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Enclosed edge tabs or exposed?

I've been using my RazoRock Game Changer and Mamba a lot lately and I've come to appreciate the way that these heads cover the ends of the blade where they would otherwise stick out in a way that allows me to scrape my nose if I'm careless while doing an XTG pass there.

Not that it's a big deal, but with a vintage Gillette for example I have to change the head angle to avoid that situation... the Merkur 3pc. and HD heads expose less of the blade than the Gillette, but still allow contact, the RRs make it a complete non-issue, while still allowing me to get close enough to remove all of the stubble, unlike the Merkur adjustables (Vision especially*) which have heads that are so wide it's hard to get in close at all.

It probably wouldn't even be a question if all blades had smoother edge tabs, but we're talking about disposable items that are very price competitive, so extra finishing steps are not ideal in the manufacturers' eyes :(


*I hate the Vision for so many reasons... though the disassembly mechanism is excellent.
 
It's not even a contest. Enclosed edge tabs are superior. If there's a reason that so many vintage razors leave the tabs exposed, I have no idea what it is.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I use only vintage razors and most of them have exposed end tabs. I cut the underside of my nose when I first started DE shaving and it taught me a lesson that, touch wood, I have never forgotten. I do not find them a problem and I think that razors generally look better with exposed tabs than without.

I imagine the current shape of a blade is the result of many patents expiring and attempts to make a blade that fit any razor. Some early razors, such as the Goodwill, require the corners of the blade to be missing in order to be held by the cap, this might explain the tabs.
 
The tabs are there to give you a place to hold the blade while it is being loaded and unloaded. If the blades you buy don't have reasonably smooth edges on the tabs, that sounds like the kind of QC issue that would stop me from buying that blade anymore. I don't have those kinds of problems with the blades I buy. YMMV.
 
It's not even a contest. Enclosed edge tabs are superior. If there's a reason that so many vintage razors leave the tabs exposed, I have no idea what it is.
There’s always a reason. I’ve owned and sold both RR GC and a Mamba 70 both excellent razors. The enclosed tabs were a plus to me when purchasing. In actual use it made no difference with clipping myself on exposed tabs. I’m a face and head shaver. Six passes. I have arthritic hands. I started using a Fatip Gold Grande an excellent razor for me. The weight and the balance difference was night and day compared to stainless steel razors. I felt that weight and mass difference very distinctly on the sixth pass on the back of my head shaving. All Stainless razors were sold. The efficiency of the Grande led me to a ATG Single Pass shave. Eliminating 4 passes. Fatip performance blew me away. I’ve started using a Fatip Lo Storto which is actually .4grams lighter than the Gold. I love these razors they are so light and well balanced. There’s always a reason.
 

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I have not had an issue with exposed tabs, though I would prefer if they weren’t there. As already mentioned, it’s a place where we can get hold of the blade. It is also there so that the blade can be aligned from left to right in razors. Note the you can easily trim off the tabs with scissors.
 
The tabs are there to give you a place to hold the blade while it is being loaded and unloaded. If the blades you buy don't have reasonably smooth edges on the tabs, that sounds like the kind of QC issue that would stop me from buying that blade anymore. I don't have those kinds of problems with the blades I buy. YMMV.

I use vintage Personna Super Platinum Chrome blades (functionally identical to the later coated 74*s), Med Preps, Feathers and Treet Dura Sharps. The Feather and Treet blades are smoother than the Personnas, it seems like there's a sharp corner left by the stamping process from that maker.



... Note the you can easily trim off the tabs with scissors.

so you hate scissors then? ;)
 
I wonder if the exposed tags of the blade originally were to help the owner 'straighten' the cutting edge evenly if the razor had been dropped or damaged in some way but still being used because it was the only razor in the house.
 
For a while I strongly preferred covered tabs, strictly for aesthetic reasons since I have never nicked myself with exposed tabs. On my Fatip, the tabs are handy since the blade sometimes needs to be manually aligned after loading. Now I am largely indifferent to whether the razor cap covers the tabs or not.
 
There’s always a reason. I’ve owned and sold both RR GC and a Mamba 70 both excellent razors. The enclosed tabs were a plus to me when purchasing. In actual use it made no difference with clipping myself on exposed tabs. I’m a face and head shaver. Six passes. I have arthritic hands. I started using a Fatip Gold Grande an excellent razor for me. The weight and the balance difference was night and day compared to stainless steel razors. I felt that weight and mass difference very distinctly on the sixth pass on the back of my head shaving. All Stainless razors were sold. The efficiency of the Grande led me to a ATG Single Pass shave. Eliminating 4 passes. Fatip performance blew me away. I’ve started using a Fatip Lo Storto which is actually .4grams lighter than the Gold. I love these razors they are so light and well balanced. There’s always a reason.

great report! thanks!

is the fatip head made by joris, or vice-versa??
 
I do not mind a slight exposure of the end tabs, but some just have too much exposure. I presume vintage razors had exposed tabs to allow for alignment of the blade as tolerances "back in the day" were not as good as they are today. The modern Karve CNC machined razor has tight tolerances, so there is never a need to adjust blade alignment, yet that razor has more blade exposure at the tabs than most razors I own. I have no idea why that razor was designed that way.
 
great report! thanks!

is the fatip head made by joris, or vice-versa??
Raven Koenes said:
John, Fatip is owned by Illario Fazzini in Premana Italy. Fatip makes the heads that Joris uses. Joris is the top designer, and CEO, for Plisson, and the Joris line is his under the Plisson umbrella. Mr.Joris designs the handles and then has them produced by Plisson along with the finish on the Fatip heads. Then they are sold either as Joris or the parent company Plisson. I hope this helps.
Yes thank you Rave. Someone asked me. Like I would know🥵. I will refer any Fatip questions to you if that is Ok. I have much to learn about The House of Fatip.

Raven Koenes is the Fatip expert. Many of us believe with special inside connections.
 
I also have come to appreciate the covered end tabs of my RR Game Changer. In the past I have nicked my ear lobe with the tabs when I wasn't being careful enough. I've learned that I always have to be careful directly under my nose because I have a tendency to nick myself no if I'm not careful there, and not from blade tabs. So I just go slowly around my nose and ears now.
 
I've been known to catch an ear lobe on an exposed tab, especially after spending a few weeks with SEs, or one of my DEs that cover the tabs (Krect, Probak, Gibbs, QShave, Rex, Stahly).
 
Exposed tabs all the way for me. Covered tabs add unnecessary size to the razor. I have had trouble removing blades from Rakesh work covered tabs ad well.
 
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