated in the National Geography documentary on safety razors, if my memory serves me right), I won't discount small changes that easily anymore.

Best - MM

Thanks for the effort guys! I have very good shaves with the Wilkinson Sword in the HD, so will stick to that. Will use my Derby's in the Mergress that is coming up!