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Do you really need adjustability in a razor? My answer is - NO.

As we develop new shaving habits, improve technique, or just change our preferences, having a razor that can be adjusted to accommodate that is nice.

It’s especially useful to new shavers that are still developing their technique and don’t really know yet what is it they really like or need. Buying an adjustable early on allowed me to experiment without having to go out and buy a new razor every time. .

Yeah well I think you have it entirely wrong. In my view a new shaver is held back from learning how to manage angle and pressure when they look either to adjusting their Fatboy or changing razors to solve their issues.

As we "improve our techniques" we should be able to adjust angle and pressure rather than having to "go out and buy a new razor" or monkey with little changes to blade gap.

Just my opinion .



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Yeah well I think you have it entirely wrong. In my view a new shaver is held back from learning how to manage angle and pressure when they look either to adjusting their Fatboy or changing razors to solve their issues.

As we "improve our techniques" we should be able to adjust angle and pressure rather than having to "go out and buy a new razor" or monkey with little changes to blade gap.

Just my opinion .

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Those who truly believe this would only have one razor.
 
I bought a futur a while back and do kinda like it .... but .... do i think an adjustable is worth it? Definite No ... I have a fair collection of DE's and the honest truth is that the latest purchase .. a Parker Semi Slant is just so good that I do not bother with the others any longer. Quite simply, with the parker there is nothing left (3 pass), no cuts, no irritation, no hassle.
 
Indeed , they weren't collectors or enthusiasts. And they learned to shave with what they had until marketing kicked in.

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I'm not sure where we'd draw the line on traditional DE razors. In my memory, we used an adjustable razor. Now, I like my Van Der Hagan that isn't adjustable.
 
Yeah well I think you have it entirely wrong. In my view a new shaver is held back from learning how to manage angle and pressure when they look either to adjusting their Fatboy or changing razors to solve their issues.

As we "improve our techniques" we should be able to adjust angle and pressure rather than having to "go out and buy a new razor" or monkey with little changes to blade gap.

Just my opinion .



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I am not saying that a new shaver has to constantly adjust their razor early on. They should stick with it until they can get consistently good daily shaves for a period of time.

What I am saying however is that as my experience grew, my tastes changed. In eight months I went from a mild razor loaded with ASP to a mid-aggressive loaded with Feathers. Not because I was trying to make up for a bad technique (I can still easily get an irritation free BBS with my very first razor and blade combo) but simply because I like that more, and I like playing with different settings. For the shavers of the old, it was a routine. For us here, it's a hobby. Hobbyists tend to explore the field much deeper, not just settling on the first thing that works for them. Having an adjustable allows me to easily experiment without having to spend money on a new razor that is exactly like my old razor but more aggressive.

I can pick any single one of my razors, and any of the dozen or so blade brands that I liked or found acceptable, and shave with only that combo for the rest of my life, but why ?
 
I . Having an adjustable allows me to easily experiment without having to spend money on a new razor that is exactly like my old razor but more aggressive.

Spending money on one that differs in something other than blade gap is a lot more interesting

[QUOTE="Umma2gumma, post: 10407940, member: 125511" ]

I can pick any single one of my razors, and any of the dozen or so blade brands that I liked or found acceptable, and shave with only that combo for the rest of my life, but why ?[/QUOTE]

I think that's what I said . Enjoy them all. I just don't see where bumping a Fatboy fro 5 to 7 is seeing the world.



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Spending money on one that differs in something other than blade gap is a lot more interesting

[QUOTE="Umma2gumma, post: 10407940, member: 125511" ]

I can pick any single one of my razors, and any of the dozen or so blade brands that I liked or found acceptable, and shave with only that combo for the rest of my life, but why ?

I think that's what I said . Enjoy them all. I just don't see where bumping a Fatboy fro 5 to 7 is seeing the world.



Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]The Toggle instructions say it adjusts blade exposure. Is that not true? Is gap the only variable that changes on a Toggle?

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I think that's what I said . Enjoy them all. I just don't see where bumping a Fatboy fro 5 to 7 is seeing the world.



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The Toggle instructions say it adjusts blade exposure. Is that not true? Is gap the only variable that changes on a Toggle?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]Yes that's my understanding, blade exposure does also change a bit. Not much though.

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The Toggle instructions say it adjusts blade exposure. Is that not true? Is gap the only variable that changes on a Toggle?

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Yes that's my understanding, blade exposure does also change a bit. Not much though.

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Do you think a slight increase in exposure would likely change the dynamics more than a .1mm in gap increase? I'm guessing on the gap increase, but hopefully you get the point.

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Yes that's my understanding, blade exposure does also change a bit. Not much though.

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Do you think a slight increase in exposure would likely change the dynamics more than a .1mm in gap increase? I'm guessing on the gap increase, but hopefully you get the point.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

I think exposure is way more important than blade gap in changing a razor's character. If I crank my Black Beauty super 84 to 9 the change in exposure (and gap) is not enough to alter its character. It still shaves like a Gillette, not an R41 or Fatip or Timeless , or whatever....razors which have an alternative geometry and greater exposure. That would be true if I could crank it to 12.

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Do you think a slight increase in exposure would likely change the dynamics more than a .1mm in gap increase? I'm guessing on the gap increase, but hopefully you get the point.

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I think exposure is way more important than blade gap in changing a razor's character. If I crank my Black Beauty super 84 to 9 the change in exposure is not enough to alter its character.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

Great. We agree. So tell me, if an adjustable razor has 9 settings that vary exposure AND gap simultaneously with each setting, how does that user not learn about correct angle and pressure? How does holding 9 different razors hamper a newbie? It seems the opposite would be true.

For argument sake, maybe we could assume the newbie started at 1, worked with his technique until he got good at that setting, then moved up, progressing to 9.

I'm not tracking how a Gillette adjustable is a bad thing, for anyone really.

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I think exposure is way more important than blade gap in changing a razor's character. If I crank my Black Beauty super 84 to 9 the change in exposure is not enough to alter its character.

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Great. We agree. So tell me, if an adjustable razor has 9 settings that vary exposure AND gap simultaneously with each setting, how does that user not learn about correct angle and pressure? How does holding 9 different razors hamper a newbie? It seems the opposite would be true.

For argument sake, maybe we could assume the newbie started at 1, worked with his technique until he got good at that setting, then moved up, progressing to 9.

I'm not tracking how a Gillette adjustable is a bad thing, for anyone really.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]Increased gap affords a wider opportunity to utilize non-optimum angles. Thus what a newbie is learning as they "step up" to more aggressive settings on an adjustable is how to not hurt themselves , which is great but what's being learned is NOT how to optimize angle and pressure most expeditiously, .That skill may come in time messing with settings but it's best learned by figuring out how to maximize efficiency from a mild or at at least fixed head razor which doesn't offer poor technique the out of increasing gap as substitute for learning.

My comments are not specific to Gillette, same would go for a Merkur Futur for example. Shaving with a Futur wide open may be a challenge but only being able to get optimal results at that setting isn't an indication of real Progress (See what I did there ...)


No Gillette adjustables are not bad rhings, I got no problem with other people enjoying them. I have some and have owned more, but I don't think they're the best learning tools and are compromised shavers I don't feel the urge to use often.

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Rosseforp

I think this fits, Gents
Yeah well I think you have it entirely wrong. In my view a new shaver is held back from learning how to manage angle and pressure when they look either to adjusting their Fatboy or changing razors to solve their issues.

As we "improve our techniques" we should be able to adjust angle and pressure rather than having to "go out and buy a new razor" or monkey with little changes to blade gap.

Just my opinion .



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I tend to agree with @jmudrick , but in a slightly differing way. My take on adjustable razors is that they are a compromise, a Jack-of-all-Trades razor, Master of none.

I can rely on each of my 6 techs to give me a safe mild shave, same as with my 54 flare tip super speed. Or my merkur 15C. If I want more aggressive, I have my NSC and red tip super speed. My Fatip and Schone are great everyday or with a weeks growth. Not to mention my SLOC or Game Changers, a 68 and a 84. Each and everyone of those razors are predictable. They were each designed for a specific type of shaving.

When I use my Slim, I get bit no matter the setting.

My opinion
 
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