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Any suggestions on how to get blades out of a Game Changer?

I love my GC .84. It's a very lovable razor ... except for one problem.

It will remain a question for the ages why they chose to put the posts on the base plate instead of where they belong, on the top cap. Archaeologists a thousand years from now who find Game Changers deep in the earth will ponder what it might have meant -- whether it perhaps had religious significance, since it defies all logical reasoning and practical experience.

I have now almost sliced through a finger twice changing blades on the Game Changer. Even when I manage to successfully extract a blade from it, I've simply never had a razor that forced me to have this much of a close physical relationship with my razor blades.

If anyone has tips on how to navigate the mine field of changing blades on a GC, please let me know. I would like to get to a point where I don't have to keep a box of band-aids right next to the razor.
 
Turn the base over and press a side down on a towel, or just press down on one side of the blade and the entire thing will pop up. Reach under side and lift.
 
As a geologist, I usually wind up reaching for my rock hammer! And it typically solves the immediate problem in short order,... but often generates another (bigger) one!
 
I'd like to hear an answer to this question as well. I used mine for my last two shaves and both times the blade, a Polsilver SI, just would not come off the bottom plate. I will have try the suggestion of pushing down on one side and lifting up as the other side pops up. I am skeptical that it will work. Yesterday I had a devil of a time getting the thing off. I was able to get underneath it from one end but all that seemed to do was push the blade further onto the posts instead of off the posts. Like @Tostig I don't want to have such a close intimate relationship with my razor blades.
 
I usually use a toothpick & pry one side off & then the other side. Its a pain but, worth it for tight tolerances.! I love the Game Changer.
 
I usually use a toothpick & pry one side off & then the other side. Its a pain but, worth it for tight tolerances.! I love the Game Changer.

Oh yeah. I love the razor too. Except for this one issue. I have no desire to use another device, even a toothpick. I already have enough little whatchamacallits in this hobby. Don't want any more. I'm going to go play with it now and see if pressing down (counterintuitive - I like it) will work. I'll be back.
 
I have found that the Personna Israeli red blades do not stick on the base plate so that is all I use now in the Game Changer.
 
Ok. The towel approach didn't work for me. But pressing down on one end while lifting up on the other did work better.
 
I have a Mamba which uses the same type of baseplate and I don't have any trouble. People who use shave with a Game Changer are just way too keyed up.
 
I initially struggled removing blades too. But I now seem to have found a way.

Unscrew the handle and place the head with the cap up across your fingers with the screw in between the fingers pointing down. Gently lift the top cap off with your other hand. Then unfasten one end of the blade and gently pry the blade off.

You may want to practice when you are not shaving - like when watching TV (if anyone still does this).

I am right handed and place the head onto the fingers of my left hand.

Some blades are tighter than others.


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I should add that this is based on the instructions on the Italian Barber website. And if the blade sticks to the top cap, then place the top cap on your fingers with the screw pointing upward to remove the blade. Go slow and try not to make any stupid moves. I sliced my finger first time out.


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I agree, removing a blade from the GC (or the Mamba) is a pain. On the other hand, I consider it the price paid for dead-on-every-time blade alignment. I've yet to meet a three stud top cap mount that can match the GC's consistency in alignment. There are other ways of course; I prefer corner tabs, which align the four corners of the blade in relation to one another, just about fool proof. But for some reason unknown to me, this seemingly simple alignment method is rarely seen on modern DEs.
 
I should add that this is based on the instructions on the Italian Barber website.
Yup, it's the reverse of the blade-loading instructions. Once you lift the top cap, the blade is left sitting on the base plate. I find that it usually just pops up when I pry on one side of the blade with my finger.

I agree, removing a blade from the GC (or the Mamba) is a pain. On the other hand, I consider it the price paid for dead-on-every-time blade alignment. I've yet to meet a three stud top cap mount that can match the GC's consistency in alignment. There are other ways of course; I prefer corner tabs, which align the four corners of the blade in relation to one another, just about fool proof. But for some reason unknown to me, this seemingly simple alignment method is rarely seen on modern DEs.
This is exactly my view, too. The GC is the only razor that I don't bother checking blade alignment. It is always seated correctly.

Meanwhile, I received a Maggard V3 head on Monday that has a minor misalignment issue. One side of the head always has a bit more blade exposure (about 0.4mm), regardless of how much I adjust it. Every time I clamp it down, the blade moves to one side as if it has some kind of auto-adjusting feature. :001_tongu

It doesn't really bother me. It's actually kind of nice to have a mild side and an aggressive side. That way, I can do my initial passes with the aggressive side and do my touchup pass with the mild side.
 
I am glad the GC has tight specs. Not worrying about misalignment is a great thing for me. Maggard being the usual suspect. I just cut a strip of a plastic card (gift card) I had laying around. When finish with the shave, I just pry it from the middle of the base and done. It just pops with no effort.
 
Needing a milder shave last night, I plopped a new RPL into my GC68P and proceeded to have a satisfying shave. Afterward, I used my normal method to remove the blade and clean the razor with zero problems.


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Most blades are not an issue in my Game Changer, but there was one (I think it was a Nacet) that was didn't just fall out when I turned the base plate upside down. I just grabbed it with a pair of tweezers. I guess there's a risk of bending the blade, so if you take the blade out and then want to re-use it that might not be a good solution for you. I only open a razor when I'm ready to replace the blade so I didn't care if I bent it a bit.
 
Grandpa always had a washcloth on the counter while shaving - always a purple one. I carry on the tradition today. It's handy for mopping off residual soap between passes. I suppose you could just open the razor & tap out the stuck blade against the folded wet washcloth.

Of course, I don't have any practical experience with stuck blades, since they all remove easily and safely from all my vintage razors.

The hammer procedure detailed earlier has merit. But be sure to plan ahead and have a vintage razor at hand as a reliable back-up.
 
I have a game changer but haven't really experienced this problem. They (blades) do stick a little bit. But I've been able to just put my fingernail under the tab on one side and lift up to get the blade free.
 
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