Why Izzit???

I hope to suggest a valid reason different brands of razor appeal to different folks.


There are many brands of razor and blade manufacture. Many of them have been in business for decades. Why are those same razors sworn by, and sworn at by a different but significant portion of the shaving populace.


I think it could be all about muscle memory from when we began the years of morning drudgery prior to finding about depilatory salvation in the Forums.

For example: I started shaving with what was probably a E-1 Schick. When I got to USN boot camp they issued a low cost Gillette and blades. My beloved Schick was sent home! I cursed and swore with cuts galore!


Now, why would a razor that some folks liked be a horror to me?
I would suggest that as we start shaving and use a particular razor, we retain muscle memory of that brand's handle angle to our skin.


What???
I have counseled more than one person having trouble getting a irritation free shave about “”Blade Angle.””
Blade angle, you say? Hmm?
A razor's blade cuts best at a certain angle to skin. This angle is determined by the shape of the razor's head and the angle of the handle to it as held by the user.


If one looks at a side view of a razor, seeing an end view of the head, there is a blade angle built into it by the shape of the blade clamping mechanism and the mounting of the head on the handle. For instance, Schick, Gem, and SE's in general have a stiff flat blade clamped solidly. Gillette’s and some other razors curve the blade, seen in end view, to stiffen the blade. So there is one part of the equation.


Another part of the equation is the area in front of the blade edge. How much of the blade is exposed and at what angle to the bar or comb?


A final??” part is the type of comb/ bar used to precede the blade edge and stretch the skin for a closer shave.


Modifying the angle of the handle to your face may make a big difference in the quality of your shave. The razor blade needs to be close to about 5 to 15 degrees to your face. Less may not expose enough blade to cut well and more is using the razor like a hoe and scraping the face!


For instance, today I used an old PAL razor. The handle weighed next to nothing. Being an injector, the head was held flat very close to my face to get the angle correct for a good easy shave. Some GEM's were sold with the paper telling one to lay the head flat against the skin. They do work well that way!

To repeat, Memory of shaves past, proper blade angle, and a bit of practice may make even an indifferent razor a prize possession.

~Richard
PS.

There is now a big after market for heavy CNC'd +
stainless steel, bling, handles for the razors. I believe them, for me, too heavy to get a consistent blade angle when used upon my face. YMWV

You know the old saying "There's something for everyone". I think in many cases folks just prefer one over the other because of: hype, because it's costs more, because it costs less, because it's the latest and greatest, because joe sent me, because my rich uncle louie says it's the best, because I can't stop buying them help me, because I don't know how to use them so eventually I'll find the magic one, because I have this...type of beard and only the next one I try will work on me, because it's pretty, because it's ugly, because it's made of solid Ruthenium.

You get the picture.

If I like what I see or researched and like what I've read I buy it.

When I first started using DEs some razors were amazing and some were awful. I've since used many dozens of DE razors and I find that I can get a good shave with just about any of them. I've learned to adjust angle(and pressure for that matter) by how it feels on my face. People say things like 'this razor tore my face up' but the reality is that they tore their face up with bad technique. It's like blaming a pencil for misspelled words.

While I can adapt to just about any razor, there are a few that just "work" better for me. In fact, I'm down to a single DE razor, but not because it's the "best", but because I can use it with just about any blade I have, and without much effort on my part, to get a decent shave.

My straights are similar... some fit me to a T and require little thinking on my part, others require careful attention to achieve the same result.

So, I tend to choose items that work for me, with little effort. It's not that the other ones are bad, in fact I'm sure THEY fit someone ELSE to a T, but for me... there's a fit that I find comfortable and so I tend to gravitate to them, over the others. My personal problem is that my eyes like one style (Spanish point, barbers notched round point and 7/8" or larger) but my hand prefers a 4/8" to 6/8", square point (neutered), and a Spanish point comes second.

I don't know if it's just that we learned to use one type first, or if it's more ingrained than that, but there IS something that makes those mid size square points shave so sweet for me.


Regards

Christian