Last week I published a couple of articles -- one on the Gillette Slim Adjustable, and one on the Weishi 9306-F razors -- that asserted, based on eyeballing the side-view photos of the razors, that the blade angles of these TTO razors are larger and therefore more harsh shaving than three-piece designs such as the Merkur 33C or the Lord LP1822L.
This assertion has, today, proven to be incorrect.
Just a few minutes prior to writing this correction article, I printed out enlarged copies of these TTO razors, extended the shave-plane and blade-angle lines, and measured them with a protractor.
As it turns out, yes, the Gillette blade angles are slightly larger than either the Merkur or the Lord. But not enough to make a difference -- especially when the Slim is set to its most mild setting. Embarrassingly, the Weishi blade angle is actually slightly smaller than those of the Lord or Merkur designs.
So my hypothesis about the inherent blade angle of TTO razors -- a proposition in which I was sooooo confident -- is WRONG!
Yet, if these razors do shave slightly more harshly as has been my experience, then why?
In these two razors the additional harshness may be due to a less-protected blade exposure combined with a relatively-larger blade gap, when measured along the shave plane (at least as compared to the Merkur; the Lord gap will take some additional analysis and explanation).
However, it's possible that my perception of the harshness of the TTO razors is not objective. I guess I'll have to pull them out of my closet and have some more shaves with them to see.
Happy shaving!
This assertion has, today, proven to be incorrect.
Just a few minutes prior to writing this correction article, I printed out enlarged copies of these TTO razors, extended the shave-plane and blade-angle lines, and measured them with a protractor.
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| Examples of 8-1/2" x 11" photos of razor heads. |
As it turns out, yes, the Gillette blade angles are slightly larger than either the Merkur or the Lord. But not enough to make a difference -- especially when the Slim is set to its most mild setting. Embarrassingly, the Weishi blade angle is actually slightly smaller than those of the Lord or Merkur designs.
So my hypothesis about the inherent blade angle of TTO razors -- a proposition in which I was sooooo confident -- is WRONG!
Yet, if these razors do shave slightly more harshly as has been my experience, then why?
In these two razors the additional harshness may be due to a less-protected blade exposure combined with a relatively-larger blade gap, when measured along the shave plane (at least as compared to the Merkur; the Lord gap will take some additional analysis and explanation).
However, it's possible that my perception of the harshness of the TTO razors is not objective. I guess I'll have to pull them out of my closet and have some more shaves with them to see.
Happy shaving!
Ah, don't beat yourself up too bad; I think most of the manufacturing and supply chain is comprised of ruthless scoundrels. There is a larger picture to consider, though, and I think you're in a great position to address it because of your profession.
ReplyDeleteI refer to Vitamin S (proposed): salicylic acid. Which makes skin more tractable, able to flex itself through the various shave planes and into the various blade gaps.Which allows the hair follicles to yield their wiry denizens to the sacrifice. Yesterday I even used "Psoriasis" moisturizer from the Dollar Tree to cool late-onset razor burn! (Salicylic acid 2%)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid
My face used to be like an aged cheese, one the cartridges were able to slice all too readily. DE razors at least gave me a chance to keep the blade out of my skin, but it was still unusually difficult. Then I started messing around with oil cleansing, tea tree oil compounds, and pepto-bismol masks. My skin seemed to transform suddenly.
https://plus.google.com/103806825497029698046/posts/3vdJ4AU9ZDU
What I realized is that I had been suffering from seborrheic dermatitis all along.The yeast thought to be responsible is normally present on skin, however. Which leads me to suspect that "sensitive skin" in shaving is often sub-clinical seborrhea.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1091037-overview#1