HELP - Great Blade of China Research Project

[Stikeyoda]

Yep, definitely. I will PM you once they reach my "ship forwarder" (Taobao and other platforms for the domestic market typically doesn't ship abroad). Could take a good week now with Chinese News Year holidays and shipping delays.

PS: The 鱼雷/Torpedo blades are the same as the Riren ones mentioned by another member (blue and red box varieties) according to my source, so I assume you're not interested in those if you already secured them through Aliexpress. I assume Riren is just one of many vendors selling those blades.

Yes I have the Riren blades.

Thank you for the extra effort.

 

[Stikeyoda]

A quick update. Yesterday 3 of my doctoral students (I still teach in the graduate school part-time) are scheduling their dissertation defenses in early April. Good news - getting it out of the way (they are my only Ph.D. candidates for this year), bad news, is my March is now hosed.

I will keep working on getting everything organized but we will likely launch the research project in mid-April now. I will keep updating everyone here. More good news is it may give me time to set up an online shave journal for volunteers to use.

Thanks for your patience.

 

[Stikeyoda]

Another update. I got the micro setup more or less working with the calibration slide. Each marking is 0.01 mm. Now I need to work out how to video the whole edge by sliding the blade past the microscope. Difficult as the slightest motion looks like the San Andreas fault let loose at this magnification. PearlMax SuperPlatinum. Can see the 3 bevels and the platinum coating.

 

[Stikeyoda]

Figured out a better lighting. Now have to figure out how to get rid of the shadow at the edge.

 

[Stikeyoda]

The lab is shaping up. Waiting for a new micrometer... and figuring out how to mount razors and calibrated slides to measure distances and angles... and relearn gimp to process it all.

 

[Leverspro]

Figured out a better lighting. Now have to figure out how to get rid of the shadow at the edge.View attachment 1796791

Remarkable! Is the thin black line on the edge of the blade the shadow you refer to or is it the platinum coating?

 

[Stikeyoda]

Remarkable! Is the thin black line on the edge of the blade the shadow you refer to or is it the platinum coating?

Yes, I am pretty sure it is a shadow, notice its size difference with the two different lighting setups. At the same time part of me suspects it may also be some element of the coating as well. Once I get things into gimp I can see if the pixels differentiate enough to be different things (a shadow or a coating)

 

[Stikeyoda]

New calipers arrived. Built like a battleship. Now waiting on a new microscope... next level.

 

[VerbaVolant]

New calipers arrived...

I am curious what are the calipers used for.
One can eliminate shadow with proper lighting. Maybe use an external light source, in addition to the source from the microscope. The plastic ruler might act as a light pipe.

 

[Stikeyoda]

I am curious what are the calipers used for.
One can eliminate shadow with proper lighting. Maybe use an external light source, in addition to the source from the microscope. The plastic ruler might act as a light pipe.

Blades Re actually different sizes (widths) and thicknesses. Also a physical check and balance for blade gap and exposure on the razors via the calibrated slide and images.

 

[Stikeyoda]

New microscope arrived, lab now complete... other than my learning curve. Also picked up some higher resolution calibrated slides for measuring angles on razors.

I'll spend next month getting the protocols figured out (and walking the grad students off ledges).

 

[dmshaver]

Here's a PSA announcement regarding B & B's Great Blade Exchange:

If anyone can spare a few tucks from a recent 100 pak purchase, or has blades they no longer want, please consider shipping tucks or packages of 100s to the Great Blade Exchange. Send me a PM asking how to donate to the GBE & I'll send you my mailing information. If you want to send more than 2 - 5 tucks, those donations will also be accepted & appreciated.
We rely on the kindness of members to keep the GBE stocked & current with new in-the-market blades.
During our PM conversation I'll let you know if any brands in the GBE have sufficient inventory where additional donations of that brand of blade are not currently needed.
Thank you!!!!

We will now return to your regularly scheduled program.

 

[NachoMamma]

I didn't read all of this, but I think it's a great project! Can I send you a Weishi 9306 long handle if you would like one for testing? They are a very popular razor.

 

[4pointOh]

Maybe include the razorock German 37 slant, gilette new long comb, and a tech..... maybe a slim at a specified setting. Idk you're doing a heck of a project I just think they're super common razors that might have wider user base

 

[Stikeyoda]

Finally getting the grad students off the ledge and finishing up their dissertations. Now have some time to get back to this (though everytime I look I find a new Chinese blade)

I am going to be setting up a Google form for volunteers to record their shaves and link it to a Google sheet That I will give everyone access to (both raw data and analysis/results). Given the rate new blades keep appearing, probably a good idea to make it evergreen and continuously updating. Probably should design it so the blades can be categorized (China, Russia, India, Bangladesh, etc.).

Anyway, I am an amateur at the Google tools, so I thought I would reach out in case anyone is a guru (which, relative to me, means you have used them more than a couple of times) to help me set up the system.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Stikeyoda]

Criticisms and suggestions for the proposed data collection for the blade study.

This is (first draft) what I am envisioning for the blade study input form:

Description:

Thank you for participating in our DE razor blade study! To help us analyze the performance of the blades, please record your shaving experience for each combination you try (razor & blade).

Form Sections:

1. Pre-Shave Information:
   • Skin Type: (Checkboxes) - Oily, Dry, Combination, Sensitive
   • Beard Type: (Radio Buttons) - Coarse, Medium, Fine
   • Beard Growth: (Radio Buttons) - Daily Shaver, Every Other Day, 2-Day Growth, 3+ Day Growth
2. Shave Details (Repeat this section 4 times):
   • Razor Used: (Radio Buttons) - Mild Razor, Medium Razor, Aggressive Razor
   • Blade Used: (Text Entry) - Brand & Model
   • Number of shaves on blade (numeric entry)
   • Pre-Shave Prep: (Checkboxes) - Hot Shower, Shaving Cream/Soap, Pre-Shave Oil (You can add more options here if needed)
   • Shaving Technique: (Checkboxes) - With the Grain, Against the Grain, Across the Grain (XTG)
   • Number of Passes: (Number Entry)
   • Shave Experience: (Radio Buttons) - Smooth, Some Tugging, Significant Pulling, Unpleasant
   • Post-Shave Irritation: (Radio Buttons) - None, Mild, Moderate, Severe
   • Razor Burn: (Radio Buttons) - None, Mild, Moderate, Severe
   • Ingrown Hairs: (Radio Buttons) - None, Few, Many
   • Overall Shave Closeness: (Radio Buttons) - BBS (Baby Butt Smooth), Very Close, Somewhat Close, Patchy
3. Optional: Comments: (Text Box) - Provide any additional feedback about this specific shave.

I am looking at ways to make the blade selection a pull-down box. I am also considering setting up a tester sheet (which I will not share and will encrypt) so that a tester can sign in, and the pre-shave stuff is automatically populated. It would also allow you to record the specific razor you would be using for mild, medium, and aggressive. Over time, the data should evolve to show the best blades for each razor people use.

I will enter the BESS sharpness data and the microscope images of the edges (before each shave and after the last) from my tests.

What am I leaving out?

Thanks in advance

What

 

[Stikeyoda]

I didn't read all of this, but I think it's a great project! Can I send you a Weishi 9306 long handle if you would like one for testing? They are a very popular razor.

What if I send you some tucks of the Chinese blades so you can test them (see my later post on what it entails)?

 

[Stikeyoda]

Maybe include the razorock German 37 slant, gilette new long comb, and a tech..... maybe a slim at a specified setting. Idk you're doing a heck of a project I just think they're super common razors that might have wider user base

What if I sent you the blades to test in the razors you want to know about?

 

[Stikeyoda]

I am willing to send blades to volunteers to test—this gets me a wider range of skin and beard conditions and a wider variety of razors (beyond generic mild, medium, aggressive, and slant). I will send you five blades per brand you volunteer for (in an envelope to reduce mailing costs). I ask (well, you'll be shaving anyway) to give each blade four shaves (you can quit after two if they are Gawd Awful) in a razor and report using the Google Form I am developing. I ask that you test the blades in a couple of your razors or razor plates (mild, medium, aggressive, slant) or if you use an adjustable - one blade 4 times at each of 3 or 5 settings.

Once I get the Google Forms up and working, I will post a signup link to participate. Because I am still affiliated with several universities, I will follow IRB (Institutional Review Board) rules even though I do this alone. So, there will be a long full disclosure post to get through before you can sign up (or not)

Thanks

 

[4pointOh]

I'd definitely be interested in signing up once your form is up and your ready to roll.