- Thread starter
- #41
Thanks. Nice explanation.Interesting question. Having never actually measured blade exposure, here's my take on razors that feel like they have very little exposure to me. These all shave very close even though I hardly ever feel the blade against my skin.
Merkur Futur - turn it down to around 2.5 and it feels like the blade exposure is very low but the blade gap is huge so it's still very efficient.
Merkur Progress/Parker Variant - similar to the Futur but with a little less blade gap, these are very mild when turned down to around 2.5.
Rex Ambassador - I have to turn it down to 2 or less before it feels like the blade exposure is neutral or negative.
Here are some that people have mentioned as having negative blade exposure but I still feel the blade.
Feather ASD2 - I definitely feel blade with this one. Very much like a Tech, I usually can't get a BBS shave with it but I don't feel it's as mild as people say.
Wilkinson Sword Classic (the plastic one) - Shaves very similar to the Feather. Not a close shaver but I always feel the blade with it.
Gillette adjustable turned down low - There's a old sales brochure/chart out there from Gillette somewhere that shows the blade exposure of the adjustable at each setting. It was still positive even at 1. Shaving with one seems to bear that out for me. I doubt I could get a BBS shave on 1 but I still feel the blade.
My theory on all this is that blade exposure is the thing that makes a razor feel aggressive and blade gap is really important in making a razor effective. Most razors I've used have too much exposure combined with too little gap. That's just based on my whiskers and skin though. Gillette did a ton of research on this I'm sure, and found what they built works best for most people. I'm ok with not being in the fat part of the bell curve. It just makes it harder to find the perfect razor for me. If you're looking for a razor that has low exposure and is still effective, you'd probably enjoy one of the Merkur adjustables (or the Parker since it's mostly a Progress copy).
