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Something I noticed about my razor this morning.

Dear everybody on this thread.

Today I noticed when I was putting the Feather blade in my Beautytrack razor, the blade doesn't seem to sit 100% true to the safety bars, it seems like its half a degree askew. For the price I paid for my razor (£6) I suppose I can't really grumble too much, but im wondering if it is hindering my shaves. I assume the blade is NOT to sit like that in the razor?

Thanks for any advice received.

Jason
 
I can say that some razors have a looser tolerances than others, and you can wind up with a crooked blade when you tighten it down.
IDK if your razor is a TTO, 3pc or what, but make it a habit to check the blade alignment when tightening and adjust if necessary.
You will notice a difference.
with a 3pc, you'll notice a difference depending on how hard you torque the handle down as well.
Gillette actually claimed their single ring was an adjustable razor in their advertising...basically saying you could tighten or loosen the handle to adjust the blade gap. I believe this contributed to the handles typically being cracked as well.
 

ylekot

On the lookout for a purse
I got nothing helpful, but a crooked blade, even a little bit, sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I am certainly no expert.
 
I'm a newcomer but in my opinion the blade should be exposed evenly on both sides and not be crooked.
You could get away with using a razor that has more blade on one side but i wouldn't use a razor that held the blade off.

I've bought razors under $10 CAD that held the blade perfectly (lord tech and lord l6) so i personally wouldn't waste my time with a razor that doesn't align itself properly.
 
It’s a good idea to assure that your blade is well seated before starting to shave!

This is something I learned to check based on sad experience.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
The alignment pins on an ATT are small enough that if you are inattentive it is possible to put the blade in askew. The shave will be noticeably rougher.
 
Using a Feather blade in a so cheap razor is a real weapon. You can seriously harm yourself cause it's not really a "safety" razor
 
If the blade is askew, don't shave with it you will have variable blade exposure and that will lead to cuts. I could counsel you on how to make sure the blade is eated correctly, but instead, I am just going to tell you to throw away the cheap razor you have (or display it if it has sentimental value) and buy a modern safety razor with ultra-tight tolerances. Much better long-term decision IMO.
 
I’ve noticed this even on my new high end razors. It annoys me because I feel it should be perfectly symmetrical. But honestly don’t notice a difference in shave quality.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Some razors, the blade drops in the same way every time. Cherish those. :)

On (many) other razors, there's room for jiggling the blade around to line it up. Some razors, because of poor design or numb quality control (I know; shocker, right?) simply can't be lined up short of bashing them with a large hammer.

If you have one of those, I suggest a 3-pound drilling hammer as a suitable alignment tool. :angry: Once you've given it a few whacks, pick up the pieces and dispose of them properly.

Seriously, there should be some "slack" in the pins that will allow you to line up the blade edges by fiddling with the tabs. You will notice a better shave if you line up the blade.

Just wait 'til you try slants! Some of them line up to the cap edge, others to the bars/comb, and some leave it entirely up to the operator. Funny thing; they shave just fine.

O.H.
 
Some razors, the blade drops in the same way every time. Cherish those. :)

On (many) other razors, there's room for jiggling the blade around to line it up. Some razors, because of poor design or numb quality control (I know; shocker, right?) simply can't be lined up short of bashing them with a large hammer.

If you have one of those, I suggest a 3-pound drilling hammer as a suitable alignment tool. :angry: Once you've given it a few whacks, pick up the pieces and dispose of them properly.

Seriously, there should be some "slack" in the pins that will allow you to line up the blade edges by fiddling with the tabs. You will notice a better shave if you line up the blade.

Just wait 'til you try slants! Some of them line up to the cap edge, others to the bars/comb, and some leave it entirely up to the operator. Funny thing; they shave just fine.

O.H.
I lucked out with a inexpensive zamak razor head. My Fendrihan Kingston (that I've put on a WCS 79BR handle) lines up the blade really well and there's no wiggle room. While I expect the threads to fail at some point* until that happens, I'm happy with the razor.

*I initially bought the razor because Fendrihan listed the razor head as being made of brass. After I saw a post by another forum member showing the heads were made of zamak, I wrote Fendrihan and asked about the discrepancy. Fendrihan refunded the money I paid for the razor and also updated the description on their website to reflect the razor heads were made from zamak.
 
One of the things you pay for, in more-expensive razors, is closer tolerances for blade alignment. The blade shouldn't wiggle, and it should be symmetrical left-to-right, and it shouldn't "tilt" so that it's closer to the edge of comb on one end.

Either be careful when you put a blade in, and ensure that the blade is where it _should_ be, as you tighten the head,

. . . or spend a bit more money for a higher quality razor.

Either way works.

. Charles

PS -- I just got my first "machined" razor (RazoRock Lupo Al) , and I was surprised at how tightly the blade is positioned. Live and learn.
 
Thanks to all of your replies. Like I said my razor is cheap as chips so I am not expecting miracles from it; hence me wanting to upgrade soon. Someone mentioned something about 'slack' and to tell you the truth, there seems hardly any slack at all and the blade certainly does not 'wiggle' In fact sometimes its a bit tricky getting the blade on the 3 pins.

For its price (£6) I doubt if it will have any sentimental value as its so cheap. But having said all of the above; for its price I think its a good stepping stone from a Mach3. I'll have a fiddle with it later and I'll see if I can make any 'corrections'.

Jason.
 
STOP PRESS -- I have tried loosening the handle and 'wiggling' the blade about just now on my Beautytrack, but no matter how hard I try, to me the blade still looks off-true. Please take a look at this pic. Your replies will be most helpful.

(Apologies if the pic isn't very good. I was using my phone and its hard getting a close-up).

Jason.
IMG_3207.JPG
 
It looks like the blade has a little more exposure at the top right corner, than it has at the lower right corner. It's likely that it's mis-aligned. A better photo would help, but ideally that needs a DSLR and close-up tubes.

If it's held tightly by the razor -- you can't correct it while tightening the handle -- there's nothing you can do about it, unless you want to take pliers to the internal workings.
 
It looks like the blade has a little more exposure at the top right corner, than it has at the lower right corner. It's likely that it's mis-aligned. A better photo would help, but ideally that needs a DSLR and close-up tubes.

If it's held tightly by the razor -- you can't correct it while tightening the handle -- there's nothing you can do about it, unless you want to take pliers to the internal workings.
That is exactly what I have noticed. For safety reasons, do you think I should stop using this razor and going back to my Mach3 until I get a better DE razor?

Jason.
 
I had blade alignment issues with my first DE. It was quite annoying to fiddle with the blade and cap every shave, because even when I thought I got it aligned, I never did.

I ended up going with Razorock, because of some posts on b&b telling of their great blade alignment.

Mamba .70 scratch and dent sale pushed me to buy!

Now I have a Lupo .72, and I don't want another razor. I'm happy with the Lupo.
 
It doesn’t look super serious so how are your shaves? Do you feel a difference?

You could try to put the cap upside down on a towel and then drop the blade on the posts. Afterwards you put the base on and slightly push down on it whilst screwing in the handle. Turn around and look if the blade is now better aligned. It works with Fatip‘s most of the time.
 
Using a Feather blade in a so cheap razor is a real weapon. You can seriously harm yourself cause it's not really a "safety" razor

I'd have zero compunction in putting a feather into a Baili BD176 and throwing around my face with abandon, and that's nothing if it's not a cheap razor.
 
I'd have zero compunction in putting a feather into a Baili BD176 and throwing around my face with abandon, and that's nothing if it's not a cheap razor.
I was no referring cheap in the mean of price, but in quality. I have many Gillette tech razors from the fifties, obtained for coins, and are extraordinary razors paired with a Feather
 
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