I re-checked both of my Webers this morning, perfect alignment & the blades are held firm, with no "wiggle" room at all. Neither of my Webers suffer from wavy blade sydrome either. I guess I was lucky.
DE razors with zero play, goof-proof alignment?
- Thread starter shawnsel
- Start date
I re-checked both of my Webers this morning, perfect alignment & the blades are held firm, with no "wiggle" room at all. Neither of my Webers suffer from wavy blade sydrome either. I guess I was lucky.
My PH and DLC Webers don't have the wavy blade either.
I should clarify that the alignment issue I mentioned is definitely not significant, and in fact it is almost not worth mentioning. I can practically load a perfectly-aligned blade into my Weber in my sleep. My point is that the Wolfman and AS-D2 have given me a new frame of reference when it comes to blade alignment.
If I wanted to, I could misalign a blade in my Weber. Not so with my Wolfman or AS-D2.
I expect such of modern razors. Something I note with these razors with zero play, each person expresses confidently that their blade alignment is "perfect". My guess is they're determining this by eye. I feel similarly confident with the vintage razors that need manual alignment by eye once so aligned.
That said I do like the consistency that a Wolfman achieves each and every time and all modern DE razors should be held to this frame of reference and either pass or fail.
There is a huge difference between play in the blade when sitting on the top cap and misalignment when loaded. For example when the blade is flat the alignment holes the pins go through is at its largest. As the blade bends when loaded to the shape of the top cap those holes are getting smaller. The RazoRock Baby Smooth bends the blade a lot. It has to have some play when the blade is sitting unloaded because as you tighten the razor and the blade bends and fits snugly on the posts having a properly aligned and loaded blade every time. Without that play the blade would bind or possibly even bend when tightened.
This seems like a silly thing to keep a list for as play in the blade when not in use is not any indication of blade alignment.
This seems like a silly thing to keep a list for as play in the blade when not in use is not any indication of blade alignment.
- Thread starter
- #85
Just a clarification, and I might be misunderstanding ... but what I'm really wanting to make a list of is razors that are impossible to load (fully tightened down and ready for use) with a misalignment (probably not even a tenth of a mm). Does this make more sense then?
Yes definitely. I think other people may have been assuming that blade play before loading would lead to misalignment. I understand what you mean.
I have just been using my eyes to judge if my razors are aligned or not, I don't think I could detect "not even a tenth of a mm" misalignment, even with my reading glasses on. I better go out & purchase an electron microscope
!+1I have just been using my eyes to judge if my razors are aligned or not, I don't think I could detect "not even a tenth of a mm" misalignment, even with my reading glasses on. I better go out & purchase an electron microscope
I think some of us don't even realize how small 1/10 of a mm is. In fact I'm convinced that none of us can spot such a tiny misalignment, unless, as mentioned above, you load your razor under an electron microscope.
I could be wrong though.
I could be wrong though.
- Thread starter
- #90
Here's my $15 electron microscope:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024JMXQY/
It works really well as a shaving mirror too
That said, it's easier to see if the safety guard has to have a good straight line on it to compare against.
To me the question isn't if we can determine a tenth of a mm misalignment, but if the difference is significant in shaving. See post #55 above for my rationale behind that question.
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Because of the curvature of the head, the slit in the blade gradually narrows as the blade is getting tightened up. The blade SHOULD play a bit before tightening and should have zero play RIGHT BEFORE it is tightened up. If the geometry of the head is perfect, you will have a perfect alignment.
Shawn,
ATT blade misalignments seriously?
You are looking for microbes in a football field.
Anyone using a high end razor knows to align their razor blade.
I'd look instead to the entry razors that have very bad blade alignment and cause nicks and cuts.
Some of the Cadet type razors are very bad and should be watched by the novice very carefully.
Thanks,
Curt
ATT blade misalignments seriously?
You are looking for microbes in a football field.
Anyone using a high end razor knows to align their razor blade.
I'd look instead to the entry razors that have very bad blade alignment and cause nicks and cuts.
Some of the Cadet type razors are very bad and should be watched by the novice very carefully.
Thanks,
Curt
- Thread starter
- #93
This was never about ATT ... I just used ATT as an example that I could speak towards from personal experience. I apologize if I offended other ATT fans (I definitely count myself as one).
While I do wonder if new-to-DE shavers could get a bad shave from a worst-typical ATT alignment, I do agree that it is easy to align. Also, experienced DE shavers would likely compensate without even realizing it.
And while I'm not certain if everyone knows to align a razor... I agree that this "perfect alignment list" is infeasible.
Attempting to make this list has led me to believe that to make it fair and meaningful it would probably require measurements ... and this is a tricky thing to measure.
I like your idea about trying to collect a list of razors with "dangerous misalignments" (or whatever it would be called), but I fear that might be likely to upset fans of those razor (even more so than this thread has), and it too might end up requiring measurements to be fair and meaningful....
For now I think I'm going to just drop this "perfect alignment list" project ... but thanks to all who provided input!
Cheers,
Shawn
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Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I know this is an old thread, but it remains timely.
It is very hard to improperly align a blade on the Feather AS-D2 but someone can do it. That someone would be me.
Luckily I noticed the misalignment before I shaved. I always visually inspect the blade before shaving.
Yes, I agree the Feather AS-D2 is almost idiot proof.
Truthfully, I'm not at all sure how I messed up its blade alignment. The razor clearly indicates when the blade is in position on the top cap. I would say I was badly hung over, but I don't drink, so it's not that.
No, I would not remove the Feather from your list. I'm just pointing out that all razors are mechanical devices, and some people are, on rare occasions, mechanical screw ups.
Happy shaves,
Jim
From an engineering standpoint any three piece razor that uses two alignment pins for blade positioning is subject to blade alignment problems. The possible exception is the Razorock Wunderbar that specifically is designed and manufactured with oversize alignment pins. This would include all pre 1930 Gillette razors and virtually all Merkur, Parker and other pin alignment cast zinc alloy head razors. IMO antique design and cheaply manufactured razors.
The Phoenix DOC, DOC Evolution and Prismatic all are good designs which should not have alignment problems as they use alignment bars or four relocated alignment pins for blade positioning. Asw a rule of thumb, if properly made all 3 piece and TTO razors which use alignment bars should not have alignment problems.
The Phoenix DOC, DOC Evolution and Prismatic all are good designs which should not have alignment problems as they use alignment bars or four relocated alignment pins for blade positioning. Asw a rule of thumb, if properly made all 3 piece and TTO razors which use alignment bars should not have alignment problems.
I know this is a DE thread, and to limit it, my Tradere lines up perfectly every time.
If you want to add SE razors, the list includes pretty much anything by GEM or EverReady.
1912
1914
1924
Streamline
Gem-G
EverReady Jewell
Any early lather-catcher
Any of the Micromatics.
The list of truly fabulous SE razors goes on and on.
If you want to add SE razors, the list includes pretty much anything by GEM or EverReady.
1912
1914
1924
Streamline
Gem-G
EverReady Jewell
Any early lather-catcher
Any of the Micromatics.
The list of truly fabulous SE razors goes on and on.
Weishi 9306
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Not to mention the injector razors, right.
Always perfect blade alignment is just one of the reasons I love my Feather AS-D2.
Happy shaves,
Jim
In DE razors the blade is located by tapered pins, a alignment bar and/or alignment tabs and part of the blade positioning repeatability problem is tolerances, both in the razor and in the blade. All except the alignment corner tabs locate the blade via the blade center so any blade center slot positioning error is going to show up in the blade position in the razor head. There are no international standards for DE blade dimensions and there are multiple makers from the USA to Russia, India and etc around the world. Surprised they do as well as they do. Most DE 3 piece razor heads are cast zinc alloy which has relatively loose tolerances so there is going to be razor to razor dimension variations too.
Most SE and Injector razors have blade cutting edge locating tabs or stops that the blade cutting edge is physically pressed against during blade loading. The cutting edge is the unmoving reference part of the blade, stops and comb relationship so blade position repeatability is much better than with DE razor designs. Pretty much inherent in the design unless the blade stops are damaged in use, which I have seen.
Most SE and Injector razors have blade cutting edge locating tabs or stops that the blade cutting edge is physically pressed against during blade loading. The cutting edge is the unmoving reference part of the blade, stops and comb relationship so blade position repeatability is much better than with DE razor designs. Pretty much inherent in the design unless the blade stops are damaged in use, which I have seen.
My Weber, Fendrihan MKI, MKII and Ying Jili 3 piece all align the blades perfectly
