Modifying Safety Razor Aggressiveness & Efficiency with Blade, Shims, Reverse Shims, and Tape Strips

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

They are extremely rigid and other than a Gillette OLD type, NEW SC and Wolfman WR1, I'm not sure there is a more rigid design. That to me equates to smoothness of the shave. . . . I'm now thinking of two strips of tape on the underside of the cap to increase that rigidity and at the same time giving it an even shallower angle.

I believe that you and Al are right about blade rigidity being a good thing and the Fatip being good in this respect, but adding tape under the cap shouldn't help. I didn't name the razor by name, but it counts in this bullet point from the OP: "Tape strips are impractical for razors in which the blade is simply cantilevered by the cap and baseplate, since the tape would just be clamped between the cap and blade and not cause any downward deflection of the blade."

 

[Esox]

I'm not sure tape would benefit the rigidity of the Grande, as it's already directly clamped. Also, because the blade is so well supported underneath, the blade hasn't got anywhere to be pushed to. It kind of screws up Grant's table, because there isn't the void beneath the blade for it to be directed into ...

It might not do anything, but it might force the blade into a deeper curve on the base plate. That would possibly remove a little blade exposure and shallow the angle even more, but either would be minute changes.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Your feedback has really helped, Al. Thank you! My to-do list for the razor modification page has gotten larger. Seriously. You should see the file.

I can imagine

The hardest parts of my walkthrough for newbies, were ...

a) Keeping it down to four parts so people didn't get bewildered and lost in the detail. I could have been SO much bigger than it already was
b) Keeping it "accessible" for people from all walks of life, including those for whom English is not a first language

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Change effective blade angle comment to "larger relative angle" so that people don't misread More Effective Blade Angle as better performer ...

... otherwise ...

Ohhhhh. Good point. I'm so used to "effective" from engineering that I missed that very possible misunderstanding when I quickly came up with this picture. Thanks! Maybe even "True Blade Angle" would be better.

 

[Esox]

What do you think?

I think you have a perfect grasp of the concept.

Your picture shows how I feel my skin travels through the gap, guard span, space, whatever you wish to call it and when it does, the distance it needs to fill changes the angle of the skin as it contacts the blade edge. This, is what causes my irritation beyond 3 passes even with the NEW SC and the modest .023" gap it has.

The Tech being so inefficient for me, it generally requires 6 passes with a Feather blade. Thats a lot and as mild a shaver as the Tech is, that 6th pass can be painful.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I believe that you and Al are right about blade rigidity being a good thing and the Fatip being good in this respect, but adding tape under the cap shouldn't help. I didn't name the razor by name, but it counts in this bullet point from the OP: "Tape strips are impractical for razors in which the blade is simply cantilevered by the cap and baseplate, since the tape would just be clamped between the cap and blade and not cause any downward deflection of the blade."

Shouldn't that be "only works when it's cantilevered, and not when directly clamped ...?"

I'm at it again ..

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

I can imagine

The hardest parts of my walkthrough for newbies, were ...

a) Keeping it down to four parts so people didn't get bewildered and lost in the detail. I could have been SO much bigger than it already was
b) Keeping it "accessible" for people from all walks of life, including those for whom English is not a first language

I get that. It's not easy.

 

[Esox]

"Tape strips are impractical for razors in which the blade is simply cantilevered by the cap and baseplate, since the tape would just be clamped between the cap and blade and not cause any downward deflection of the blade."

Gotcha. Had to think on that a sec, but yep makes sense.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Ohhhhh. Good point. I'm so used to "effective" from engineering that I missed that very possible misunderstanding when I quickly came up with this picture. Thanks! Maybe even "True Blade Angle" would be better.

I'd stick with relative - it's relative to the skin. Resultant would work too.
True ... kinda doesn't mean anything without clear and definitive context

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

I think you have a perfect grasp of the concept.

Your picture shows how I feel my skin travels through the gap, guard span, space, whatever you wish to call it and when it does, the distance it needs to fill changes the angle of the skin as it contacts the blade edge. This, is what causes my irritation beyond 3 passes even with the NEW SC and the modest .023" gap it has.

The Tech being so inefficient for me, it generally requires 6 passes with a Feather blade. Thats a lot and as mild a shaver as the Tech is, that 6th pass can be painful.

Cool. I think that it's what I feel, too, as the difference between the EJ Kelvin (DE89) with more guard span and the Bevel razor with less guard span.

6 passes! Yikes!

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Shouldn't that be "only works when it's cantilevered, and not when directly clamped ...?"

I'm at it again ..

That's okay. A "simple" cantilever is when the support of the free end is just a clamp. A cantiliver can have another support, such as the cap of a razor pushing down on it, but it can't be said to be "simply cantilevered" or a "simple cantilever".

 

[AimlessWanderer]

That's okay. A "simple" cantilever is when the support of the free end is just a clamp. A cantiliver can have another support, such as the cap of a razor pushing down on it, but it can't be said to be "simply cantilevered" or a "simple cantilever".

... but will your audience know that? For the most part you're not talking to engineers ... just shavers

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

I'd stick with relative - it's relative to the skin. Resultant would work too.
True ... kinda doesn't mean anything without clear and definitive context

The reason that I'm not loving "relative" is because "blade angle" is "relative" to the "shave plane", which can be easily confused with the skin. "True" would imply the true blade angle between the skin and the blade, whatever that angle would be at any given moment during a shave. "True" helps distinguish between what is approximated in modeling and what is actually going on. Maybe it should be "Actual Blade Angle" instead of "True Blade Angle", but I still like "true" more. Oh, maybe "Real Blade Angle" is best.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

... but will your audience know that? For the most part you're not talking to engineers ... just shavers

Probably not, but I had that in mind. I thought that the description that the "tape would just be clamped between the cap and blade" was clear. The clamping implies that the baseplate is clamping right underneath the cap contact with the blade. The tape is just being sandwiched in there.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

If I'm being more of a hindrance than a help, just tell me to shut up

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

If I'm being more of a hindrance than a help, just tell me to shut up

It's okay, Al. I appreciate the help. Oh, I changed it to "real blade angle". Who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind again.

 

[Try em all]

This has been an extremely useful discussion. I had never heard of tape strips before this thread.
As I have earlier said, I plan to modify one of my aggressive Tech clones to make it less aggressive, either with a reverse shim, or with tape strips. The sacrificial razor was to be a Gillette Sterling, a Tech clone made by none other than the original manufacturer of the Tech.
I, too feel that the tape under the cap would increase the curve & therefore the rigidity of the blade. The disadvantage is mainly that the gap between the cap edge & the blade edge is quite large on some razors.
Now, the only way to change that is to change the razor....or is it?
That's when I had a little bit of a revelation.

A shim placed under the cap can be treated as an extension of the cap.

What if I make a shim, & then put the tape strips on the underside of that shim? The shim can also be made to reach to almost to the same width as the blade.

I now have a shim that reaches almost till the end of the blade. The strips increase curvature & add force just before the cutting edge & the razor becomes less likely to nick the skin. Guard span & blade angle are reduced. Blade exposure may be marginally reduced. The razor itself, is not modified at all. Best of all, this shim can be removed & inserted in any razor! TTO razors were not good candidates for tape strips but this 'taped shim' will work even with TTO's. And if really desired, the tape can be put on both sides of the shim.

I suspect that this discussion thread is going to lead to the kind of DIY razor engineering that can make virtually any razor mimic the characteristics of any other razor.

Of course, this is all theoretical until it is tried out.
Opinions?

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

This has been an extremely useful discussion. I had never heard of tape strips before this thread.
As I have earlier said, I plan to modify one of my aggressive Tech clones to make it less aggressive, either with a reverse shim, or with tape strips. The sacrificial razor was to be a Gillette Sterling, a Tech clone made by none other than the original manufacturer of the Tech.
I, too feel that the tape under the cap would increase the curve & therefore the rigidity of the blade. The disadvantage is mainly that the gap between the cap edge & the blade edge is quite large on some razors.
Now, the only way to change that is to change the razor....or is it?
That's when I had a little bit of a revelation.

What if I make a shim, & then put the tape strips on the underside of that shim? The shim can also be made to reach to almost to the same width as the blade.

I now have a shim that reaches almost till the end of the blade. The strips increase curvature & add force just before the cutting edge & the razor becomes less likely to nick the skin. Guard span & blade angle are reduced. Blade exposure may be marginally reduced. The razor itself, is not modified at all. Best of all, this shim can be removed & inserted in any razor! TTO razors were not good candidates for tape strips but this 'taped shim' will work even with TTO's. And if really desired, the tape can be put on both sides of the shim.

I suspect that this discussion thread is going to lead to the kind of razor engineering that can make virtually any razor mimic the characteristics of any other razor.

Of course, this is all theoretical until it is tried out.
Opinions?

Oh, I LIKE THAT! Thanks! I'm going to add this to the wiki. It's now in my to-do list and you're getting credit. I don't have a TTO and I wish that I'd thought about this first. As best as I understand it, it would be called a "taped reverse shim" for decreasing guard span, blade exposure, and blade angle. (The "taped reverse shim could be flipped over, placed underneath the blade, and become a "taped shim" for increasing aggressiveness.) It's removable, which is good, could be used for any razor where shims and tape strips are an option, but it could also be used for razors where tape strips are not feasible, such as TTOs. Also, the tape strips can be applied in different locations, possibly closer to the edge, where tape strips could not be applied. There could be some rigidity issue or something, but that seems unlikely. I'll have to experiment with this with a DE razor of mine.

TTOs don't currently fit in the guide. That's a separate issue that just hit me. I would have to modify the document to allow for TTOs that can accept shims and reverse shims, but for which the cap does not move up. Effects of safety razor parameters are different in that case.

 

[Try em all]

[emoji106]

 

[rabidus]

Nice write up!

Not sure if it was mentioned but there's the narrow reverse shim!

If you cut the shim narrow and place it between the cap and blade, it pushes the center of the blade away from the cap, which increases blade exposure on any razor design. It takes away curve at the center, ultimately making the blade wider.