Henckels Rapide home made modification - fingers crossed

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

I have been using my newly acquired Rapide over the past month. Truth be told I got it because it looks medieval to me, borderline threatening. The original wedge blades are a chore to hone and strop since they are so small. So I am going with GEM blades, coated ones that are stainless. This past month it delivered great results but the shave itself is less than pleasant. Just not pleasant. So in an effort to experiment I have rigged up a home made wedge to alter the angle of the blade.

The pictures tell the story but I essentially removed a vintage SE blade from the spine it was inserted into. I tossed the blade but took the spine and inserted it under the GEM blade. This raises the back of the blade and forces the cutting edge down. Will give it a whirl over the next few days and report back. If I don't make it, the paramedics are authorized to announce where the funeral arrangements have been made.

Overall shot of Henckels Rapide with GEM blade:

Sacrificial vintage SE blade:

Spine removal:

Before and after, first how it has been with only the GEM blade. Second picture is with the spine inserted under the very back of the GEM blade to alter the front edge of the blade.

 

[PLANofMAN]

I read a post by someone who ground down a Rolls blade for something similar. I'll see if I can find it.

Edit: I didn't find the post, but it was over on Sharp Razor Place. Someone in the thread linked their modification effort with a Gold Dollar blade, and I saved their website. Here's the link:

GD as Replacement Wedge Blade, Star Lathercatcher

Edit 2: Not really applicable is it? Thought those took wedge blades. My bad.

 

[joamo]

There are 3D printed adapters to use SE blades in razors using wedge blades. There are some on Etsy and likely other places or files are available to print on Thingiverse.

 

[Manannan]

A great blade hack Captain Pre-Capsize. I have tried this with a Henckels Rapide and a GEM Blue Star blade; using a spine removed from an old SE blade (very, very carefully) as a back wedge shifts the angle of the blade edge down, reducing the gap between the blade edge and the comb teeth, making for a much smoother and less aggressive shave. Happy acolyte.

 

[Ron R]

For sure it will smooth out the shave slightly with the shim underneath. I use a similar set up with my Ever-ready streamline razor for years. I tried to figure why it smooths out shave and this is my conclusion, gap is reduced usually about 3-4.5 / 1000 of inch because the blade is tilted more . I made a simplified drawing to explain it better than me babbling on.
(Old archived photo using a spline shim underneath the modern Gem blade making a slightly smoother shave!)

Have some great shaves!

 

[Manannan]

For sure it will smooth out the shave slightly with the shim underneath. I use a similar set up with my Ever-ready streamline razor for years. I tried to figure why it smooths out shave and this is my conclusion, gap is reduced usually about 3-4.5 / 1000 of inch because the blade is tilted more . I made a simplified drawing to explain it better than me babbling on.
(Old archived photo using a spline shim underneath the modern Gem blade making a slightly smoother shave!)
View attachment 1633268
Have some great shaves!

Thank you for the detailed explanation and schematic Ron R. Interested to hear that this is not a new hack, but has been around since time began.
I calculate that using a spine shim reduces the International Blood Loss Coefficient by at least 20%.