Thread: Adjustable DE stripped?

Hiya. I have a nice slim adjustable black handle, just finished with the first blade change (Persona, not bad).
Popped in a Feather blade & I thought I'd experiment with diff 'adjustments'.

When I put it at 3 and tightened it down it seemed to raise the middle of the blade like it was set to 9.
Does this mean the adjustment mechanism is stripped/goofed?

Backed it off to get a milder shave & the Feather was nice and smooth....

thanks

Joe

AFAIK if it were stripped it wouldn't 'do' anything. I think the adjustment increases the blade exposure. If you are feeling the 'clicks' in each stage you can throw a blade in and observe what the exposure is going through the range of adjustment. I know that 5 is average for me and 7 is maximum for a comfortable shave. If you have another to compare that would be a good thing. Maybe a cleaning and a lube with mineral oil might straighten it out if necessary.

Adjustable razors change the blade gap and angle by using a shim. You can shim any DE by taking one or more old blades, cutting off the edges and putting them under the new blade. The shim lifts the blade and exposes more edge above the safety bar. Adjustable razors have a built in shim that you adjust. I use a Merkur Progress. Here the safety bar is separate from the base plate. When it is set on 1, the base plate is as far down as it can go. This exposes very little blade above the bar and the blade is bent, curved by the head pressing on it. As you increase the setting from 1 to 5, the base plate rises and the blade gap (above the safety bar) is increased. The bigger the blade gap the less the safety bar is there to keep you from cutting yourself. The ultimate blade on you skin experience is a straight or a Cobra.