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OK, I'm on a "rigid blade" hunt.

From what I've seen of the Karve, its clamps the blade in a similar fashion to the NEW SC.

Eliminating blade chatter was what Chris Kirchen from Karve was determined to achieve...and he did. His comments about blade chatter are fascinating. The blade is held so well there is no ‘cyclical loading’ as he says.

Sometimes, when shaving with the Karve, I realize I didn’t know what chatter free shaving was until shaving with the Christopher Bradley.

I certainly got chatter from the couple of Blackbirds I owned and other high end razors.
 
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Just curious, most of the razors pictured that has a rigid design are somewhat similar with the plates having very little blade gap except for the timeless where the bottom plate isn’t angled downwards as most open comb base plate are and also the wolfman and Gilette tech.

I wonder with the design of the timeless razor having the gap result in a less rigid blade similar to how the Karve with it’s lather slots can affect how rigid the blade will be.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
The blade is held so well there is no ‘cyclical loading’ as he says.

Thats a very good, and accurate, term. Blade flex is a cycle. The same as wheel hop in a car.

Once a critical point is met, the stress that is loaded into the blade gets released as spring pressure, then it loads up again.


I wonder with the design of the timeless razor having the gap result in a less rigid blade similar to how the Karve with it’s lather slots can affect how rigid the blade will be.

There are several design elements in any single razor. As far as blade gap goes I see that as separate from rigidity. Rigidity of the blade alone comes from equal support of the blade both from the top cap and the base at equal points. The larger and closer to the edge of the blade that clamping point is, the more rigid the blade edge will be.

Assuming neutral shave angles with both a NEW SC and a Gillette Old Type, both having roughly the same blade exposure, the NEW SC will give the more effective closer shave with the same amount of pressure applied to each razor. The difference being, the SC has .023" gap, the Old Type none.

I remember using my NEW SC and a Derby Extra blade, which I really liked in that razor. Using it shallow and very shallow, cap riding only, the longest lasting BBS I had from a Derby Extra was around 6 hours. Then I used it at the design angle, making use of the available gap and while the shave wasnt quite as comfortable (I dont like blade gap in any razor) the BBS lasted 10 hours. The only difference was in using a shallow angle vs using the design angle. The design angle, because that razor has gap, increases the angle of skin to blade edge.

Blade gap changes the angle of skin as its presented to the blade edge. Skin flows through that gap and meets the blades edge at a steeper angle leading to a more effective shave. This is why adjustable razors become more 'aggressive' as gap is increased. Because the angle of skin as it meets the blade allows the blade to cut more effectively. In essence making the blade shave with a steeper angle. With the same amount of pressure on the razor, as gap increases, so does the tension of the skin as it flows through that gap. The gap is larger so theres more skin flowing through that gap, that increases the pressure of skin against edge, assuming a constant pressure applied to the razor.

Another point regarding blade gap is, with a Gillette Slim for example, as gap increases so does blade exposure compounding the above effect.

This is precisely why I prefer DE's with generous blade exposure in a rigid design with as little gap as possible. I'll find my own preferred angle of use and pressure combination.

I've thought for a long time now that a razor with changeable plates, such as the Rockwell and Karve, are fantastic learning tools. Somewhere in those plate combinations is the best shave you can get from that razor. The more rigid that design, the smoother the shave should be, but we are all individuals and we may need different amounts of rigidity.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
His comments about blade chatter are fascinating. The blade is held so well there is no ‘cyclical loading’ as he says.

I just found this and assume its what you were referring too;

"The geometry came from a bunch of research to familiarize myself with how razors are configured and then creating analogies between how a blade is configured and real world applications. The one I'm most proud of (because I saw an immediate improvement), was to support the blade as much as possible as a way of eliminating chatter). All razors support the blade on the top side with the top cap, but chatter comes from cyclical loading...force, no force, force, no force, etc. The unloading comes from loading the blade during cutting, but then something gives (such as the whisker that is being cut) and the blade unloads for a split second. The top cap can only help with the loading, so the baseplate has to work together with it."

He and I are on the same page.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
Be still my beating heart! :thumbsup:

were not worthy.gif
 
It's also fun to use short injector blades in the Parker Variant. Except when loading the blades, which can get a bit fussy.
However, even a single blade works, just don't tighten too hard.
I think it works with most EJ CC style heads, too, as long as all three pins are of pretty much the same thickness.

It would be so nice were there a way of just popping 2 injector blades in there without any fuss.
 
It's also fun to use short injector blades in the Parker Variant. Except when loading the blades, which can get a bit fussy.
However, even a single blade works, just don't tighten too hard.
I think it works with most EJ CC style heads, too, as long as all three pins are of pretty much the same thickness.

It would be so nice were there a way of just popping 2 injector blades in there without any fuss.

Injector blades work in "injectors" also! :lol:

Many use injector blades in the MMOC, or MMCP no fuss loading.
 
timeless.jpg
Just curious, most of the razors pictured that has a rigid design are somewhat similar with the plates having very little blade gap except for the timeless where the bottom plate isn’t angled downwards as most open comb base plate are and also the wolfman and Gilette tech.

I wonder with the design of the timeless razor having the gap result in a less rigid blade similar to how the Karve with it’s lather slots can affect how rigid the blade will be.
The Timeless design clamps down on all of the blade, from the center all the way out close to the edges. It is very rigid and smooth and the design does not change for straight bar vs. open comb.
 
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