That Monobilt looks a bit of a mess - won’t the blade be very wavy?
Wanton destruction
- Thread starter Quaznoid
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Yup. Just like anything about shaving; so many variables, so little control. So we worship at the altar of YMMV.
I went into slants because I was swearing off regular DEs. Kind of amusing. I believe I understood the point of your experiment: that adding slant geometry to an existing DE might improve the shave. And you're right that @efsk has some serious chops when it comes to knowing slants. Dude's got MY respect, for sure.
I'd like to see how that razor stacks up against some of the slants I've used. I do try to limit how picky I can get, but I also struggle with two things. One is that I do enjoy shaving with a razor that has "some" mass to it, which means either brass or stainless. The other is that I find myself relatively geographically isolated, in an area that has very little in the way of antiques of any sort. That generally means I buy off the Great Internet Bizarre Bazaar, but the stuff I want doesn't come up there often. Part of the fun's just keeping my eyes open, but still sightings are darn rare.
This made me laugh. I've taught undergraduate research methods classes.
I've appreciated your thoughts. Thank you. It's given me a bit more inspiration to pick up the tooling I need to push my own helical slant project a little closer to done.
O.H.
That's a very good question. Slants in general are a bit hard to photograph. Do it wrong and they look like a normal razor, do it right, and they can look broken.
Cooper MonoBilts were designed around Cooper blades, which are close enough to Gillette style DE blades to be interchangeable. However, they had a wider center hole than Gillette's blades. Any modern DE blade will exhibit a slight wave on one side when loaded into a MonoBilt. It does not affect the shave. A person can hole punch the center of the blade if it really bothers them.
Slanting it actually took out that wave. If you spotted this razor in an antique store, you would be hard pressed to believe the razor was not originally made as a slant.
I guess it’s difficult to tell from photos online. The edge of the cap on the old type you first posted a picture of looked quite straight to me and the whole razor looks like a ’genuine’ slant but the Monobilt looks a bit like it’s been squashed, which it has I guess.
I see what you are saying. Partly it's the angle of the photograph, and partly due to the design of the MonoBilt itself. They are a very flat razor to begin with.I guess it’s difficult to tell from photos online. The edge of the cap on the old type you first posted a picture of looked quite straight to me and the whole razor looks like a ’genuine’ slant but the Monobilt looks a bit like it’s been squashed, which it has I guess.
All I'm saying is you can ignore threads you don't want to see. I ignore entire subforums. It really cleans up my new posts list.
Unfortunately we live in a time that lots of people do not appreciate old stuff, or you simply have no space or money to keep it all. And if someone uses them to experiment is always better as seeing it go as trash.
My dad passed away in dec so I am slowly cleaning out a couple of generations in old furniture, art and tools which do not have that much value in holland.
Trying to sell stuff of which is difficult and you know might end up used in a bad way....
My dad passed away in dec so I am slowly cleaning out a couple of generations in old furniture, art and tools which do not have that much value in holland.
Trying to sell stuff of which is difficult and you know might end up used in a bad way....
R
romsitsa
Base plates were the same till ~1911. The crimp has to be replaced, but the repair can be made "invisible".
Hi,
The best Slant I have used:
But I don't like their handles, so here is how I use them:
The slant helix is so great that bending isn't how to make one. So they used bakelite and Zamak. The materials won't last like brass does. I have the two, so I probably am good until my end even if one of these meets its end first.
I tried making one out of 304 stainless in the machine shop one nasty winter day. That was a 'start with a block of metal and cut away what doesn't look like what you want' method. I got it wrong and I haven't tried again. I did get an ATT S2 back in January but after three months of using only it, I don't like it and switched back to the Fasan.
I could see trying one of these OT Slant conversions, but suspect I would wind up back with a Fasan in the end.
Stan
The best Slant I have used:
But I don't like their handles, so here is how I use them:
The slant helix is so great that bending isn't how to make one. So they used bakelite and Zamak. The materials won't last like brass does. I have the two, so I probably am good until my end even if one of these meets its end first.
I tried making one out of 304 stainless in the machine shop one nasty winter day. That was a 'start with a block of metal and cut away what doesn't look like what you want' method. I got it wrong and I haven't tried again. I did get an ATT S2 back in January but after three months of using only it, I don't like it and switched back to the Fasan.
I could see trying one of these OT Slant conversions, but suspect I would wind up back with a Fasan in the end.
Stan
This whole thing is hilarious. Who cares if he likes to mod old razors? The truth is most of them are not that valuable and not that rare. If you want to preserve them, then go out and buy every single one. And who cares if people don't use their vintage razors? I have a lot of old Gillettes, many of them in original cases, that I don't use. Some of them have never been used because I can find modern razors as good, or better, than the Gillettes. If you don't want me to do this, you should buy them all up before I get them. Stop your crotchety old man whining and put your money where your mouth is. Build that strategic Gillette stockpile. Put em in a big pile and squat on them like a dollar store Smaug.
Try Etsy. I bought a 1957 vintage one in January at a reasonable price in decent condition. There were others available at the time, but I haven't looked since then because I am satisfied with mine.
I agree, but it wouldn’t have come out of the factory in 1904 and I’d always know that. I think it would also be dishonest to resell it repaired also.
Shame on you!
Made coffee come out my nose. That's a hell of a mental picture.
The Cooper MonoBilt is not exactly a success story. It provided zero blade feel at any angle. Dropped it down from a one pass shaver to a two pass shaver. That was with an Astra. I'll try it again tomorrow with a Feather.
It was also kind of a pain to sort out after bending. The two end guide loops didn't bend with the razor cap, so they had to be adjusted to the right geometry and for blade tab clearance. The handle was difficult to tighten fully, but once I did, the TTO mechanism operated smoothly and without any fuss. Overall, initial impressions are that this process did not improve this razor, and in fact degraded it. It went from being a moderately aggressive razor to Tech levels of aggression, which is to say, pretty mild.
On the plus side, it is a TTO slant, which makes it rather unique, and it will be the only one. I don't think I'll make any more MonoBilt slants.
Thanks both, much appreciated.
And yes, imho the Valencia is one of the most pleasant best performing slants out there, together with the bakelite PAA Alpha Ecliptic (or the original it is based on).
Have you tried anything in a different material like aluminum or stainless?
Obviously zamack would be out.
Obviously zamack would be out.
No. We've no plans to try either.
Sorry, I didn't have time earlier to flesh out that statement. The jig I'm using is aluminum. We've discussed making a steel jig if necessary, but it didn't end up being needed.
It would need to be redesigned as well for a particular razor. One of the reasons that copying the slant of the Valencia was so straightforward, is that other than the slant, the Gillette Old Types share a very similar head profile. As far as design work goes, this is pretty simple. Make the measurements and connect the dots. Also, the entire surface of the underside of the top cap rests on the bottom cap, which makes twisting it easier too. You don't need to worry so much about deforming it in ways you didn't intend.
Steel razors could be bent, but here we would either need to heat the razor quite a bit, or use a press way more substantial than a shop vice. It's probably going to mark up that razor pretty good too. If you like a particular steel razor, you should ask the manufacturer to make a slant version and purchase that instead.
It would need to be redesigned as well for a particular razor. One of the reasons that copying the slant of the Valencia was so straightforward, is that other than the slant, the Gillette Old Types share a very similar head profile. As far as design work goes, this is pretty simple. Make the measurements and connect the dots. Also, the entire surface of the underside of the top cap rests on the bottom cap, which makes twisting it easier too. You don't need to worry so much about deforming it in ways you didn't intend.
Steel razors could be bent, but here we would either need to heat the razor quite a bit, or use a press way more substantial than a shop vice. It's probably going to mark up that razor pretty good too. If you like a particular steel razor, you should ask the manufacturer to make a slant version and purchase that instead.
Stumbled across this in one of the Valencia threads:
I didn't know you guys had prophets on this forum.Hi,
Oooh. Shiny! Must. Resist. Looking. For. One.
It does look like someone took an Old Type Thin into the workshop and gave it a twist.
Stan
For those curious about the Fatip Le Sorto vs. Old Type style slants, the Le Sorto is more like a Gillette New than an Old, and we can't bend the New, so they will each offer a unique shaving experience. Any gripes I have about Fatip is purely related to my misgivings about the razor's build quality, not it's shaving ability. From everything I've read, the Le Sorto is one of the few Fatip razors that offers consistent and even blade exposure.
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