Are slants really about the slant?

[Joezamboni]

After another thread where I looked at and compared my Above the Tie S1 to other slants and how it behaved. I started to wonder if the big thing about a slant was the actual slant.

So the Above the tie S1 is closer to a traditional scalloped safety bar razor, but with a slight twist and slant. It’s very nice, but it’s closer experience to a scalloped safety bar than a Merkur 37c.

Kind of like how a Razorock BBS is like a traditional slant regarding the curve of the blade and the angle which the blade is presented. Just without the twist and slant. I wasn’t into razors too much when it initially came out but a lot of comments even reflected that. Makes me debate buying one.

So to those that have experience, and it seems the owners of the BBS and other slants may know best. Does the slant play more of a role than the curve and angle of the blade?

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

It is the slant itself that makes the difference. Try slicing a tomato going straight down with the blade. Then try going straight down and pulling the blade toward you at the same time.

Now, you can do this without a slanted blade using the same method. It's called the Gillette Slide and once was the instruction that came with those razors back when. But, it has a downside. If you move the blade too fast in the slide, you get a cut.

The slant razor performs the same dual axis slicing action by just pulling the unit straight. So, that's the real reason for the design.

And I find that the twisted design is superior to the slanted head design.

I also had an ATT S2 and found it was not slanted nearly enough to compete with my vintage Fasan doubleslant. I passed that one on during this year's auction.

Fasan w/ Gold Fat Tech Handle

• KQY61
• Jan 13, 2014

Showing the degree of helix in a DoubleSlant. also, it looks better with the gold Fat Tech handle.

I have tried quite a few makes and models of slant and prefer the Fasan design. And there are remakes out there these days.

There was also the Differential Slant design made in Solingen Germany. That design has a more aggressive side and a less aggressive side. But, I don't know of any modern copies if that style.

 

[Rob72]

The Wunderbar is close to the Fasan. The original PAA bakelite, which I was fortunate enough to acquire recently, is comparable as well.

The dramatic torsion is the determinate factor in the slant's efficiency.

The Konsul is closer to the German '37 (any maker), but is capable of higher efficiency because of the adjustable gap.

 

[Iridian]

The slanted angle is important, but the torsion and stiffening of the blade edge make slants like the Wunderbar/Superslant even better.

I would like to argue it is even contributing more to the shave quality, IMO.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Hi,

It is the slant itself that makes the difference. Try slicing a tomato going straight down with the blade. Then try going straight down and pulling the blade toward you at the same time.

Now, you can do this without a slanted blade using the same method. It's called the Gillette Slide and once was the instruction that came with those razors back when. But, it has a downside. If you move the blade too fast in the slide, you get a cut.

The slant razor performs the same dual axis slicing action by just pulling the unit straight. So, that's the real reason for the design.

And I find that the twisted design is superior to the slanted head design.

I also had an ATT S2 and found it was not slanted nearly enough to compete with my vintage Fasan doubleslant. I passed that one on during this year's auction.

Fasan w/ Gold Fat Tech Handle

• KQY61
• Jan 13, 2014

Showing the degree of helix in a DoubleSlant. also, it looks better with the gold Fat Tech handle.

I have tried quite a few makes and models of slant and prefer the Fasan design. And there are remakes out there these days.

There was also the Differential Slant design made in Solingen Germany. That design has a more aggressive side and a less aggressive side. But, I don't know of any modern copies if that style.

I have put mine on a Fatip Grande handle.

 

[NotBloomingAL]

The slanted angle is important, but the torsion and stiffening of the blade edge make slants like the Wunderbar/Superslant even better.

I would like to argue it is even contributing more to the shave quality, IMO.

As you say and it's pretty intuitive -- an edge of sheet metal under tension is far more likely to cut your hand than a relaxed edge. A razor blade under tension is going to breeze through whiskers easier than just a flat, clamped blade. Perhaps that's why there's a trend for razors that secure the blade much closer to the edge and holding the curve.

 

[Old Hippie]

Man, great questions!

Three answers.

The RazoRock BBS (which as you note is not a slant) puts a bit more curvature on the blade which "adds tension" as I've heard it put. That helps keep the blade from chattering in some situations. The BBS is also a pretty mild razor; almost too mild for me in the regular OC version. Definitely too mild for me in the regular SB. I haven't tried the "Aggressive Step" plate mainly because since the razor is not a slant I'm not all that engaged with it. I rui...I mean..."modified" the SB plate and turned the razor into a devette, which addresses my occasional craving for a naked-blade shave.

Tilted slants such as the PAA Alpha Ecliptic, iKon Shavecraft 102, and a whole whack of vintage European slants do not add extra torsion to the blade. I like to say they're basically regular DE heads (or SE in the case of the ATT X1 AC slant) "mounted at an angle." This may be a more instructive example than helical slants. Comparing the BBS (a well-clamped non-slant) with the iKon Shavecraft 102 (a well-clamped tilted slant) shows me that both are fairly mild razors but that the result with the iKon comes with a little less work. On that basis I think to notice a difference in the shave which I believe is due to the tilt presentation.

Helical slants can be relatively gently slanted like the ATT S series, Parker SemiSlant, Rex Konsul (and presumably the Sentry); or they can be really twisty like the PAA Monster series, the PAA Filament (which I hear is not as twisty as the Monsters), the vintage Fasan Double Slants (there is some discussion about whether V1 or V2 Fasans are more twisty), the fabled Merkur "Super Slant," and the RazoRock Superslant series. Homelike's "Elbrus" looks really really interesting to me, but at the moment I'm not pursuing it.

I think that added tension was more productive in the carbon-steel blade days. Modern stainless blades are inherently stiffer, which is leading to manufacturers making them from thinner and thinner stock to control prices. That has an effect on the shave, of course. Thicker stainless blades are going to benefit from the helicality, but thinner ones may need it more because they don't have as much stiffness.

All that means I think we have two things happening: twist and tilt. Sounds like a popular song from the '60s. You can't get twist without tilt, but that doesn't mean they're codependent; it is possible to have tilt with no twist and that seems to work better than no tilt.

O.H.

 

[Tallships]

Slants for me are a waste of time and money, I use my DE razors as if they were Slants, Streight down and at an Angle just like a Chef Knife or Guillotine makes my old Slim Fatboy or any other of my DE/SE razors just as Efficient as a Slant. But some say a Slant makes the Blade more Ridgid, with no chatter. I noted no difference. Sold all my Slants.