Which side of my DE should I be using?

[DDK319]

Hi All,

New guy here trying to figure this new hobby out. As I posted in another thread I'm using an antique razor of unknown make, believed to be an old German generic. When I put a blade in it, one side is a lot closer to the edge of the "teeth" and therefore my skin. Which side should I be using? Are there purposes for both? So far just dabbling around I've found the side that gets the blade closest to my face seems to be best, but I have no clue what I'm doing.

Pics attached to try to explain better.



Thanks,

Dan

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Baseplate looks to have an offset. That might be intentional to create a differential razor. Although I am used to such to have more readily seen indication between the mild and aggressive side. So, this one might be just plain fouled up....

Anyway, I use differentially aggressive razors with the mild side WTG first, then the aggressive side ATG. Other folks prefer to do the opposite.

Stan

 

[BSAGuy]

Use both. Experiment and have fun!

 

[engblom]

I just want to point out that there is a little risk you got a "frankenrazor", a razor with parts not belonging together. I find the contrast between the cap and the base plate to be quite huge, like they would be from two different razors.

Somebody more skilled than me in recognizing razors could probably tell if my suspicion is having any truth, so take this with a grain of salt.

The shave might be good, even if it is not an engineered and planned razor. But it might also be terrible. That only will be able to tell by trying.

 

[schmalgausen]

Keep you on the light side

 

[lancelot]

Whichever works best for you. When James made my Wolfman DC he made the SB side slightly milder than the OC side. He recommended that because he said he personally prefers a slightly more aggressive 1st pass; some folks prefer it the other way around.
Best of luck,
Ron

 

[DDK319]

Hi,

Baseplate looks to have an offset. That might be intentional to create a differential razor. Although I am used to such to have more readily seen indication between the mild and aggressive side. So, this one might be just plain fouled up....

Anyway, I use differentially aggressive razors with the mild side WTG first, then the aggressive side ATG. Other folks prefer to do the opposite.

Stan

Hi Stan,

There is a chance this one is fouled up, or a mix and match, I just don't know. It was a gift from a friend, belonged to his grandfather. A poster here on B&B in my newbie thread suggested that it could be an old German generic unit. It's all I've ever used so hard to say but so far I'm happy with the performance.

Use both. Experiment and have fun!

That's been my approach so far, and it's working well!

I just want to point out that there is a little risk you got a "frankenrazor", a razor with parts not belonging together. I find the contrast between the cap and the base plate to be quite huge, like they would be from two different razors.

Somebody more skilled than me in recognizing razors could probably tell if my suspicion is having any truth, so take this with a grain of salt.

The shave might be good, even if it is not an engineered and planned razor. But it might also be terrible. That only will be able to tell by trying.

That is a possibility. I'll attach a couple more pictures to the bottom of this post. It seems all but the top cap are the same metal, and in serious need of a jewelery cleaner. The "cap" (I assume you'd call it) is chrome-like shiny.

Also, I've been shaving with it for the past couple weeks. It's been working so far.

Keep you on the light side

? I heard it fly over my head, but I wasn't able to grab on. Say what now?

Whichever works best for you. When James made my Wolfman DC he made the SB side slightly milder than the OC side. He recommended that because he said he personally prefers a slightly more aggressive 1st pass; some folks prefer it the other way around.

Best of luck,

Ron

DC? SB? OC? Are we down with OPP? Is there a pictoral that explains this stuff by any chance?

Thanks all!

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Open Comb
Safety Bar
Dual Comb

The reference is to a Dual Comb razor, which has an Open Comb on one side and a Safety Bar on the other. In this case, the comb type is used to indicate mild v aggressive sides of that razor.

There were a number of German razors which offered differential aggressiveness. They used a scalloped safety bar where the coarse scallops indicated aggressive and the fine scallops indicated mild. But, yours doesn't follow that scheme. But, it surely looks differential. But, it may not have been by design!



Stan

 

[maybe smith]

It sounds like you have tried it and had good results, so develope a system of which side you prefer for each pass and enjoy. Then get a Gillette.............lol

 

[DDK319]

Hi,

Open Comb
Safety Bar
Dual Comb

The reference is to a Dual Comb razor, which has an Open Comb on one side and a Safety Bar on the other. In this case, the comb type is used to indicate mild v aggressive sides of that razor.

There were a number of German razors which offered differential aggressiveness. They used a scalloped safety bar where the coarse scallops indicated aggressive and the fine scallops indicated mild. But, yours doesn't follow that scheme. But, it surely looks differential. But, it may not have been by design!



Stan

Thanks for the education! I'll keep it in mind!

It sounds like you have tried it and had good results, so develope a system of which side you prefer for each pass and enjoy. Then get a Gillette.............lol

Lol. Gillette? Huh, and here I figured a Merkur was my next step if I moved off this one.