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Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
anyways i just got delivered the ixon ikon slant x3, think its got the bulldog stainless steel handle,
i dont think ive ever owned a stainless steel razor so the handle felt real quality and had good weight too,
but my question is as daft as it sounds it how do you know if youve got a stainless razor?

Well, in your case you have a stainless handle. The razor head is Zamak, an alloy of zinc (Z), aluminum (A), magnesium (MA) and copper (K: "kupfer" in German). Zamak needs a coating, so generally it's chromed or may be given a ceramic or powdercoat finish.

There may be simple and non-invasive/destructive tests to determine if the parts are stainless. Specific gravity would probably indicate it, if you knew the SG of the most probable stainless alloy you could compare that to your unknown and see whether it was in the ballpark. The most common stainless alloy in razors is 304, I think. Some make a big selling point out of 316 stainless -- the big difference is 304 can still stain a bit in hard water (though I've never had a problem and have hard well water). As a "marine alloy" 316 is less likely to stain, but that comes at the cost of being more expensive and also harder to machine.

That argues that price may be one indirect indicator -- less expensive razors often have more Zamak; more expensive razors generally specify the materials for the whole thing. Parker, for instance, says their SemiSlant has a "brass frame" -- which as near as I can tell really means they made the handle out of brass, because the head is Zamak. Fatip says they use brass and I believe them. You won't find Zamak in ATT or Blackland product, for instance.

You will find it in Merkur, Parker, iKon and many others, but again there are different grades of Zamak. Many of the Zamak razors we see in the looks-like market are copies of more expensive razors. Still pretty good shavers, some of them.

O.H.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
I’m not sure you’d need a shim in an injector (or artist club or GEM for that matter) because the blades are much more rigid than a DE blade. That is, unless I’m mistaking the reason for a shim in the first place.

I can't see a need to shim an AC blade. Most of the AC razors I've seen didn't have enough room for a shim in any event, plus most are built to be rather aggressive.

Shim a Gem, however, that's a thing. Some of the older versions were really made for wedge blades, though some of them will also fit a modern Gem blade. Even ones made for Gem blades back in the day were made for a thicker blade -- so the usual cure is to take the aluminum spine off a dull blade and cut it in half. Then use that strip of aluminum to shim the Gem. Works a treat with a razor that feels too mild.

O.H.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
@Old Hippie , the Ikon X3 head isn’t aluminum?
Well, I *assumed* it was Zamak since the folks at iKon never answer their customer service emails. Yet another reason to appreciate ATT, Blackland, even Merkur who all answer questions from their customers. Keeps me coming back, anyway.

Casting Zamak would -- I think -- be actually easier than casting aluminum. When I worked in an art foundry we cast a lot of aluminum, quite a bit of brass and a little bronze. Brass has the amusing quality of "spitting" -- kind of like water in hot grease, and for the same basic reason. We'd usually plan a run of brass casting if we had a group of high-school kids coming in. A few sizzling balls of white-hot metal zipping around and the little buggers would stay well back instead of trying to look straight into the furnace.

I also thought Zamak because it seems like it may be more economical, and to my highly trained fingertips the iKon X3 head didn't feel light enough to be aluminum. If it is actually aluminum I'm happy to be corrected.

O.H.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Thank you, Chuck! I don’t know why I assumed the head was aluminum (cast, milled, willed, whatever) especially when the Maggards slant seems to be the same thing with more finish options and it’s zamack. Your applications of Occam and Archimedes is appreciated.
 
If it is actually aluminum I'm happy to be corrected.

O.H.

According to Maggard, it’s aluminum.

IMG_3143.jpg
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Thank you, Chuck! I don’t know why I assumed the head was aluminum (cast, milled, willed, whatever) especially when the Maggards slant seems to be the same thing with more finish options and it’s zamack. Your applications of Occam and Archimedes is appreciated.

Sure! Going wrong in a very public manner is completely my style. :)

Weird that it's aluminum. Why that's weird, I'm not real sure, but I just can't quite fit my brain around making a really light head and then pairing it with a heavy handle.

O.H.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
When I use mine, it feels like aluminum to me - lighter than the Yaqi Mellon and Mühle 2013-R41 heads in zamack - but I still tend to take your word over the adcopy given to Ikon’s retailers.

The handle weight disparity is possibly one of manufacturers’ convenience and odd notions that certain consumers have that mass = quality (it can’t be just me) even if it makes the razor slightly unwieldy.
 
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Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
When I use mine, it feels like aluminum to me - lighter than the Yaqi Mellon and Mühle 2013-R41 heads in zamack - but I still tend to take your word over the adcopy given to Ikon’s retailers.

The handle weight disparity is possibly one of manufacturers’ convenience and odd notions that certain consumers have that mass = quality (it can’t be just me) even if it makes the razor slightly unwieldy.

Heh; "...who ya gonna believe? Me or your own lyin' eyes?" :) I'm prepared to believe it's aluminum. Not so invested in the answer that I feel like cutting one up just to see what it's made from, however. Had one. It was OK but not terribly inspirational, so it went down the road.

I have a couple of pretty light razors that I always pair with a stainless handle because I like a bit more mass. One is the PAA Starling V2OC, which is an aluminum razor; the other is the PAA El Fantasma, which is plastic. I had to play with various handles to find ones that would not make the resulting Frankenrazor feel handle-heavy. RazoRock's ball-end UFO handle is lovely on the "ElF" and ATT's Kronos is perfect on the Starling.

O.H.
 
seen the merkur 45c bakelite being mentioned before in the forum,

so being bakelite I assume it must be very light, anyone got any experience with this razor?

Is it classed as mild or aggressive razor?

Seen a vid and seems like a bit of a different shaving angle due to the head of the de razor
 
just had the best shave with my leaf and twig combo,
i do still prefer the twig, even though its just got the one blade it mows down more hair then the leaf imho

i know ive been a bit critical of the leaf and i defo do prefer the twig but i really enjoyed used the leaf along side the twig today

anyways tried out a gillette rubie for the first time, really enjoyed it felt smooth and sharp too

bare in mind i had roughly 11 days worth of growth, plus on top of that my hairs really thick and coarse too

anyone else using those exfoliating gloves? i did previously make a thread on them,
anyways theyre only like a quid but i do find they really help imo YMMV

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just had the best shave with my leaf and twig combo,
i do still prefer the twig, even though its just got the one blade it mows down more hair then the leaf imho

i know ive been a bit critical of the leaf and i defo do prefer the twig but i really enjoyed used the leaf along side the twig today

anyways tried out a gillette rubie for the first time, really enjoyed it felt smooth and sharp too

bare in mind i had roughly 11 days worth of growth, plus on top of that my hairs really thick and coarse too

anyone else using those exfoliating gloves? i did previously make a thread on them,
anyways theyre only like a quid but i do find they really help imo YMMV

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I don’t use my Twig often so I tend to forget how well it shaves. The angle and small size of the head make it so easy to get close, clean shaves.

hey people just wanted to ask, do you guys love the stinging pain of the alum block and the aftershave?

im a bit weird but honestly i really love it, bit of a buzz lol
I don’t necessarily like the pain but I do like the feedback so I know where to be a little gentler.
 
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