The Frankenrazor Thread

Mr Konrad Dundee · Feb 8, 2024

@Slapo
Can you make a list of the top cap and base plate combinations you've already tried?

Slapo · Feb 10, 2024

@Mr Konrad Dundee

As requested. Some combinations might be missing, as I have, unwisely, not been writing these down.

Top cap	Base plate	Fit	Shave	Blade type	Notes
Gillette old type (thick)	Edwin Jagger DE89	Excellent 10/10	Smooth, a little more efficient than stock. 8/10	DE	The top cap might be fitting the base plate better than the original one as the flat surfaces on the base plate make better contact with the top cap than with the original EJ one. Just as smooth or smoother compared with the original top cap in use, too.
Muhle Rocca v4	Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC	Very good 9/10	Smooth, efficient, easy, little blade feel. 10/10	DE	Much less blade exposure and likely less gap than with a Start or Colibri top cap. Not much blade feel, but very smooth and efficient.
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements META-4	Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC	Very good 9/10	Smooth, efficient, easy, little blade feel. 10/10	DE	Similar to the combination of the same base plate with Muhle Rocca's top cap. Perhaps even a little smoother.
Homelike Start 1	Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC	Quite good 7/10	Efficient, a bit rough. Loads of blade feel. 7/10	DE	It fits well, but the Start 2 seems to require a top cap that slopes down toward the cutting edge more at clamping point, so it wasn't bad, but not as smooth as I had hoped for.
Homelike Colibri	Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC	Quite good 8/10	Efficient, a bit rough. Loads of blade feel. 7.5/10	DE	A better fit than Start 1 top cap and slightly smoother when in use, but it still didn't feel as smooth as I'd want. The large blade gap and exposure didn't help things, either.
Yaqi Tile	Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC	Quite good 8/10	Doesn't actually shave. 1/10		The fit was pretty good, but blade exposure is pretty strongly negative, so it shaves nothing.
dscosmetic T7 scalloped	Yintal V7 (0.86mm)	Excellent 10/10	Efficient due to me being able to keep the angle easily. Really smooth. Practically no blade feel. 9/10	DE	The standard top cap for the Yintal V7 is narrower than RazoRock Mamba and dscosmetic T7 top caps are. It helps create more of an angle guide because then the safety bar feels more pronounced.As the Yintal V7 base plate is also a bit different, some of it is still retained with dscosmetic and RazoRock top caps, though not quite to the extent as with the original top cap. Otherwise, the shave is about the same, and a little more efficient than with a Mamba 70 or T7 head.
Yintal V7	dscosmetic T7	Excellent 10/10	Efficient due to me being able to keep the angle easily. Really smooth. Practically no blade feel. 9/10	DE	Similar to the reversed combination, maybe a smidge less efficient.
Yaqi Mellon (zamak)	Muhle R41 (zamak)	Meh 1-5/10	Smoother than stock, but still rather rough, even when the blade is straight. Reasonably efficient, but not pleasant ATG due to blade flex still being there. 5/10	DE	I know some people like this combination, but for me, the blade ended up with a slightly wavy edge with one of them, although it was fine with another one. It was useable in both cases but not worth keeping the configuration for me.
Yaqi "Cobbed" (named after the base plate)	Muhle R41 (zamak)	Alrighty 6/10	Smoother than stock and with the Mellon top cap, but still rather rough, possibly even more blade feel than with the Mellon. Reasonably efficient, but still not pleasant ATG due to blade flex still being there. 5/10	DE	A bit better for me than the Mellon's top cap. However, this was the earlier generation - from what I'd heard, they might changed it a bit. There should be a similar Yintal razor head, though.
dscosmetic T7 g-scalloped	Leningrad	Very good 9/10	Smooth. Quite efficient. Moderate blade feel, but doesn't feel threatening. 9/10	DE	Somewhat unexpectedly very good. Angle easy to find thanks to the safety bar being large enough.

I'll post another part later. Takes a while to write these up.

Mr Konrad Dundee · Feb 11, 2024

Slapo said:
@Mr Konrad Dundee

As requested. Some combinations might be missing, as I have, unwisely, not been writing these down.

Top cap
Base plate
Fit
Shave
Blade type
Notes
Gillette old type (thick)
Edwin Jagger DE89
Excellent
10/10
Smooth, a little more efficient than stock.
8/10
DE
The top cap might be fitting the base plate better than the original one as the flat surfaces on the base plate make better contact with the top cap than with the original EJ one.
Just as smooth or smoother compared with the original top cap in use, too.
Muhle Rocca v4
Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC
Very good
9/10
Smooth, efficient, easy, little blade feel.
10/10
DE
Much less blade exposure and likely less gap than with a Start or Colibri top cap.
Not much blade feel, but very smooth and efficient.
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements META-4
Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC Very good
9/10
Smooth, efficient, easy, little blade feel.
10/10

DE
Similar to the combination of the same base plate with Muhle Rocca's top cap. Perhaps even a little smoother.
Homelike Start 1
Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC
Quite good
7/10
Efficient, a bit rough. Loads of blade feel.
7/10

DE
It fits well, but the Start 2 seems to require a top cap that slopes down toward the cutting edge more at clamping point, so it wasn't bad, but not as smooth as I had hoped for.
Homelike Colibri
Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC
Quite good
8/10
Efficient, a bit rough. Loads of blade feel.
7.5/10

DE
A better fit than Start 1 top cap and slightly smoother when in use, but it still didn't feel as smooth as I'd want. The large blade gap and exposure didn't help things, either.
Yaqi Tile
Homelike Start 2 1.7mm OC
Quite good
8/10

Doesn't actually shave.
1/10

The fit was pretty good, but blade exposure is pretty strongly negative, so it shaves nothing.
dscosmetic T7 scalloped
Yintal V7 (0.86mm)
Excellent
10/10
Efficient due to me being able to keep the angle easily. Really smooth. Practically no blade feel.
9/10
DE
The standard top cap for the Yintal V7 is narrower than RazoRock Mamba and dscosmetic T7 top caps are. It helps create more of an angle guide because then the safety bar feels more pronounced.As the Yintal V7 base plate is also a bit different, some of it is still retained with dscosmetic and RazoRock top caps, though not quite to the extent as with the original top cap.
Otherwise, the shave is about the same, and a little more efficient than with a Mamba 70 or T7 head.
Yintal V7
dscosmetic T7
Excellent
10/10

Efficient due to me being able to keep the angle easily. Really smooth. Practically no blade feel.
9/10
DE
Similar to the reversed combination, maybe a smidge less efficient.
Yaqi Mellon (zamak)
Muhle R41 (zamak)
Meh
1-5/10
Smoother than stock, but still rather rough, even when the blade is straight. Reasonably efficient, but not pleasant ATG due to blade flex still being there.
5/10
DE
I know some people like this combination, but for me, the blade ended up with a slightly wavy edge with one of them, although it was fine with another one.
It was useable in both cases but not worth keeping the configuration for me.
Yaqi "Cobbed" (named after the base plate)
Muhle R41 (zamak)
Alrighty
6/10
Smoother than stock and with the Mellon top cap, but still rather rough, possibly even more blade feel than with the Mellon.
Reasonably efficient, but still not pleasant ATG due to blade flex still being there.
5/10

DE
A bit better for me than the Mellon's top cap.
However, this was the earlier generation - from what I'd heard, they might changed it a bit.
There should be a similar Yintal razor head, though.
dscosmetic T7 g-scalloped
Leningrad
Very good
9/10

Smooth. Quite efficient.
Moderate blade feel, but doesn't feel threatening.
9/10
DE
Somewhat unexpectedly very good.
Angle easy to find thanks to the safety bar being large enough.

I'll post another part later. Takes a while to write these up.

Thanks, great work, useful for everyone

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Mr Konrad Dundee

Slapo

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