I understand that it's complicated - I just said 'that much', unless you're using pressure. Once you add pressure, all bets are off!
I understand that it's complicated - I just said 'that much', unless you're using pressure. Once you add pressure, all bets are off!
I thought about putting together a jig, but if I did that, I'd have to actually get something to measure inch pounds with just the jig, then jig with razor, and that started to get silly. Oh - and I won't be putting a blade in any of them. At least, not until after the test.
As soon as you build a jig to maintain the right angle, the jig itself will have friction against a surface, and that has to be compensated for. So I'll just do it with my hand and just do as good of a job as I can. If I can't really tell a difference, that'll tell us something right there. That it's not worth worrying about.
I hope you don't mind me commenting at this late of a date.
I too have a chrome DE89, and believe I feel a bit of what you describe, though I'm not sure because I don't knowingly ride the top cap.
As I followed your travails in this thread, the obvious simple brute solution would seem to be to roughen-up the cap with an abrasive, such as sandpaper or emery paper. Of course that would ruin the finish. And I suspect the chrome plating is very thin, so the Zamak would be exposed. Oh well. I suppose there's also the possibility of refinishing the cap, if you wanted to make a project out of this! Or even trying another cap, but then that would change the geometry and shaving characteristics.
FWIW, I came into this thread off the earlier thread linked in your OP. I was fascinated by your diagnosing the problem and your proposed solution, but then the thread ended. So via your profile, I looked up if you started any newer threads, and by luck found this one. So if you desire others to find the result of your experiment in this thread, you can always link to it in the old thread. Not that I'm attempting to tell you what to do.
Anyway, thanks for all the great work you've done on your other (blade) projects. Yes, I'm a "numbers" guy myself, and have an appreciation for this type of work.
I encountered the same problem as the OP.
My solution was to use a really heavy handle on my razor.
I had been a "steep angle" shaver for many months.
ATT razors forced me to learn the shallow angle/ride the cap method.
I was getting fantastic shaves.
I switched back to my "shiny razors" using the shallow angle.
The heads were sticking and skipping during my shave.
I put a very heavy handle on my razor and it seems to works.
It is not really adding pressure to my shave but seems to add some force to my razor stroke.
It sounds a lot better when you say it!
Thanks for sharing. A heavy handle makes sense to combat the friction. What you experience makes sense. The friction is still there, but a heavy handle increases the mass and rotational inertia of the razor, so it reduces the translational and rotational acceleration, which includes sticking and skipping, from the frictional forces. The heavier handle makes a smoother ride.
I love this forum. I just love it. Where else in all creation could I read that a heavy handle on a razor "increases the mass and rotational inertia of the razor, so it reduces the translational and rotational acceleration"? Answer: nowhere. Nowhere on the planet. Never in the past history of human kind. Here and only here. And it's a tribute to my particular craziness that I read a sentence like that, and think that I'm in the right place.
For me it is the DE89's safety bar that causes most friction, supported by its shape. It just wants to dig into my skin and stick to it, it feels like shaving with a hard rubber razor. What comes to my mind is to apply some matte metallic paint to the top cap and safety bar. Some car/bike enthusiasts may know what product could be used. Another idea would be to stop cleaning the razor - let the residue take care of the smooth finish! Not recommended though due to potentional corrosion and certain ugliness.