The rigidity of the blade(DE)

[ojisanbeer]

First of all, I used a Schick injector type L that my father gave me when I was in high school for over twenty years until he finally broke down and said goodbye!
I became a wet shaving wanderer about 3 years ago.

I then got to double-edged razors and used various holders but never got it right, the blades chatter and catch on the beard, the only thing that survived was the RR wunderbar .... I guess I got too used to the hard blade with the Type L. ....

I have purchased AC format and vintage injectors in various encounters and recently
I've been using vector a lot.
But the wunderbar's shave and finish are very special to me, and I want to use feather high stainless blade.

So I decided to start my double-edged journey again after listening to your teachings (without saying that vector is fine ).

Can you please recommend a razor with a highly rigid clamp?
The wunderbar is highly rigid due to the twisting and turning of the blade, the blade does not chatter and is very smooth.
(It does bite on rare occasions though )
I tried other slant razors, but they were not as good as the wunderbar and I gave them up.

I figure I need a highly rigid holder that doesn't have the double-edged chatter and the blade doesn't lose its edge to the beard, and I want to get something better than the wunderbar.
Anything from the popular to the high end is fine with me.

I'm sure there are many others out there with the same idea, so I've started a thread in the hope that your opinions might help them.

thanks

 

[smudge]

I don't know if you'd consider a vintage razor, but the Gillette New Short Comb holds the blade very rigidly and is an excellent mild to medium aggressive razor.

 

[Mitzie]

I find Murker and Kia DE blades stiffer than most

 

[mikhou]

It's different from what you have been using but the Henson AL13 clamps the blade near the edge and holds the blade very rigidly. It shaves extremely well. I can't compare it to high-end (expensive, >$100) razors as I haven't shaved with any, but the Henson is #1 in my rotation right now among what I have.

 

[hduty]

I would say the Blackland Era: full clamping top and bottom out to the very edge of the blade.
It can't get more rigid than that.

Check images of an Era with a loaded blade and you will see.
Highly recommended.

 

[BigJ]

Turns out that I also appreciate rigidity.

My ‘destination’ razor is a Wolfman WR1 which meets that criterion in spades IMO! The only downside is that it took awhile to arrive.

 

[ojisanbeer]

@smudge
Interesting that there are vintage razors that are rigid.
@Mitzie
I'd like to try a harder blade, thanks.
@mikhou
I was under the impression that Henson was too mild, but I've changed my mind
@hduty
I was considering the blackbird, but I see that ERA is also good, I will consider it!

 

[ojisanbeer]

@BigJ
Wolfman is the razor that we all admire at one time or another, does the unique clamp give birth to rigidity?

 

[Andris83]

check the Razorock Lupo family, it has quite a following. (and you can buy it immediately)

 

[BigJ]

@BigJ
Wolfman is the razor that we all admire at one time or another, does the unique clamp give birth to rigidity?

I am not an engineer or a mechanic. I can say that the WR1 is the most rigid razor I have used.

 

[ojisanbeer]

@Andris83
I'm curious about lupo, DC or 95OC.

 

[Ron R]

First of all, I used a Schick injector type L that my father gave me when I was in high school for over twenty years until he finally broke down and said goodbye!
I became a wet shaving wanderer about 3 years ago.

I then got to double-edged razors and used various holders but never got it right, the blades chatter and catch on the beard, the only thing that survived was the RR wunderbar .... I guess I got too used to the hard blade with the Type L. ....

I have purchased AC format and vintage injectors in various encounters and recently
I've been using vector a lot.
But the wunderbar's shave and finish are very special to me, and I want to use feather high stainless blade.

So I decided to start my double-edged journey again after listening to your teachings (without saying that vector is fine ).

Can you please recommend a razor with a highly rigid clamp?
The wunderbar is highly rigid due to the twisting and turning of the blade, the blade does not chatter and is very smooth.
(It does bite on rare occasions though )
I tried other slant razors, but they were not as good as the wunderbar and I gave them up.

I figure I need a highly rigid holder that doesn't have the double-edged chatter and the blade doesn't lose its edge to the beard, and I want to get something better than the wunderbar.
Anything from the popular to the high end is fine with me.

I'm sure there are many others out there with the same idea, so I've started a thread in the hope that your opinions might help them.

thanks

I have the RR Wunderbar slant also and I agree with your write up about it and I get great shaves with a steep approach angle or riding the bar with a short handle.
If you looking for blade clamping excellence and a good razor I strongly suggest the Razorock Lupo.72 or .95, Lupo.95 seems very popular not sure why. I have the Lupo.72 and it works well for my beard with a new blade. The quality is there and you will be happy, the QC of the razor is outstanding. I have had this razor for over a year with at least 70 shaves and it is #1 of the DE razors of my large collection of razors.
A old archived photo I took when they first introduced in Jan 2021, you see on the base plate near the lather ports the bridges to the safety bar that hold the blade very well, it is my favorite DE razor and seems like a carefree shaving mostly!

Have some great shaves!

 

[slimshavy]

The Gillette Old Type and others modeled after it have no blade gap to leave you hanging, so complete bottom support.

 

[mikhou]

@mikhou
I was under the impression that Henson was too mild, but I've changed my mind

Yes, it’s mild, but I don’t think that it’s inefficient. But that’s my position. As always YMMV.

 

[Eben Stone]

It's different from what you have been using but the Henson AL13 clamps the blade near the edge and holds the blade very rigidly. It shaves extremely well. I can't compare it to high-end (expensive, >$100) razors as I haven't shaved with any, but the Henson is #1 in my rotation right now among what I have.

I don't have any of the other razors that have been suggested so far except the Henson. The Henson has a very rigid design. There are razors that clamp the blade closer to the cutting edge compared to the Henson, but there is something special about the geometry of the Henson that seems to work very well. The blade is almost flat in the head, then near the cutting edge it's bent to an extreme. I think this gives it an advantage. Have you ever tried bending a pipe very close to it's end? The physics involved are beyond my comprehension, but I have experienced the results, and the results are great.

 

[ImJustMe]

I own a Wunderbar and of all the various razor I've tried I'll say that the Overlander, the Henson +++ and the Blackbird are phenomenal. I have the Era and I like it a lot but I clearly prefer the Blackbird in term of blade clamping.

Of course, it's my two cents and YMMV!

 

[D4PPZ]

The absolute, most rigid, modern designs are probably: Blackland Era, Karve Overlander, Blutt BR-1, Henson, Winning Razor(Yates)

Vintage: Flat bottom Tech, Short-comb New

There are a number of others that get you 95% of the way towards the above-mentioned razors, but if you want to be certain, the blade edge is an immovable object in those.

 

[JPO]

I would suggest a Tatara razor. Don't expect a longer life span of your blades. In my opinion, a rigid clamped blade is more stressful for the blade. More of the energy goes to the fragile cutting edge.
A wizamet blades does not last a single shave in my Tatara Masamune. I can get at least 4 to 5 shaves in my Tatara Muramasa. The Muramasa is less rigid, but still compared to something like the Rex Ambassador a rigid blade support.

 

[md1234]

For vintage: Gillette New SC, post war Tech and Gillette Old type
Modern: Fatip

 

[ojisanbeer]

@Ron R
nice photos!I had the GC brothers, but lupo seems to have better rigidity and finish.

@slimshavy
I only have the Old Gillette in TTO No. 16, so I'll have to do some research.

@Eben Stone
Henson seems a little light on the subject.
I'll put him on the short list.

@ImJustMe
Blackbird is of course a candidate (polished finish if I were to buy one).
karve has tried Christopher, but the Overlander seems to be more rigid!

@D4PPZ
Blutt BR-1 is cool, I have seen a good Review somewhere!
Winning looks similar to the Henson, but even better!

@JPO
I have used Tatara razor because I was interested in it because of its Japanese name. I've only had MURAMASA in my hands, so I'll check out Masamune.
As you said, wunderbar is also rather easy to damage the blade, so I usually changed it after 1-2 times.

@md1234
Old Gillette needs research (too many types).
I tried Fatip, but it didn't fit well.


Thanks for the replies guys!