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Steep Angle Shavers Alliance

So, are the cut edges sharp with burrs that are going to scratch my baseplates?
I must say I'd never thought about it. I've just checked the shims in my shim box and no, they're not particularly sharp and don't have burrs.

If you intend using razors like the iKon Tech (with its large clamp distance)...
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The only thing the cut shim edges touch is the bottom of the blade (as pic above). None of my blades has been marked by a shim (and certainly none of my baseplates).
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
When making a shim, only the sharpened edge of the blade needs to be trimmed off, easily done with a decent pair of scissors. Like Cal said though, careful of those trimmed off, discarded edges. They're evil.

You want the shim to be as wide as possible, but not wide enough that you feel it when shaving. No razors clamp the blades that close to the edge. If they did, I'd have one lol.
 
I've seen you guys harping on blade rigidity and dismissed it, for me. I've never had my Blackbird skip and it's apparently one of the worst. I figured if i didn't have an issue, I wouldn't create one.

I spose I'll break out my heads, load a blade, and really study how they clamp and if I can get a shim loaded with no cut edges on the baseplates. If not, I'll at least try it once on a brushed finish a go from there.

I'll forgo the Feather for shave blade ILO a more comfortable blade. If I get froggy I'll try that take a picture with the shim installed. We can play colored lines and dissect a WR2 head, if'n you'd like. Judging by my prior viewing, a couple of you like to do that. Could be entertaining.


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Ha. I've seen his polished SS baseplates with mark on the bevels, top of baseplate, from blades in normal use. I've not scratched any of mine but I've seen it first hand on a BBS1.

In any case, I'll experiment with a brushed Titanium to be safe. I could wade in...or just take a big plunge. First world problems.
 
So...I shimmed a WR2 1.35 Ti for my maiden shimfest. Excellent results with a fresh GSB. It seemed a little tuggy at first. I did have to adjust angle slightly toward the cap to get it to cut a little cleaner. Second pass I went right back steep and it was butter smooth. Very close.

Never threatening. Never harsh. The 1.35 is a magnificent razor. However, now I'm curious if the shim would make the ITech any more tolerable for me. I somehow doubt it, but I'd like to find out.

Thanks for the info gents, I may become a shimmer.

Oh...and dangerous is not a good enough description for making shims. This needs to be done outside over a garbage can. I had no idea a pair of scissors could cut a blade as fine as it can. It's not one clean cut, its a bunch of nibbles and every nibble leaves what could be very spooky. I may have done it wrong tho.
 
Oh...and dangerous is not a good enough description for making shims. This needs to be done outside over a garbage can. I had no idea a pair of scissors could cut a blade as fine as it can. It's not one clean cut, its a bunch of nibbles and every nibble leaves what could be very spooky. I may have done it wrong tho.
Ideally just ONE cut (per edge, no nibbles) following your pencil/pen/sharpie line. At the end of the cut is where the single barb (usually) flies off dangerously at great speed and unknown trajectory.

Outside is usually a bad idea, especially if you can't find the shard. You DON'T want it to be (accidentally) found by a small child, animal, or your bare feet, knees, or hands.
 
Wolfman razors are, I believe, made from 316L stainless. You'd need to try pretty hard to scratch steel that hard.

ASM Material Data Sheet

Ideally just ONE cut (per edge, no nibbles) following your pencil/pen/sharpie line. At the end of the cut is where the single barb (usually) flies off dangerously at great speed and unknown trajectory.

Outside is usually a bad idea, especially if you can't find the shard. You DON'T want it to be (accidentally) found by a small child, animal, or your bare feet, knees, or hands.

Points well taken...I didn't draw a line. Next time.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
A man aught not utter such things. It's like telling a cop, "hope your night is slow". Bad mojo.

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Words of experience. Sort of like the "I have more money than you have tickets, so start writing". That got costly lol.
 
I changed from shallow to steep and I get better shaves...Sort of.

Am I right in thinking that steeper angle shaves are better with more aggressive razors? When I try it with a mild razor (de89), the shave is smooth and comfortable but not really BBS, yet when I try a more shallow angle, I'll get a very close shave, but with some razor burn. Riding the cap seems very hard to maintain 'zero pressure, while riding the guard, I have more control. It seems more natrual.

When you have to use tilted angles to get BBS shaves, maybe the razor is just too mild?
 
Am I right in thinking that steeper angle shaves are better with more aggressive razors?
It all depends on the razor and the user. Bear in mind the reason for the guard is to stretch the skin and prepare it (and your whiskers) for the blade. If you want to ride the cap and bunch the skin up in front of the blade... well, that's your choice.

Bear in mind that most of us "steep anglers" use MANY angles depending on the terrain (from very steep through very shallow), but we shave "mainly" steep. Different razors with different blade gaps and different blade exposures usually dictate the best angles we need to use. Experimentation is the key.

If you haven't seen it before this diagram may be helpful:
full
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Having read through the early years of SASA I wonder whether I'm reading with comprehension.

I seem to understand that it really doesn't matter what kind of razor (DE or SE) we're talking about, it's worth trying a steeper angle and see what happens.

I've been thinking a LOT about this the last few days, because it's OCtober and I have one more OC to trot out. That razor is one that, to be really honest, has taken as much blood from me as the Red Cross: the ATT SE2. Absolutely deadly with a Proline! I can do OK with it WTG. Even trying to do XTG it starts to chatter and bounce and the next thing I know I've got nicks and hacks all over my skull. (Head shaver...) ATG is hopeless. It literally hooks under my hair and then pulls up the skin, stopping cold if I'm lucky. Drawing blood if I'm not.

I've been rationalizing: "Oh, you sissy. Just do the WTG pass with it and you can say you used it. Good enough."

When I first got this razor I bought the SE1/SE2 combo. I tried to trade them both off for an S1/S2 combo, but the gentleman I traded with only wanted the SE1, and only offered an S2. I have to say that S2 is my bar-none favourite DE. But that leaves me with this crazy SE2. I gave my trade partner the Prolines, kept a pack of Feather Pros just in case.

Tomorrow, and the necessity to make a decision, is beginning to loom. At this point I don't have a major amount to lose by trying a steep angle. As I've said before, I really want to like the SE2, but it and me are like Ambrose Bierce and Oakland: incompossible.

Assuming I don't either chicken out or bleed out, I'll report back.

O.H.
 

Raven Koenes

My precious!
Having read through the early years of SASA I wonder whether I'm reading with comprehension.

I seem to understand that it really doesn't matter what kind of razor (DE or SE) we're talking about, it's worth trying a steeper angle and see what happens.

I've been thinking a LOT about this the last few days, because it's OCtober and I have one more OC to trot out. That razor is one that, to be really honest, has taken as much blood from me as the Red Cross: the ATT SE2. Absolutely deadly with a Proline! I can do OK with it WTG. Even trying to do XTG it starts to chatter and bounce and the next thing I know I've got nicks and hacks all over my skull. (Head shaver...) ATG is hopeless. It literally hooks under my hair and then pulls up the skin, stopping cold if I'm lucky. Drawing blood if I'm not.

I've been rationalizing: "Oh, you sissy. Just do the WTG pass with it and you can say you used it. Good enough."

When I first got this razor I bought the SE1/SE2 combo. I tried to trade them both off for an S1/S2 combo, but the gentleman I traded with only wanted the SE1, and only offered an S2. I have to say that S2 is my bar-none favourite DE. But that leaves me with this crazy SE2. I gave my trade partner the Prolines, kept a pack of Feather Pros just in case.

Tomorrow, and the necessity to make a decision, is beginning to loom. At this point I don't have a major amount to lose by trying a steep angle. As I've said before, I really want to like the SE2, but it and me are like Ambrose Bierce and Oakland: incompossible.

Assuming I don't either chicken out or bleed out, I'll report back.

O.H.
I look forward to your shave report either or any way. I'm hoping you give it a try. It would be nice to see if it makes a difference, and you can actually like a razor that has heretofore problematic.
 
Tomorrow, and the necessity to make a decision, is beginning to loom. At this point I don't have a major amount to lose by trying a steep angle.

Nothing to lose and possibly success to gain.

I was long a skeptic of steep angle shaving. It's not what I really learned, and most of the difficulties I encountered were solved by going shallower, not steeper.

But all the time I carried this belief there were two DE razors that I couldn't master: the Gillette ball-end Old Type and the Fatip Piccolo. Nick city almost every time I shave with them, and if I was lucky--irritated too.

Then someone on the OCtober thread said he had the same issue with the Old Type and tried a steep angle and got great shaves.

Nothing to lose, I thought. Shaved with the Old Type (both thin and thick caps) using a steep angle, and I got a close, fairly comfortable, but-most-importantly, ZERO NICKS! Blew my mind.

Worked with the Fatip Piccolo too. This was a razor I had failed to get a comfortable shave from, ever. I ended up labeling it "Too Aggressive" and relegating it to the don't-shave-with drawer. Steep angle shaving tamed that beast too.

This technique is totally counter-intuitive to me and is going to take some practice, and I doubt it's going to replace how I shave with the bulk of my razors, but I'm pleased to see razors resurrected into use by the steep angle approach.
 
Nothing to lose and possibly success to gain.

I was long a skeptic of steep angle shaving. It's not what I really learned, and most of the difficulties I encountered were solved by going shallower, not steeper.

But all the time I carried this belief there were two DE razors that I couldn't master: the Gillette ball-end Old Type and the Fatip Piccolo. Nick city almost every time I shave with them, and if I was lucky--irritated too.

Then someone on the OCtober thread said he had the same issue with the Old Type and tried a steep angle and got great shaves.

Nothing to lose, I thought. Shaved with the Old Type (both thin and thick caps) using a steep angle, and I got a close, fairly comfortable, but-most-importantly, ZERO NICKS! Blew my mind.

Worked with the Fatip Piccolo too. This was a razor I had failed to get a comfortable shave from, ever. I ended up labeling it "Too Aggressive" and relegating it to the don't-shave-with drawer. Steep angle shaving tamed that beast too.

This technique is totally counter-intuitive to me and is going to take some practice, and I doubt it's going to replace how I shave with the bulk of my razors, but I'm pleased to see razors resurrected into use by the steep angle approach.
I'm 100% with you on this. I never cared for the Piccolo but after trying the thin cap old type at a steep angle I decided to try it on the Fatip and voila! it works!
 
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