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3D-printed R41 top caps discussion

In the Hobbyist section, Aimsport has just announced a venture in which he is offering two beta versions of 3D-printed top caps for the R41. Please go read his Hobbyist post for more information. I was surprised to see no discussion thread on the project here in the DE sub-forum, so I'm starting one now.
The basic idea is that Aimsport has created these new top caps as a type of research project. Although the R41 is not a mainstay razor in my rotation, I could not resist the opportunity to be a lab rat. I ordered both of the beta caps and I'm quite excited to try them out.
Aimsport is about to use me to conduct shaving experiments!:ohmy:
 
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Yup ... I am surprised nobody started this before. Well, as I told #6 via e-mail, even before this was publicly announced, I am hoping this will be a great success, and I can't wait to start reading some reviews and opinions on these two caps.

I will be interested in a metal version when it becomes available, but at this point the cost of the 3D printed cap shipped to Europe is the same as the Rosegold R41 here in Europe, so ... I'll let you guys be the guinea pig this time. :thumbup:
 
I messaged Aimsport with my submission to be put in the pool. Hopefully they'll let me get in on this! I read about it I think earlier this week but thought it was already long over so didn't bother asking.
 
I also went ahead and ordered both, and apparently the items have shipped, so hope to have some feedback for the group by early next week.



Todd R.
 
Subscribed! Although the price for a piece of plastic which maybe doesn't last the heat from the shower is too high at this point (and being in Europe) the whole topic is interesting and I hope there will be metal versions.
 
Unfortunately he is using a third party to print the products for him so he is a middle man and the costs are higher because of that. If he was able to print the part himself it would drop costs substantially. I am an engineer and personally own a desktop 3D printer so I am familiar with the process, materials and cost. I have printed myself some random razor parts as the 3D printed world is very interesting with endless possibilities.

I personally think it is a great idea and will be very nice if people know what to expect from 3D printed parts. Educating consumers on a newer technology will be his biggest hurdle.
 
The caps are a few cents less than $20 each plus S/H.
For me, DE shaving is a hobby. I know the beta caps won't last, but I'm willing to spend $44 for science. I packed my lunch 4 out of 5 days this week, so I'm close to being even!
 
A few months ago I did something similar. I found that although the printed part is very accurate it flexes when you tighten the handle down. It does give you an idea of how the cap will work if made with metal. At the time the folks at shapeways would not guarantee the accuracy on any material other than the detail plastics. The parts are created as molten layers. The screw post of one of my caps snapped off clean the first time i tried using it, right at the base layer of the screw post (as if the layer did not fuse properly). I did mine in Black detail and white detail as the frost detail is supposed to be more brittle.
 
A few months ago I did something similar. I found that although the printed part is very accurate it flexes when you tighten the handle down. It does give you an idea of how the cap will work if made with metal. At the time the folks at shapeways would not guarantee the accuracy on any material other than the detail plastics. The parts are created as molten layers. The screw post of one of my caps snapped off clean the first time i tried using it, right at the base layer of the screw post (as if the layer did not fuse properly). I did mine in Black detail and white detail as the frost detail is supposed to be more brittle.

I know nothing about 3D printing. That said, since these are beta caps, I am not expecting heirloom longevity. Given your experience, I will be very careful once I get the caps.
The most important question, Avincenty, is: were you able to get a good shave with any of your 3D-printed caps?
 
Very interesting thread…. and very cool thing for #6 to be doing. I very much enjoyed reading through his post in the hobbyist thread.

A question, if I may, and I don't mean to bring up a bad point here, but………… does #6 run the risk of finding himself in a lawsuit with Muhle? I don't think you can just go print copies of a manufacturer's product. BUT this is very exciting and I'm not trying to take away from this at all. I think it's a very cool idea and I'm very excited to see what happens with it.

I have a perfectly good metal 2011 so I haven't yet ordered one of these :lol:, but I'll be watching this closely, for sure! The 2011 is one of my favorite razors ever. If this "brings it back" again, that's something really special!
 
A question, if I may, and I don't mean to bring up a bad point here, but………… does #6 run the risk of finding himself in a lawsuit with Muhle? I don't think you can just go print copies of a manufacturer's product.

I asked him the exact same thing. #6 says these are not copies, they are a different product, etc ... I am not sure how these things work though, so if he says it's OK, I trust he knows what he's doing ... :lol:
 
I made two cap versions but not for a 2011 r41, for my own base. However the caps will fit many razors and will interact differently with every base. In my case, i attempted to make one aggressive and one milder. The aggressive, with the cap flex made it much more aggressive than a 2011 and gave me an excellent wtg pass. Didnt dare try xtg, way to much blade exposure. The milder cap worked really nicely as it was still very aggressive but smoother than the 2011 and 2013.
 
I've received the caps, and have had one shave each. I need to adjust technique a bit, before I start writing much. I can say they are more efficient than a 2013 R41...
 
I ordered both the Spitfire (2011 R41 clone) and Hurricane (supposedly a kinder 2011 R41).

Initially playing with the Spitfire. Here's the cap:
$Spitfire cap.jpg

Comparison to the 2011 R41 cap:
$2011 Compare.jpg

Looks pretty close in dimensions. Now compare to the 2013:
$2013 Compare.jpg

2013 cap is larger, compared to the Spitfire. All good.

Now, the Spitfire placed a 2013 Muhle Rosegold:
$Spitfire.jpg

Nice fit. Oh, and the blade is a Personna Lab Blue.

Results of the first shave on the next post...



Todd R.
 
The shave with the Spitfire.

We're only dealing with about 20 hours of beard growth, much less than my typical 2011 R41 - I usually won't go with this razor (or the 2013 for that matter) unless I have about 36 hours. I've actually found both the '11 and '13 R41s to behave similarly, although with my steep angle, that may not be much of a surprise. I actually think the '11 shaves (for me) a bit closer, and with negligible difference in comfort, I think the 2011 is my choice, although I only shave with it periodically as I prefer a slightly less aggressive shave on a daily basis.

So with the limited growth to deal with, I shower beforehand, and then use a glycerin-based pre-shave soap to get the beard prepped. The gear today:
$Setup.jpg
B&B veterans and newbies alike will probably recognize the blade and the soap. The brush is LA Shaving Company's Basic Synthetic Shaving Brush, affectionately known to my wife and I as "Stubby," an amazingly dense, comfortable, and efficient face-lathering beast that John graciously provided me when I took his new BBS-1 concept razor for a recent test run.

The lather was amazing, not surprisingly, and I take some extra time to face lather as my beard growth really isn't that substantial, particularly as yesterday's shave was with my new HTGAM Symmetry Open Comb, a revelatory and affordable razor that provides some of the closest shaves this side of the R41. I was going to wait until Sunday to test-drive the Spitfire, but impatience superseded common sense, so I decided I would opt for a single pass - perhaps not the greatest test, but it would at least give me blatant feedback about alignment and other factors.

Single-pass shaves are rare for me. With more efficient/aggressive razors, I can usually get by with two solid passes and some touch-up work. Still, my experience with the '11 R41 is that I always get more taken off with the initial pass, so the core face (cheeks/chin) comparison should be easy. I opted for WTG on the face - and while I would normally do WTG on my neck for the first pass, I decided I would do a combo beard growth effort, leveraging WTG/XTG/ATG where needed.

The experience was, not surprisingly, just like the R41. Audible feedback. Ridiculously close with no pressure. A couple of minor weepers, one a result of slicing off something that didn't belong anyway. :) The cap felt natural and there were no issues with alignment. The result, which even shocked me, was close to BBS - not just a reflection on the Spitfire, but more aligned with the power of the R41.

An afterthought: When I mentioned to my wife that I had just shaved with a 3D-printed cap, she cocked her head and looked at me as if I had just reported an alien encounter. I'm hard-pressed to believe how far technology has come myself, and while this is only a beta product with who-knows-what as a life span, I have to say I'm blown away that I was on the receiving end of a very '11 R41-ish shave.



Todd R.
 
So basically the cap gives you blade exposure comparable to the 2011?

Looking at those pictures, reminds me of something I posted back in March, in the Beast thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...-of-the-Muhle-R41-BEAST?p=6088878#post6088878

Never posted the results of that experience, IIRC the results were pretty good, but not noticeably better than with the stock cap.

I would equate this with a 2011 R41 shave in terms of exposure and performance. And I guess the driver would be, if you can't get your hands on that 2011 given that the supply has dried up, this would ultimately be a viable replacement.

The "Part B" to all of this is how the Hurricane (the other cap I acquired) will behave - supposedly as efficient as the Spitfire, but with less "bite" per designer notes. I think that was probably the intent with the 2013 R41, but I personally didn't think the 2013 really felt any different than the 2011. Others will likely disagree. :)



Todd
 
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