Razor Temperature Revisited

[LJBraaten]

I found two dedicated threads on razor temperature due to the water temperature it is soaked in, they are both over 10 years old.

Razor temperature

Today the GF told me she'd read somewhere that a razor blade should be cold, and she used to keep a glass of ice water in the shower when shaving her legs so she could dip her razor in it to keep it cold. I've been keeping my razor hot (fortunately we've got great water pressure and the water...

www.badgerandblade.com

What temperature for razor rinse?

Because of my accidental discovery, I'm polling to see how many of us rinse our razor at these temperatures, and why: * Cold / Cool * Tepid / Lukewarm * Very Warm / Hot * Very Warm / Hot, but final rinse/pass in Cold / Cool (this is my accidental discovery this morning) During my...

www.badgerandblade.com

Both discuss whether or not the water temperature affects the blade size, whether it expands or contracts. I think that might be missing the obvious, but first my experience.

1. A little background: I find that with older (blades 4+ shaves) and my shaving style, I get a closer shave with milder razors. My choice is a Gillette early postwar Tech.
2. I usually soak my razor in warm water, but the past few days I have been using very hot water between passes (right off a woodstove). I’ve noticed a big improvement in my shave: it is much closer, less irritation, passes are more efficient and there are less of them. For me, it is like switching to a milder razor.

3. My explanation is that it expands the cap and baseplate so there is less blade exposure or gap. After all, that’s where most of the metal is, not in the blade.

4. My first thought was perhaps I could make some of my more aggressive razors (particularly my prewar Tech) a little milder by a good hot soak. This led to other thoughts:

*when there is a difference of opinion about whether a razor is aggressive or mild, could a difference in the temperature of the razor be at least one important factor? Should that be an important part or the discussion?

*Could a razor be made somewhat adjustable by soaking it either in very hot or very cold water? (I think the temperature differences would have to be extreme since I haven’t noticed any difference when soaking in water between room temperature and very warm.)

*Some have not noticed a difference with warmer water, but was that water hot enough to significantly affect the razor, or do some razors respond differently?

Any thoughts?

 

[Guido75]

Super interesting LJ. And worth to consider indeed. I myself am a cold shaver. I only use cold water throughout my shave - so literally from start to finish.

Metal most definitely expands when heated so your hypothesis in itself makes sense. I can imagine that this would then applying to the blade as well. So wouldn’t that make things equal again? Or wouldn’t it make the razor actually more blade forward as the blade can expand at a faster pace than the razor itself because heat is absorbed quicker? Although I can also imagine the blade having less metal overall will have more limits to its expansion.

I can definitely understand that you got different results when using very hot water.

I am no expert in physics (I not even a novice for that matter) so looking forward to other views.

Cheers,

Guido

 

[Iridian]

I often shave with colder water, but funnily, what I always do, particularly when it gets colder in my bathroom (and therefore my razor cabinet as well) in autumn/winter: I let slightly warm water from the faucet run through and over the razor head before shaving. My lather itself is lukewarm.

It's a habit, nobody ever told me to do so, I also do not remember reading about it elsewhere. I read a lot of s... tuff when I began wet shaving. I will never forget sitting for 10 minutes with a damp towel over my face before beginning to shave, breathing heavily. I stopped that quickly...^^

What I noticed: It's like giving the razor a lubrication before attacking the lather. It's slick before it even gets in contact with the lather. Water is lubrication, too, after all.

It is also more pleasant to the skin than an at least initially cold touch. I mostly use stainless steel razors, uncoated. They can get cold standing around.

Some comments on your ideas:
1. I do NOT think warm water expands the metal of the baseplate in any measurable way, not within the timeframe of a shave.
2. I think it rather makes your skin react, cold or warm makes quite a difference. Your skin relaxes or tightens based on temperature. And that within not seconds but even less than 1 second.
3. But in that I agree, temperature of skin/razor/lather are important for the shave and make quite a difference.

(As I just read the threads you linked, my wife shaves her legs with cold foam and lather. I just asked her why and she rolled her eyes, as she is not a huge fan of my razor collection and probably uses this abominable cheapo razor just to spite me, and got no conclusive answer besides that she is not thinking much about it.)

4. I think you should definitely experiment with hot and cold water shaving and also take note of the razor temperature. @Guido75 is a stone cold shaver, okay, I am exaggerating...^^ while I like the lukewarm iron on my skin. SCNR, this is getting funny.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Thermal expansion is linear. A stainless blade and stainless razor, would expand the same amount when soaked through to the same temperatures. Ergo, no difference in blade exposure. However, a brass or copper razor would expand quicker, and a titanium one would expand slower, as they conduct heat inwards through the components at different rates.

All of which is utterly irrelevant, as I don't think those few degrees would make any discernible difference whatsoever.

As @Iridian says, it's more likely to do with how your face reacts to a warm/cold razor. If I want a super close shave for a special event, the final touch up is done with no lather, and regularly dunking the razor under a running cold tap. The cold razor/blade coaxes out a sliver more stubble than a warm one for me (but I loathe doing the earlier passes with cold water). And I know from experience, the same is true whether I use a stainless razor, damage razor, or plastic razor.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I use a stainless razor, damage razor, or plastic razor.

Thanks autocarrot. That should have said zamac.

 

[Goblin]

I agree with other posters that variations in water temperature are unlikely to have any impact on the metallic structure of the razor or blade. We aren't talking about big numbers here.

However, we do know (from studies) that a warm shaving medium reduces the force needed to cut hair, and having warmer equipment is going to contribute to that by helping to maintain an elevated temperature during the course of a pass. Perhaps that is why the razor seems more comfortable and efficient, as the raised temperature is making its job easier.

I don't know if that is genuinely what is happening in your specific instance, but it seems plausible.

 

[BigJ]

All of which is utterly irrelevant, as I don't think those few degrees would make any discernible difference whatsoever.

As @Iridian says, it's more likely to do with how your face reacts to a warm/cold razor. If I want a super close shave for a special event, the final touch up is done with no lather, and regularly dunking the razor under a running cold tap. The cold razor/blade coaxes out a sliver more stubble than a warm one for me (but I loathe doing the earlier passes with cold water). And I know from experience, the same is true whether I use a stainless razor, damage razor, or plastic razor.

+1! Water temperature is most likely to affect the user IMHO.

 

[LJBraaten]

Thermal expansion is linear. A stainless blade and stainless razor, would expand the same amount when soaked through to the same temperatures. Ergo, no difference in blade exposure. However, a brass or copper razor would expand quicker, and a titanium one would expand slower, as they conduct heat inwards through the components at different rates.

Yes, one thought I failed to include was the possibility of different metals expanding at different rates. My blade is stainless steel, but I think most older Gillettes are coated brass, with various alloy properties. In that case the rates of expansion between blade and razor would differ, correct? Also, in my unprofessional understanding, I assumed larger masses of metal would expand more quickly than a smaller mass.
As a side note, I soak the razor long enough so that it is consistently and thoroughly heated.

 

[LJBraaten]

2. I think it rather makes your skin react, cold or warm makes quite a difference. Your skin relaxes or tightens based on temperature. And that within not seconds but even less than 1 second.

I’ve thought about this too, and even though the shave razor is behind the skin that it is about to pass over I see that it could still affect that area.
But going back to one of my points, if the temperature of the razor affects the quality of the shave, it seems that should be a consideration when effectiveness or perceived aggressiveness of a razor is discussed.

 

[LJBraaten]

I am no expert in physics (I not even a novice for that matter) so looking forward to other views.

Nor am I … and am I too , so I’m grateful for these more informed views.

 

[LJBraaten]

As I just read the threads you linked, my wife shaves her legs with cold foam and lather. I just asked her why and she rolled her eyes, as she is not a huge fan of my razor collection

Same here. My wife has the wherewithal not to physically roll her eyes, but I know she is doing it inside her head. I generally avoid shaving topics. The only thing she favors is the insane number of shaves I get per blade, which means I won’t be buying any new ones soon.

 

[kingfisher]

Doubtful it makes a difference via expansion.

Do what feels best.

 

[musicman1951]

I've shaved with both warm and cold lather and warm and cold razor/blade. I discern no difference in the results - but that doesn't necessarily mean there are none, just none I can see/feel. Regardless, it could also be a personal thing- matters to some, not to others.

Try them both and pick the one that makes you happy.

 

[Mr Konrad Dundee]

I've shaved with both warm and cold lather and warm and cold razor/blade. I discern no difference in the results - but that doesn't necessarily mean there are none, just none I can see/feel. Regardless, it could also be a personal thing- matters to some, not to others.

Try them both and pick the one that makes you happy.

+1 I agree

 

[LJBraaten]

I’m curious @musicman1951, is that two measures 3/4 or one of 6/8?

musicman1951​

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu ·

 

[musicman1951]

I’m curious @musicman1951, is that two measures 3/4 or one of 6/8?

musicman1951​

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu ·

I'm not at all sure as it didn't come from me. It could be a 2/4 measure with some crazy form of triple tonging.

 

[gsurko]

Me thinks you’re over thinking this.

 

[LJBraaten]

Me thinks you’re over thinking this.

And not just you. Methinks manythinks I over think. I can’t help myself. I’ve made a career of it, and sometimes it is helpful

 

[Filudo]

I found two dedicated threads on razor temperature due to the water temperature it is soaked in, they are both over 10 years old.

Razor temperature

Today the GF told me she'd read somewhere that a razor blade should be cold, and she used to keep a glass of ice water in the shower when shaving her legs so she could dip her razor in it to keep it cold. I've been keeping my razor hot (fortunately we've got great water pressure and the water...

www.badgerandblade.com

What temperature for razor rinse?

Because of my accidental discovery, I'm polling to see how many of us rinse our razor at these temperatures, and why: * Cold / Cool * Tepid / Lukewarm * Very Warm / Hot * Very Warm / Hot, but final rinse/pass in Cold / Cool (this is my accidental discovery this morning) During my...

www.badgerandblade.com

Both discuss whether or not the water temperature affects the blade size, whether it expands or contracts. I think that might be missing the obvious, but first my experience.

1. A little background: I find that with older (blades 4+ shaves) and my shaving style, I get a closer shave with milder razors. My choice is a Gillette early postwar Tech.
2. I usually soak my razor in warm water, but the past few days I have been using very hot water between passes (right off a woodstove). I’ve noticed a big improvement in my shave: it is much closer, less irritation, passes are more efficient and there are less of them. For me, it is like switching to a milder razor.

3. My explanation is that it expands the cap and baseplate so there is less blade exposure or gap. After all, that’s where most of the metal is, not in the blade.

4. My first thought was perhaps I could make some of my more aggressive razors (particularly my prewar Tech) a little milder by a good hot soak. This led to other thoughts:

*when there is a difference of opinion about whether a razor is aggressive or mild, could a difference in the temperature of the razor be at least one important factor? Should that be an important part or the discussion?

*Could a razor be made somewhat adjustable by soaking it either in very hot or very cold water? (I think the temperature differences would have to be extreme since I haven’t noticed any difference when soaking in water between room temperature and very warm.)

*Some have not noticed a difference with warmer water, but was that water hot enough to significantly affect the razor, or do some razors respond differently?

Any thoughts?

Have you tried soaking them in ice cold water??? just curious if any changes?

 

[Wgg2017]

And not just you. Methinks manythinks I over think. I can’t help myself. I’ve made a career of it, and sometimes it is helpful

I wish I could figure out how to make a career out of overthinking things. I'm so good at it!