+1 to the softer face feel. It makes no sense but it is real for me. I have the Timeless TI 0.68 which yields a comfortable bbs shave as a daily shaver.
Best stainless steel safety razor?
- Thread starter Steven Druckman
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+1 to the softer face feel. It makes no sense but it is real for me. I have the Timeless TI 0.68 which yields a comfortable bbs shave as a daily shaver.
I've been using my Merkur 34C HD Razor since 2011 and it looks the same since I got it from Ebay back then (shaving 1 -3 times a week). After I do my business I just rinse it and let it air dry. Once it is dry I submerge the head of the razor in mineral oil and leave it there until I use it again. This not only preserve the finish from oxidation but also prolongs the sharpness of the blade by 2-3x longer resulting in me changing the blades every 3 to 4 months. If you can't find mineral oil baby oil is a great substitute (since it is made of mineral oil anyway) or oilve oil.
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This would not change my answer. The ATT SE1 is $185 - which leaves you plenty of money to flirt with other handles, consider an SE2 baseplate, and stock up on Schick Proline blades.
I never heard of doing this for a razor. I have put a light coat of mineral oil on my hand tools though. Bed Bath and Beyond sells Snow River Wood Oil, which is pure mineral oil, cheap. I may have to try this with my DE89.
I just dunk the razor's head in a glass of unscented baby oil (which is mineral oil) that you can get from your local dollar store or store brand at your local Walmart and go about my business until its next use. Even if the razor is made of Stainless steel or corrosion resistant just prolonging the blades' life is worth doing that.
CzechCzar
Use the Fat, Luke!
Having just dusted mine off, and gotten the closest shave of my life:
iKon tech
iKon tech
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I finally got a new razor .. the bronze open comb razor from timeless.
It's a 0.78 blade gap... And when I shaved with it last night I butchered myself. I tried again this morning and got a great shave. I have no idea the blade gap on my murkur but even a visual inspection shows that it's narrower by about half... And it's closed comb.
Now I know what people mean by letting the weight of the razor do the shaving. It's nice and heavy and the weight of the handle is more than enough.
Anyway... It shaves great! I'm looking forward to a cool looking patina!
It's a 0.78 blade gap... And when I shaved with it last night I butchered myself. I tried again this morning and got a great shave. I have no idea the blade gap on my murkur but even a visual inspection shows that it's narrower by about half... And it's closed comb.
Now I know what people mean by letting the weight of the razor do the shaving. It's nice and heavy and the weight of the handle is more than enough.
Anyway... It shaves great! I'm looking forward to a cool looking patina!
Hmm. Honestly, I'd probably just have my Slim or Fatboy (or both) plated in rhodium. Or maybe one rhodium, the other gold.
I guess I have a vintage bias. My belief is that they knew more about blade geometry and angles and gaps back when basically every male in the country, save Grizzly Adams, actually used a safety razor. My new razor acquisitions have been hit or miss. Cadet open comb--not good, Merkur 34G--pretty good, Parker Variant--one of my regular go-to razors.
My vintage razors, Techs, Super Speeds, the Slim, the Fatboy, and Schick Krona are all "hit" and no "miss". The only miss would be a Gillette Old Style, but I suspect that is in part because it was made for the older, thicker blades.
Any Timeless razor or Rockwell 6S(6C is just as good). I used to think these two brands were just hype but I was wrong. They both hold blade rigidly allowing for smooth shave regardless of base plate blade gap.
The one vintage I've tried that gives me a truly great shave is the Slim. Feels rougher than the ultra smooth Rockwell though.
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I only have the Braveheart by the executive shaving company, about £40 and well made.
None of my razors have ever corroded.
None of my razors have ever corroded.
I have and had gotten used to the SB version of this. Then I ordered the OC head as you have. Absolutely destroyed my face. So bad I haven’t gone back to it for a week or two. This thing is a real beast with the OC! Have to be really really mindful of pressure and angle.
Hello,
I cannot really compare, as I don't have any other stainless razors, but I love my Above The Tie.
The again, I had no corrosion issues whatsover on my Merkur chrome plated one - and I treat it rather badly. After the shave, I just put it in a razor stand to dry.
Take care
YouYou
I cannot really compare, as I don't have any other stainless razors, but I love my Above The Tie.
The again, I had no corrosion issues whatsover on my Merkur chrome plated one - and I treat it rather badly. After the shave, I just put it in a razor stand to dry.
Take care
YouYou
The best Choice is timeless razors, in my opinion. Others that are also good is ATT Windsor R1, ATT SE1, Wolfman WR1, Blackland Vector and Blackland Blackbird.
After a hot water soak with soap and scrub using a tootbrush if that doesn't work use a metal cleaner for chrome something gritty and lint free cloth and polish it that way to see if it removes the surface coating. If you use steel wool it might take take off too much of the plating. Unless the plating flaked off and is pitted that base plate and cap should be salvageable.
Cameo stainless steel sink cleaner can also be used for this. Just use a wet rag to polish it.
I can't say I am a fan of anything but brass razors. They don't chip or crack easily even though they do distort much easier. Even then you can bend them back into shape plus as long as the brass alloy is not a high zinc content it will last a lifetime no problem. That is the key to buying a modern brass razor is know what type of alloy of brass it made out of.
Plated or lacquered sealed they are tried and true for applications like shaving and musical instruments which come into extended contact with human skin and saliva.
Plated or lacquered sealed they are tried and true for applications like shaving and musical instruments which come into extended contact with human skin and saliva.
The problem with stainless is it not really stainless. Aluminum is stainless because it the surface self heals when it develops cracks or flakes. You see it as it patinas but it fills in those cracks and keeps water from getting in the cracks and oxidizing the metal.
Stainless doesn't once it starts to crack or flake and water gets in there it will start rust and once the rust expands that is it. With stainless if you want to last you need to periodically seal the cracks that will eventually form using acid. Unless the manufacturer specifically states that they do so assume they don't passivate the metal like what is required for medical instruments made of stainless steel. If you have a stainless steel razor I would suggest doing this yourself or having someone do it for you that knows how to.
Citric Acid Passivation, cleaning stainless steel, passivating steel -
Modern stainless steel for non-commercial use pretty much self-protects (formation of chromic oxides on the surface) without the need for renewal by passivation (removal of surface impurities with acid) - in fact, it's usually part of the finishing/polishing process for the metal. Even if it isn't, just like regular steel, surface oxidation occurs naturally to protect the metal - much more so with stainless. A modern stainless steel razor will likely outlast you and multiple generations of your descendants without any special care other than cleaning and drying after use - I have stainless steel handguns casually cared-for that are unchanged after more than fifty years of hard wear, frequently outdoors. If you ever want to freshen the surface, a light scrubbing with Barkeepers Friend is likely all you'll ever need. Even the arguably more delicate "cobalt steel" of vintage Darwins still holds up very well almost ninety years later - likely a modern stainless DE razor would be relatively unfazed with normal shaving use after a couple of centuries and more. "Stainless" doesn't mean "stain proof," so depending on the quality of the steel and what it's exposed to, stainless can change color over time, and even rust (at a much, much slower rate than high-carbon steel), but with structural integrity and utility barely affected. Nothing wrong with "passivating" your razors commercially if you have concerns about wear, but certainly not necessary, and just maintaining them normally will give you a lifetime - and beyond - of use. Shave on!
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And when you etch it especially if you laser mark the metal that is end of it being fully passivated unless you redo it afterwards with nitric or citric acid. If you are going to spend $$$ on a stainless steel razor it certainly is worthwhile process to have to have done to protect that investment afterwards if the manufacturer can't or won't certify it is passivated to some sort of standard like what is used for medical or pharmaceutical by the FDA. Unlike aluminum or brass stainless is actually less safe for this application because of the potential blood poisoning from rust even in a micro form. Passivating to medical standards is a very simple way to allay those concerns and potential legal problems once one person dies and some slick lawyer pursues that angle in a lawsuit.
Stainless steel is about as stainless as non alcoholic beer is non alcoholic.
Equating guns to razors is like equating apples to oranges same as firearms to medical equipment which shaving devices are more akin to.
My stainless offerings include the Rex Ambassador, RR Game Changers with both plates and the Fendrihan Mark II. Not a lot of stainless razors but really don’t see the need for more. I have plenty of vintage and modern razors with other materials including brass and aluminum.
Best performance for the price would be the Mark II by Fendrihan, just pick your handle. Have gotten BBS on just 1 pass and quick cleanup. Amazing with a wider blade like Kai but great with all my blades. Can bite if not paying attention. Smooth and maneuverable. Bought 2 more for my sons.
Next would be the GC with the .68 plate. Better for daily shaves than the .84. Throw a nice sharp blade in like a Yellow or Kai. Effortless, easy 3 pass BBS. A little better looking than the Fendrihan in the baseplate department but not as efficient. Feels like a stainless version of the pre-war Tech during shaving. Love my Tech. Also, like the Tech you have to locate the sweet spot, ride the cap. Bought 2 more for my sons.
The GC .84 is great, but I find it a little blade finicky. If you use daily, best to use a Lab Blue. Kai works great for me in the .84, just too harsh for me in daily shaves. Not as angle dependent as the .68, don’t have to ride the cap as much with this one.
The Rex is beautiful and well crafted. It is pricey though and not my best adjustable, that falls to my Super 84. My Rex edges out my Fatboy, Variant and Slim but not by a whole lot. Finish with the Rex could be better for the price, not bad and I have nothing against brushed stainless, but expect some minor nicks when purchasing new. Should point out that some imperfections I initially thought were nicks, were actually burrs which came off after my first brush cleaning. Haven’t decided on whether to purchase more for my sons. It a great razor but hard to justify the price of getting 2 more. I’ll either buy 1 more and give mine to one of my sons or sell mine. Another thing worth mentioning is that the blade posts should really be a tad longer, just a little bit to seat the blade properly before tightening.
Best performance for the price would be the Mark II by Fendrihan, just pick your handle. Have gotten BBS on just 1 pass and quick cleanup. Amazing with a wider blade like Kai but great with all my blades. Can bite if not paying attention. Smooth and maneuverable. Bought 2 more for my sons.
Next would be the GC with the .68 plate. Better for daily shaves than the .84. Throw a nice sharp blade in like a Yellow or Kai. Effortless, easy 3 pass BBS. A little better looking than the Fendrihan in the baseplate department but not as efficient. Feels like a stainless version of the pre-war Tech during shaving. Love my Tech. Also, like the Tech you have to locate the sweet spot, ride the cap. Bought 2 more for my sons.
The GC .84 is great, but I find it a little blade finicky. If you use daily, best to use a Lab Blue. Kai works great for me in the .84, just too harsh for me in daily shaves. Not as angle dependent as the .68, don’t have to ride the cap as much with this one.
The Rex is beautiful and well crafted. It is pricey though and not my best adjustable, that falls to my Super 84. My Rex edges out my Fatboy, Variant and Slim but not by a whole lot. Finish with the Rex could be better for the price, not bad and I have nothing against brushed stainless, but expect some minor nicks when purchasing new. Should point out that some imperfections I initially thought were nicks, were actually burrs which came off after my first brush cleaning. Haven’t decided on whether to purchase more for my sons. It a great razor but hard to justify the price of getting 2 more. I’ll either buy 1 more and give mine to one of my sons or sell mine. Another thing worth mentioning is that the blade posts should really be a tad longer, just a little bit to seat the blade properly before tightening.
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