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RazorDesign

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Hello,

I'm an industrial design student from Switzerland (Basel)
for my bachelor I'm designing a razor. While reasearching for different kinds of shaving methods I was led to your website.
I would like to ask you some questions which only professionals are able to anser.
I hope you have the time to help me out.

-How long can you use the same blade befor it's loosing it's sharpness?
-How often do you replace it?
-Whats the difference between one-bladed and multiple bladed razors? Is there a difference in terms of quality and safety?
-Is the safety razor also usable for legs and armpits? If not why?
-Have you ever used an " old time double edge razor blade sharpening device?" For example the "Allegro razorblade sharpener" ?. If Yes, how was the result? Quality?

Sorry for my long post. I really need some help :)!

Thank you for answering.
 
Hi RazorDesign

-How long can you use the same blade befor it's loosing it's sharpness?
It depends on the blade and the coarseness / thickness of the individuals stubble but I'd say anywhere between 3 - 6 is the norm with a few blades falling either side of this.

-How often do you replace it?
Personally I change after 2 or 3 shaves but my preferred blade is a very cheap one so I don't feel the need to push the extra shaves out of it. I also like to change around which brand of blade I use and which razor also.

-Whats the difference between one-bladed and multiple bladed razors? Is there a difference in terms of quality and safety?
The main difference is quite simple - the number of blades!
Personally I'd say that cartridges are safer but for me lead to more ingrown hairs and irritation. A single blade takes a little longer to shave with but, again, for me gives a smoother shave with less chance of irritation but the correct technique is a little more difficult to learn.

-Is the safety razor also usable for legs and armpits? If not why?
You can use them anywhere. In fact there are several vintage safety razors which were specifically designed for ladies to shave their armpits etc.

-Have you ever used an " old time double edge razor blade sharpening device?" For example the "Allegro razorblade sharpener" ?. If Yes, how was the result? Quality?

I haven't. Given the low price of a DE blade I can't really see the point other than out of pure interest. Doubtless many have though.

Don't worry about the long post. In fact I'd say there are a lot of us who would be interested in following the design process of your razor so if anything post more about it and please do ask more questions.
 
Can I chime in with one thing - Leebot has basically given you all the info. But one thing I find is that the standard DE head is limited due to its size. If you tried to shave somewhere with that is concave in nature (ie. an armpit) i would imagine the flat nature of the blade along with sharp 90 degree angles on the ends of the blade would make it hard to get a good, comfortable and close shave without cutting yourself.

Mind you , I've never tried to shave my armpits, I am not really a DE shaver, and I haven't even heard of the specialist razors that Leebot mentions.

Good luck in your studies!
 
hello!
-How long can you use the same blade before it's loosing it's sharpness? as a rule, i pretty much always change the blade after 3 shaves UNLESS i have a polsilver SI in there. i can get 4 or 5 shaves out of one of those magical things

-How often do you replace it? -see above. been known to throw a blade after a single stroke if it doesnt feel right.

-Whats the difference between one-bladed and multiple bladed razors? Is there a difference in terms of quality and safety?-the main difference for me is that the razor does not clog.if you are paying £2.50 and up for a cartridge i would expect to get more than one shave out of it! the design is awful!!! safety wise, for me there is no difference. you should be respectful to sharp things with the potential to hurt you. if anything, this rule should favour DE razors as the carts try to be safer but have exactly the same potential to nick and cut. The potential for ingrown hairs caused by the 'pluck and cut' action of muli blade carts should be taken into consideration as well. i prefer my razor to be an asset to my skincare routine rather than a cause of painful irritations.

-Is the safety razor also usable for legs and armpits? If not why? i am a bloke, why the hell would i shave my legs /pits? lol!! my partner and my daughter have been brainwashed by advertising so will not entertain a DE.i have tried , bought a lady gillette but neither would try it =( safety razors are acceptable for shaving the head though.i dont see why they would not be useable elsewhere

-Have you ever used an " old time double edge razor blade sharpening device?" For example the "Allegro razorblade sharpener" ?. If Yes, how was the result? Quality? no-not much point these days with the price of 100 blades at around £7 and up.

i hope this helps,good luck with your studies !
 
My answers are pretty much the same as those already posted, but with cartridge razors (multi blade) most cartridges are designed to fit just the one brand of handle. With double edge razor blades you can use different brands of blades in the same or different razors, but with cartridge razors you can only use their brand of cartridge. However, in some cases you can use different cartridges.
 
Thank you very much for all of your answers and your time!

I'll write you if I have more questions on this topic.

Have a nice day!
 
If you're interested in designing a razor take a look into the past. Ikon and Italian Barber have done very well starting from the design of German razors from the 30s and making them in more resilient materials and attempting to improve other features.
 
One blade vs. multiple - the main difference is the action. To put it simply - single blade cuts the hair, whereas multiple blades scrape it off. No good.

Allegro and other sharpeners don't work these days, since the technological process has changed completely - modern blades are stainless and coated, not carbon as back then. Useless now, to put it shortly. I actually have used it on 100 y.o. carbon blades - not much luck either.

Regarding the armpits - aye, shaves em nicely, especially the open-combs. Plums too. Don't listen to the 'I'm a bloke' crap, people saying that might as well be manly enough to stop shaving altogether. And washing, for that matter.

What you haven't investigated in your questionnaire were some quite important things like the head design - flat vs. slant vs. open comb, for instance, blade gap, blade curvature etc, or the razor balance. Those are the things that are much more important for the end product than ability to shave your nuts, which is merely a consequence anyway. Don't feel like writing an article here, so just do a search, there's plenty of info here and on B&B.
 
RazorDesign said:
-How often do you replace it?

3 shaves max

-Whats the difference between one-bladed and multiple bladed razors?

Main difference is the price, and that multi blade cartridges are brand specific, leading to no competition whatsoever. That's the beauty of DE blades in that any brand will fit any DE razor. It would be like Ford designing their cars to only accept a 'Ford' tire, the market wouldn't stand for such blatant exploitation, yet millions of Gillette (Fusion, proglide etc) owners accept this limitation - go figure!

-Have you ever used an " old time double edge razor blade sharpening device?" For example the "Allegro razorblade sharpener" ?. If Yes, how was the result? Quality?

As blades are so cheap, from 2p each, who on earth would bother 'sharpening' them once used...
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