To Cork or Not to Cork, That is The Question

[android]

As I see it, it all boils down to a direct comparison. Here's how I did it.

I took my favorite Gillette Toggle out. Corked one edge of a Feather blade, running it lightly thru a cork about 4 times. Then I carefully put it in the toggle, noting which side of the toggle the corked edge was on.

On to the shave. Superlather, with a mix of Taylor's Sandlewood, and Tabac soap. Stirred up in my homemade Android scuttle, with a lovely Corian brush from Superior brushes.

Here's what I found. The toggle was set to 3. The corked side of the blade was noisier! More of a scritch scritch sound as it cut thru the whiskers. The other side was much quieter, and cut thru better. It was almost as if corking the blade dulled it, and thus the whiskers were being chopped off, while the uncorked edge was slicing them off. No cuts on either side of the blade, but that's more because a) the toggle is a smooth shaver, and b) I've been shaving DE for a while, and rarely cut myself anyway.

Conclusion: corking seems to dull the Feather, and certainly didn't improve the shave.

Next test: I'll try corking without cork, ie with styrofoam. It may be that you have to minimize the corking to get a benefit without dulling the blade.

 

[copperhead]

I think corking is a process you can use IF you find original edge of a new blade is causing razor burn or cuts etc. As you say for me a new blade or an uncorked blade works the best .

 

[NigelBurge]

I have found that a really good feather cannot be improved by corking and being corked may very slightly dull the blade.

The trouble is that a really good, very sharp and smooth feather seems to only turn up about one in every five blades.

I suppose the obvious thing would be to try it first and if it is a bit rough to cork it there and then - the trouble is, I am a lazy so-and-so and cannot be bothered, so I just always cork them first! Once I am lathered up and fully prepped, I really don't want to faff around corking the blade.

 

[ratcheer]

I keep thinking of what it states on the Isreali Personna packaging. "Do not wipe blade. Rinse with running water, only." Or, words to that effect.

Tim

 

[Austin]

Very interesting counter point. I look forward to your future experiments.

 

[ouch]

This strikes me as analogous to the uncertainy principle- no definitive test can ever be made to determine the effectiveness of this procedure. Why? Each blade is different. I'll try one Feather that is mindbogglingly amazing, followed by another from the same pack that rips me to shreads. I've corked and had good shaves, and corked and had bad shaves. In each case, I have no evidence as to whether the procedure helped or hurt. Was that great shaving blade made better by corking, or would it have been better still without it?

I have a friend who is a big fan of homeopathy. I tell her that there is indeed a benefit to it over traditional medicine, which, due to legal concerns, has abandoned the use of placebos. Homeopathic remedies, by definition, are placebos, and can take advantage of their well known effect.

 

[StGeorge]

I keep thinking of what it states on the Isreali Personna packaging. "Do not wipe blade. Rinse with running water, only." Or, words to that effect.

Tim

I think that is really from a safety point of view, wiping a blade could result in sliced fingers and the manufacturers are probably protecting themselves from litigation.

 

[Haiku]

I think that is really from a safety point of view, wiping a blade could result in sliced fingers and the manufacturers are probably protecting themselves from litigation.

Exactly my thoughts.

 

[android]

There's nothing wrong with wiping a blade, except don't wipe the edge. But if you wipe a thousand blades, especially in the morning before coffee, I would guess your odds of having all 12 fingers left would be low! (Ooops, I've only got ten fingers now!)