Closed comb or open comb

[macdonjh]

I've been using a Merkur 1904/06 and was curious about the difference an open comb razor would bring. I e-mailed the friendly people at West Coast Shaving and asked if one of their heads would fit my handle. They said it would, so I sent them $5 and they sent me an open comb head.

Note that the crown didn't fit-- the thread pitch was wrong, so this is a comparison between my Merkur 1904/06 and the same razor with just the base changed to a different open comb.

The open comb was much more aggressive, and now I have an idea what that means. The sensation of the blade scratching across my face was noticeably higher with the open comb. I did have a new blade and after the first pass made extra special effort to use zero pressure on my razor. While the results of my first pass was slightly smoother than when using my closed comb, I still felt the need for a second pass, so there really wasn't any difference in efficiency for me. Maybe if my beard were coarser or faster growing (my 5:00 shadow is 5:00am shadow)...

Another unwanted difference: five nicks (two "real" and three weepers) using the open comb head.

The verdict for me is I'll stay with my closed comb razor. Thanks to West Coast Shaving for making is so affordable to try something different.

 

[BF&E]

As always, it's a little different for everyone! That said, IME my higher-aggression razors require just as many passes (just like your experience), but they do get noticeably closer as well. Personally I love the open combs as they let more lather reach the blade to help keep the shave smooth.

Obviously your call, but I've also found that it takes me a few weeks at least to learn how to use a new DE properly (I guess I'm a little slow!), but if you want to keep at it a little bit more you may find yourself enjoying the OC more than that first run! I will say that a lot of guys love their safety bars though, and no one would blame you a bit for sticking with what you like.

 

[engblom]

If I understood your post right, you took the top cap from your Merkur and then the base plate from an open comb razor and made a "franken razor"?

If you did like that, do not be surprised if the razor gets aggressive. Different razors got different curve. Some got the blade almost straight, other are bending the blade a lot. If the top cap and the base plate are not designed for each other, there can be quite a bit of blade exposure and gap.

Open comb is just another way to cut the stubble exit slots, it neither makes a razor more aggressive nor more mild. Instead of one big slot, you got many small ones.

The real benefit from open combs is that the way the slots are cut, you get less clogging, even for extremely small gaps. Thus it is possible to make open combs with almost no gaps at all, which is not working well with safety bar razors.

 

[Strayhair]

I don't think it's the comb that's giving me the better shaves from my NEW over my safety bar razors. My Parat is close, but my NEW is a little closer. I don't think I'm getting that much more glide and cushion from the combs. I don't clog my razors so having the combs doesn't help that.

 

[BSAGuy]

Open combs require low pressure and a shallower angle vs. closed combs. The OC's just have a narrower operating window than closed combs.

 

[Raissermesser]

If I understood your post right, you took the top cap from your Merkur and then the base plate from an open comb razor and made a "franken razor"?

If you did like that, do not be surprised if the razor gets aggressive. Different razors got different curve. Some got the blade almost straight, other are bending the blade a lot. If the top cap and the base plate are not designed for each other, there can be quite a bit of blade exposure and gap.

Open comb is just another way to cut the stubble exit slots, it neither makes a razor more aggressive nor more mild. Instead of one big slot, you got many small ones.

The real benefit from open combs is that the way the slots are cut, you get less clogging, even for extremely small gaps. Thus it is possible to make open combs with almost no gaps at all, which is not working well with safety bar razors.

What he said. I have a Merkur 15C, an open comb, that I find less aggressive than my Edwin Jagger Kelvin with a hybrid safety bar (indentations to give some of an open comb effect but a solid bar instead of a true open comb). When you mentioned the Merkur 1904/06, I did a "Huh?" because they offer that in an open comb, then realized they had one with a standard Merkur head.

That doesn't mean a lot of open combs aren't more aggressive. Can't quite get up the nerve to try a Fatip Piccolo, and I won't touch a Muhle R41. I might try a Gillette Old Type, though.

If you're interested in open combs, it's better to have one that the base and the head matches instead of trying to take a head and a base of different types. You still might not like open combs, but it's worth a try.

 

[Duke of Buckingham]

Ultimately, you tried two different razors and got different results.

But having said that, and without wanting to sound patronizing, you now feel that your current set-up is best for you right now. That's a result.

What works for me won't necessarily be the best for you, but I recommend everyone at some point tries a Gillette NEW because it's so smooth and efficient and a great example of an open comb.

 

[macdonjh]

Thanks for the feed back. I realize my Franken-razor set-up is a variable, but at least all the pieces physically fit together so I could try it. In my reading, I'd seen that in general, open comb is more aggressive than closed comb, so I was acting on that, right or wrong. Another variable in my experiment is that my Franken-razor had a visually noticeable wider gap than my stock Merkur 1904. There you go, two sources of aggressiveness.

So anyway, the milder, stock Merkur 1904 is just fine for me right now. I don't need to go looking to an open comb for smoothness (two passes with my 1904 gets me to date-night-smooth), or reduce clogging or be more efficient (I need two passes either way). All that knowledge for $5 seems like a good deal to me.

 

[engblom]

In my reading, I'd seen that in general, open comb is more aggressive than closed comb, so I was acting on that, right or wrong.

This is a myth, maybe coming from that in general Gillette razors became milder for each generation. The oldest happened to be open combs. The pre-war Tech (safety bar razor) is about the same aggressive as the NEW (open comb). Later Techs are milder.

The aggressiveness is still all about geometry (as in blade exposure, gap and angle). Thus open combs and safety bar razors with same geometry got the same aggressiveness.

When it comes to Merkur, the Merkur 1904 open comb is far milder than Merkur 1904 safety bar, because the open comb got almost no gap at all and even negative blade exposure.