Safety bar sizes

[HokieGeek]

Ok, so I recently started using SS razors (40s Style and a Red Tip) instead of my Merkur 38C. I've been miserable! I've been getting razor burn substantially more with these than with the Merkur or even my electric!! So, I'm trying to figure out how with a light pass and less passes, I am butchering my face more (using Personnas in all the razors).

I noticed that for the superspeeds, the angle of the razor matters a whole lot more than with the Merkur. Or, to be more precise, I notice more of a difference with minimal angle changes. I looked at the razor closely and it seems like the safety bar in the Merkur is almost twice the size of the ones in the SSs.

I'm thinking that having almost twice the surface area on the skin to pull it tight before the razor is what's biting me. My technique might leave something to be desired and diminished protection is showing my flaws. Does it make sense, or is it a bad newbie assumption?

 

[HokieGeek]

bueller?

 

[Space]

Well it's probably technique. I use a long handle merkur and that is just a nice quick razor for me. Not being happy with slow perfection (Fast razor but slow for a BBS) I went out and got an aristocrat in hopes of a more aggresive shave.

well that's exactly what I got. razor burn all over my neck. So I went back to the merkur for the past week to heal up and recently gave the aristocrat another go. I just angled it a lot more and took it slow. the short handle just doesn't allow for long sweeping storkes.

I say just go back to what works, heal up and start over with a different approach

 

[Mark1966]

Well I don't claim to be an expert but I have a 38C, '66 Super Speed and '66 Slim Adjustable. The latter two require a lot more care and finess than the 38C taht i can almost use like a cartridge if I wanted to.

For me the key difference is finger tips (vintagee Gillettes) vs hand (38C) and holding the razor much closer to the head to get more control over angle and pressure - it has taken me a while to get it better though

 

[HokieGeek]

Last night's shave wasn't too horrible. I'm noticing that my face needs to heal from the first set of butcherings, and as I was finishing up I was dead set on writing this one off as another crappy shave, but later on I was pleasantly surprised that at least my cheeks were BBS! The astounding thing about this is that I didn't shave ATG because the razor (red tip w/ derby) didn't want to do that without threatening to take half of my cheek with it!

So, more practice for me, but I am still curious about the effects of the different bars.

 

[dalecooper51]

Aside from working on technique, you might also do well to try some different blades. Just because a blade works well for you in the 38c, doesn't mean that it will perform as expected in the older Gillettes. In my 34c I normally use the red pack IP, while in other razors, I do better with a Shark SC or 7 O'clock yellow.

 

[jwhiskercut]

Last night's shave wasn't too horrible. I'm noticing that my face needs to heal from the first set of butcherings, and as I was finishing up I was dead set on writing this one off as another crappy shave, but later on I was pleasantly surprised that at least my cheeks were BBS! The astounding thing about this is that I didn't shave ATG because the razor (red tip w/ derby) didn't want to do that without threatening to take half of my cheek with it!

So, more practice for me, but I am still curious about the effects of the different bars.

The highlighted part above is the main culprit. The Red Tip is definitely more aggressive that most SS razors, thereby requiring a MUCH lighter touch. You may also try a different blade. Derby's have been getting a lot of hit or miss reviews lately in terms of quality. If you have a less than stellar blade and an aggressive razor, you're going to feel it.

I'm not sure about safety bar size, but I know the blade gap relative to the saftety bar makes a big difference. Check out this link and it shows you razors based on aggressiveness (blade gap):

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness

 

[HokieGeek]

The highlighted part above is the main culprit. The Red Tip is definitely more aggressive that most SS razors, thereby requiring a MUCH lighter touch. You may also try a different blade. Derby's have been getting a lot of hit or miss reviews lately in terms of quality. If you have a less than stellar blade and an aggressive razor, you're going to feel it.

I'm not sure about safety bar size, but I know the blade gap relative to the saftety bar makes a big difference. Check out this link and it shows you razors based on aggressiveness (blade gap):

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness

Actually, last night was the first time I used a Derby blade. I've been using Personna blades (red) while testing out the superspeeds but I have been considering switching back to the Merkur blades while I adjust to the SSs