Respectfully not in. Great idea and a great pif.
Very good on you, sir!!
Very good on you, sir!!
Adjustable Weight Handle (pif)
- Thread starter Ricksplace
- Start date
Did not see. Congrats @Flintstone65.
Looking forward to reading your review.
Looking forward to reading your review.
Go Fred!
Flintstone65
Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
Thank you all — I’m very excited, and I will be proving lots of pics and commentary as I learn what my ideal handle weight is for my various razors!!!
@Flintstone65, congratulations!
I am super in, I have to many handles to mention
@Flintstone65 congratulations.
- Thread starter
- #29
Mailed it today. I have shipped handles to UK, Spain, Serbia, and USA. (and some other countries I can't remember) 5-7 days seems to be about average, depending upon how long customs of the receiving country plays with it.
@Flintstone65, congratulations!
Flintstone65
Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
Dino is watching for the mailman....nothing to do but wait. 
Flintstone65
Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
I had to pry Dino off the mailman, but the package arrived safely (and quickly, I might add)! So let's talk about this amazing PIF....first I want to say that this will not be the last post on this topic. I have lots (and I mean LOTS) of razors, and many have handles I don't care for, while others came without any handle at all. My plan is to explore how this handle works with various heads. My hypothesis is that there is likely no optimal handle weight in and of itself, but rather every razor will likely perform better with it's own "optimal" weight...which is the beauty of the adjustable nature of this handle. So basically I'm saying, this could take a while, and I'm REALLY looking forward to this journey!!! 
So let's start with the package itself. A picture is worth a thousand words -- although I enjoy using at least two thousand when I post -- so here is what I received:
Rick was kind enough to let me sample a few blades that I hadn't used before, and he generously included those in the package. You can see the aluminum handle -- and that knurling is perfect....and I mean PERFECT.....it's comfortable yet grippy, and the pattern is precisely and beautifully cut. There are 4 weights, and an extra tail cap -- made from a heavier metal than aluminum. I've weighed all of the pieces individually, although my scale is really not precise beyond 1 (maybe 2 grams). So the individual weights that go into the handle look like they vary in weight by .5 gram to 1 gram, with a total of 24 grams of weight an average of 6 grams per piece. Here's what were looking at for various weights of items:
So a few more comments on the photo above. The white pieces are an eraser from an old mechanical pencil that I cut up to act as spacers depending on the number of weights used in the handle. They work perfectly and I'm actually proud of myself for thinking of that -- yeah, I'm not overly creative or mechanical so I'm impressed with myself
. So let's talk about over all handle weights: the handle with the standard aluminum tail cap is 14 grams; you replace the aluminum tail cap for some rear-end weight by using the steel cap, for a total of 20 grams. So the most mass using the supplied lead weights and heavier tail cap is 44 grams -- which is more than enough for a maximum weight. The handle length by my US-made non-metric ruler is 3 1/8 inches, which translates to 79mm.
The first razor up for the new handle is one that is positively vibrating with excitement over a new handle: The Stahly Live Blade razor. A razor whose head has an awesome reputation (well deserved, I might add); but who's standard handle is like holding a vibrating flashlight handle. For those who don't know, the Stahly was a vibrating razor with the handle supplying the vibration. Here's a pic that I "borrowed" since I didn't want to dig out the standard vibrating handle for a photo shoot:
If that handle looks big and bulky, that's because it is....but it also has a mass to go with that bulkiness: the total razor weight is 175 grams (over 6 ounces) and the handle alone is 145 grams!!! This bulky mess shields the Stahly's secret, which is it is an amazing shaver when you take it off the handle....and luckily, it screws into the handle with the same size screw and fitting as any regularly sized DE.
Here's the photo of the Stahly head weight and with it's new adjustable weight handle (this is also the shave setup I used this morning):
One last "weight" photo, this is the setup used in side the handle:
So the handle was a total of 31 grams (with 1 weight, a spacer, followed by 2 more weights and the aluminum tail cap) and the razor head (without the Nacet blade) was 30 grams. Now you're probably wondering.....HOW WAS THE SHAVE?!?!?!?!??? An excellent question....IT WAS GREAT!!! But let me set the stage a bit:
I will be adjusting the weight for the Stahly and then reporting back; and aside from some other DE's I will also be trying it on some Vintage SE's. I recently acquired a brass adjuster screw which fits DE handles on the one side and SE razor heads on the other. I'm going to continue to post here until someone yells "STOP".
My thanks to @Ricksplace for this extraordinarily generous PIF!!!
So let's start with the package itself. A picture is worth a thousand words -- although I enjoy using at least two thousand when I post -- so here is what I received:
Rick was kind enough to let me sample a few blades that I hadn't used before, and he generously included those in the package. You can see the aluminum handle -- and that knurling is perfect....and I mean PERFECT.....it's comfortable yet grippy, and the pattern is precisely and beautifully cut. There are 4 weights, and an extra tail cap -- made from a heavier metal than aluminum. I've weighed all of the pieces individually, although my scale is really not precise beyond 1 (maybe 2 grams). So the individual weights that go into the handle look like they vary in weight by .5 gram to 1 gram, with a total of 24 grams of weight an average of 6 grams per piece. Here's what were looking at for various weights of items:
So a few more comments on the photo above. The white pieces are an eraser from an old mechanical pencil that I cut up to act as spacers depending on the number of weights used in the handle. They work perfectly and I'm actually proud of myself for thinking of that -- yeah, I'm not overly creative or mechanical so I'm impressed with myself
. So let's talk about over all handle weights: the handle with the standard aluminum tail cap is 14 grams; you replace the aluminum tail cap for some rear-end weight by using the steel cap, for a total of 20 grams. So the most mass using the supplied lead weights and heavier tail cap is 44 grams -- which is more than enough for a maximum weight. The handle length by my US-made non-metric ruler is 3 1/8 inches, which translates to 79mm.The first razor up for the new handle is one that is positively vibrating with excitement over a new handle: The Stahly Live Blade razor. A razor whose head has an awesome reputation (well deserved, I might add); but who's standard handle is like holding a vibrating flashlight handle. For those who don't know, the Stahly was a vibrating razor with the handle supplying the vibration. Here's a pic that I "borrowed" since I didn't want to dig out the standard vibrating handle for a photo shoot:
If that handle looks big and bulky, that's because it is....but it also has a mass to go with that bulkiness: the total razor weight is 175 grams (over 6 ounces) and the handle alone is 145 grams!!! This bulky mess shields the Stahly's secret, which is it is an amazing shaver when you take it off the handle....and luckily, it screws into the handle with the same size screw and fitting as any regularly sized DE.
Here's the photo of the Stahly head weight and with it's new adjustable weight handle (this is also the shave setup I used this morning):
One last "weight" photo, this is the setup used in side the handle:
So the handle was a total of 31 grams (with 1 weight, a spacer, followed by 2 more weights and the aluminum tail cap) and the razor head (without the Nacet blade) was 30 grams. Now you're probably wondering.....HOW WAS THE SHAVE?!?!?!?!??? An excellent question....IT WAS GREAT!!! But let me set the stage a bit:
- This was the first time I had shaved with the Stahly....I know, I should've picked a razor that I had experience with, but I've been doing OCtober, and I've been not-so-patiently waiting to try this razor. Mr. @jmudrick (who I not-so-secretly stalk to feed my RAD) turned me on to the Stahly head, and he was right....this is an excellent shaver. But it was the first time I've used it -- and I haven't tried the vibrating handle yet, but by all accounts this razor is just better when you set the vibrating handle aside and put it on a good handle. It was incredibly smooth and very nicely efficient!
- The razor length is pretty good for me -- my sweet spot is a touch longer -- in the mid-80's (mm) -- but this handle fits my hand comfortably.
- The balance wasn't bad at all, and the weight felt near perfect, but I'm thinking of lower the weight for this razor-head by a 6 grams (1 weight), and redistributing the spacer for more weight towards the back-end. That's the beauty of this handlee, weirdos like me have multiple combinations to try and discover where we like the balance point and how we like the weight distributed.
I will be adjusting the weight for the Stahly and then reporting back; and aside from some other DE's I will also be trying it on some Vintage SE's. I recently acquired a brass adjuster screw which fits DE handles on the one side and SE razor heads on the other. I'm going to continue to post here until someone yells "STOP".
My thanks to @Ricksplace for this extraordinarily generous PIF!!!
Fascinating. Yes the shaves with the Stahly will just get better, it's a mild razor so picky about angle and pressure.I had to pry Dino off the mailman, but the package arrived safely (and quickly, I might add)! So let's talk about this amazing PIF....first I want to say that this will not be the last post on this topic. I have lots (and I mean LOTS) of razors, and many have handles I don't care for, while others came without any handle at all. My plan is to explore how this handle works with various heads. My hypothesis is that there is likely no optimal handle weight in and of itself, but rather every razor will likely perform better with it's own "optimal" weight...which is the beauty of the adjustable nature of this handle. So basically I'm saying, this could take a while, and I'm REALLY looking forward to this journey!!! [emoji106]
So let's start with the package itself. A picture is worth a thousand words -- although I enjoy using at least two thousand when I post -- so here is what I received:
Rick was kind enough to let me sample a few blades that I hadn't used before, and he generously included those in the package. You can see the aluminum handle -- and that knurling is perfect....and I mean PERFECT.....it's comfortable yet grippy, and the pattern is precisely and beautifully cut. There are 4 weights, and an extra tail cap -- made from a heavier metal than aluminum. I've weighed all of the pieces individually, although my scale is really not precise beyond 1 (maybe 2 grams). So the individual weights that go into the handle look like they vary in weight by .5 gram to 1 gram, with a total of 24 grams of weight an average of 6 grams per piece. Here's what were looking at for various weights of items:
So a few more comments on the photo above. The white pieces are an eraser from an old mechanical pencil that I cut up to act as spacers depending on the number of weights used in the handle. They work perfectly and I'm actually proud of myself for thinking of that -- yeah, I'm not overly creative or mechanical so I'm impressed with myself
The first razor up for the new handle is one that is positively vibrating with excitement over a new handle: The Stahly Live Blade razor. A razor whose head has an awesome reputation (well deserved, I might add); but who's standard handle is like holding a vibrating flashlight handle. For those who don't know, the Stahly was a vibrating razor with the handle supplying the vibration. Here's a pic that I "borrowed" since I didn't want to dig out the standard vibrating handle for a photo shoot:
If that handle looks big and bulky, that's because it is....but it also has a mass to go with that bulkiness: the total razor weight is 175 grams (over 6 ounces) and the handle alone is 145 grams!!! This bulky mess shields the Stahly's secret, which is it is an amazing shaver when you take it off the handle....and luckily, it screws into the handle with the same size screw and fitting as any regularly sized DE.
Here's the photo of the Stahly head weight and with it's new adjustable weight handle (this is also the shave setup I used this morning):
One last "weight" photo, this is the setup used in side the handle:
So the handle was a total of 31 grams (with 1 weight, a spacer, followed by 2 more weights and the aluminum tail cap) and the razor head (without the Nacet blade) was 30 grams. Now you're probably wondering.....HOW WAS THE SHAVE?!?!?!?!??? An excellent question....IT WAS GREAT!!! But let me set the stage a bit:
So I did a 2-pass with no touch-up shave. I'm currently participating in a restraint-from-BBS, so I'm limiting myself to two-passes, but a 3rd pass would've easily put me in DFS+ to BBS territory, as it was I had a CCS+ to DFS- and not a hint of irritation or blood. Halfway through the shave, I realized "oh crap, I'm supposed to be taking note of how the handle feels" -- which is to say, it was so comfortable and natural to use, that I had completely forgotten about my "mission" and was just enjoying the shave. I think that tells you how amazingly natural it is to use!!!
- This was the first time I had shaved with the Stahly....I know, I should've picked a razor that I had experience with, but I've been doing OCtober, and I've been not-so-patiently waiting to try this razor. Mr. @jmudrick (who I not-so-secretly stalk to feed my RAD) turned me on to the Stahly head, and he was right....this is an excellent shaver. But it was the first time I've used it -- and I haven't tried the vibrating handle yet, but by all accounts this razor is just better when you set the vibrating handle aside and put it on a good handle. It was incredibly smooth and very nicely efficient!
- The razor length is pretty good for me -- my sweet spot is a touch longer -- in the mid-80's (mm) -- but this handle fits my hand comfortably.
- The balance wasn't bad at all, and the weight felt near perfect, but I'm thinking of lower the weight for this razor-head by a 6 grams (1 weight), and redistributing the spacer for more weight towards the back-end. That's the beauty of this handlee, weirdos like me have multiple combinations to try and discover where we like the balance point and how we like the weight distributed.
I will be adjusting the weight for the Stahly and then reporting back; and aside from some other DE's I will also be trying it on some Vintage SE's. I recently acquired a brass adjuster screw which fits DE handles on the one side and SE razor heads on the other. I'm going to continue to post here until someone yells "STOP".
My thanks to @Ricksplace for this extraordinarily generous PIF!!!
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Great PIF. I'm in.
Just kidding, congrats to the winner as this was an excellent PIF. After trying many, many handles I'm finding that I'm liking using a lighter handle with a more aggressive head and a heavier handle with a less aggressive head. The lighter handle kinda forces me to have a lighter hand when shaving with the more aggressive razor.
Just kidding, congrats to the winner as this was an excellent PIF. After trying many, many handles I'm finding that I'm liking using a lighter handle with a more aggressive head and a heavier handle with a less aggressive head. The lighter handle kinda forces me to have a lighter hand when shaving with the more aggressive razor.
- Thread starter
- #35
Very nice pics and a fun read. Thank you for taking us along as you have some fun with it, and thank you for the compliments.
I like your use of a pencil eraser!! I love those simple "why didn't I think of that" ideas.
I like your use of a pencil eraser!! I love those simple "why didn't I think of that" ideas.
R
romsitsa
Impressive craftsmanship, congrats. Besides the weight, it could be also used to store a styptic pencil (or a microfilm...).
Not in.
Adam
Not in.
Adam
Very cool write up @Flintstone65 and very cool handle @Ricksplace. I've seen adjustable weight darts but never seen an adjustable razor handle. It makes perfect sense. Adjustable length seems like the it would be pretty nice too.
