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Who has gone back to SB after using OC razors?

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I have three closed comb, and one open comb. I use the open comb occasionally, but prefer closed for regular daily shaves.
 
There are ‘aggressive’ SB and ‘mild/moderate OC options, so I do not think that one can make a hard and fast rule. Over the years I tried multiple OC and CC options before I found my ‘destination razor’ (a SB)!
 
I've only tried four open-comb razors, so it isn't the biggest sample in the world, but I find my safety-bar razors to generally be smoother and more comfortable.
 
Here we get into blade rigidity, which has been much discussed by guys like Esox (Mike). The idea is that a rigid blade (amongst other things) causes less irritation and I'd say that has been my findings with GEM razors which have rigid blades. The bunch of razors like Fatip OCs descended from and including the Gillette Old Type and some NEW versions held the blade quite rigidly and relied on blade exposure to do the cutting, rather then blade gap. I'm generalising here and others can explain it better, and have with copious photos on other threads. That would be one factor in reducing irritation with daily shaving, but there are a number of other factors in play here.
Learned something new, thanks
 
R

romsitsa

I always preferred open combs until my gen2 Aristocrat arrived. But this needs a steep angle compared to other safety bar designs.

Adam
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I’ve been partial to OCs since my journey began. But lately I’ve become quite enamored with my British Hybrid Tech. It glides and cuts like there isn’t even a blade in it. I still like variety — but when I want comfort, I whip out the Hybrid Tech.
 
I've only tried four open-comb razors, so it isn't the biggest sample in the world, but I find my safety-bar razors to generally be smoother and more comfortable.

I'm just the opposite. For several years, all I used was sb razors -- Super Speeds, Slims, Kronas, a couple of Merkurs. I liked them all. Then I picked up a New LC, and within a few shaves it became apparent that this was an entirely different beast -- much more smooth and comfortable. I use it most of the time now. Funny how these things work!
 
There are a few of us who prefer to use open comb DE razors. But can it acquire a quasi-religious status like "most OC razors are preferable to their SB counterparts?"

To explore this further, who has in fact gone back to SB razors, and why?
I'm guilty of going back (for the most part) to safety bars. I just like the face feel better with the bar than I do with open combs. Personal preference of course. The one exception is the PAA Starling. I prefer their open comb plate because the side tabs seem to be less pointy on my version, hence more comfortable.
 
I’ve personally not had great success with OC razors. My personal preference has been to have limited to no blade feel for the smoothest shaves. My favorite razors in that regard have been the 34C, Rockwell 6S and Timeless Ti and SS versions both in SB. I’m currently testing the Ti .95 OC along with its SB counterparts in .68 and .95 and so far the SB versions are winners for smoothness. If I were not a daily shaver and shaved every 48 hours instead, this equation would be decidedly different and I would get along with OC razors a lot better. I think guys who prefer the OC combs should clarify whether or not they are daily shavers or not. My guess is that most, but of course not all are shaving every other day or so.
 
I was terrified of OC razors when I started shaving with DE razors a bit over a year ago. About a month into my journey, my wife's grandfather gave me his father's ball end old type. I loved it as soon as I used it. After that I got the Schone OC, an OC from WCS, and a single ring old type. I have had great shaves with all of them and I have hacked my face up something fierce with all of them.

Since I am pretty new, I really enjoy learning different razors. Recently I have been spending time getting to know some 60's super speeds, I plan to spend time figuring out a black handle super adjustable next month, and might work my way into an OC for April. I enjoy the variety and the chalenge of getting high quality shaves from different tools.

Thanks for reading my rambles.
 
I’m in the camp where I can get good shaves from both. My Ikon Tech, an SB razor, is the most aggressive and efficient razor in my den. I find the Gillette News I’ve got, both long- and short-comb OCs, not efficient enough for my taste and face. Performance aside, I like the looks of OCs.
 
I like em both. It’s like one day I play a telecaster. The next day I play a jazzmaster.

That said, I think open combs are cooler. But, I probably get better shaves with a safety bar.
 
My usual rotation has 3.5 OCs, 7.5 SBs, and now I've started using two injectors. I like the variety.
The half OC & half SB is a Fendrihan Mk I Full Stainless head:
Both sides are more aggressive than all of my other razors, except for my Slim at high settings.
Is there any advantage to using OC if you shave every single day?
If you like blade-buffing, I find that the OCs are much better at dragging lather backwards over the area you just covered, so you're not repeatedly going over unlathered skin. You can do it with some SBs, but it's a bit tricky to find the right angle for the back stroke.

I was terrified of OC razors when I started shaving with DE razors a bit over a year ago.
Was it the visual effect of the teeth?
 
I shave daily and I prefer OCs, but I will use SBs. I have tried the OC and SB Blackbird and Above The Tie R1 and R2. In both cases, I found the OC to be smoother. I also have a Wolfman OC, Charcoal Goods SB, and a Karve. Even though I prefer OCs, I would rank my charcoal goods 2nd, behind my Wolfman and ahead of my other OC razors. I think the geometry matters more than the comb type, but given a choice of 2 razors with the same geometry, I would choose the OC version.
 
My most-ever-used razor is a Gillette ball-end (?) OC, used between the mid-70s and mid-80s, but I got into a cartridge-buying habit after that (time-poor, so I threw some money at making shaving quicker).

Now I'm retired, I'm currently enjoying the Merkur 23C, which has a close resemblance to the Gillette, but is SB, and with a longer handle, which I prefer.

Sooner or later I will have to try the 25C (open-comb edition of that Merkur), to see if it replicates the good behaviour of the old Gillette.

The original Gillette head has something badly wrong with it (maybe the bent-down brass corners someone discussed in another thread), which makes the blade sit out-of-true, so it wouldn't be a fair test to shave with it.

I might get away with trying the Gillette OC plate in my 23C, though.
 
Was it the visual effect of the teeth?

I think it was a combination of the visual effect and the mistaken belief that it would have more exposed blade. I think it seemed more aggressive because there isn't the, often false, security of having a bar near the razor blade. I also read some posts where people were discussing how aggressive they all were.

Mostly I am really glad that the family history forced me to try one, because I would have missed out on some lovely shaves.

Edit to add: I tend to shave every weekday and at least one weekend day, sometimes both.
 
My answer is it depends. There's so much more to razors than open versus closed comb. My very favorite razors have all been closed combs. They are, in order, the Charcoal Goods Level 3, the Wolfman WR1 .94 and the Ikon Tech. Of the three, the only one I've tried in an OC version is the CGL3 and it wasn't quite smooth enough for my taste.

However, with my ATT H1 and H2, I do best with the OC model (is that the H1? I always forget). I have some old Gillettes that work well OC whereas the Gillette Tech and the Superspeeds are way too mild. Years ago, when I first discovered traditional shaving, I went through phases with each of those razors and then extended phases with the Slim and FatBoy. Settled on a Futur and used it every day for over six years. Never once thought in terms of closed versus open comb at the time. I have a Le Coq caged head (which is neither open nor closed comb but more similar to the former). It's a great razor.

At this point, my sense is, all else being equal I prefer closed combs. But all else is almost never equal.
 
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