Thread: Modified an Ikon 1st Generation Slant. Lemonade out of a Lemon !

So Ikon had come out with a stainless steel slant @ $150.00. I have been a collector of old slant (twisted head) safety razors for years, and I was intrigued by the new offering but being primarily a straight razor shaver, I didn't want to pay the price of admission.

A year or two went by and I was on ebay, saw a first gen Ikon slant for $100 BIN, free shipping. So I couldn't resist and went for it. It looked cool. Heavy, well made and finished. The only thing wrong with it was it didn't shave worth a damn. (If your 1st gen Ikon slant shaves great ...... more power to you. Just telling it like it was for me)

I tried a half dozen times but no soap. (no pun intended). I noted that they had come out with a second gen Ikon slant and wondered if they had learned from their mistake and changed the geometry. Anyway ........ so I was stuck.



I was going to put it on ebay, I had seen 1st gen Ikon slants sell for $150 for the head alone. At the same time I had a hunch that I could modify the top cap and make a good shaver out of it. I knew that if I tried and failed it wouldn't be worth more than the handle alone monetarily.

The more I studied it the more I wanted to take the chance. I have shaved with many slant head razors from the very early to the later models. I'm of the opinion that Merkur perfected the slant design. Some might not agree, but for me you can't beat them.

The Ikon had a long head and the alignment pins weren't machined to be snug to the blade the way the Tradere 1st gen is. So because you couldn't align the blade by the ends, the way you could on a Merkur, you had to use your thumbnail against the very edge of the blade. A real hassle AFAIC.

Worst of all, the blade exposure was minimal. I've never had the Gillette blue tip Super Speed, the 'mild' one, but if it was a Fatboy adjustable the blade exposure was probably equal to 2 or 3. So I took the top cap to the belt sander and did one side. I improved the exposure, and shortened the head so I could use my thumb and forefinger to align the blade as I tightened the head.

Shave tested and I found that the arc of the top cap prevented me from getting the angle I needed to get an optimum pass. I studied the Merkur and concluded that I would be best off if I could approximate the same design. Back to the belt sander. If You've read this far (you've got patience) I'll cut to the chase.

Cosmetically I could have been more careful, but I got a great shave with this razor in its new configuration. I'd have put this thread in the workshop, but it is a safety razor after all so I think it is better in the safety razor shaving forum.