The forgiving blade

dodgy

dodgy

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Denver
Hiya,

Maybe I can offer some thoughts about what a 'forgiving' blade means. I'm sure new members might read that word, but not understand how that type actually feels and acts. I mean jeeez, sharp is sharp...right?

When it comes to drawing blood through cuts and the like, not all blades give the same warning in advance. With milder blades there's more of a window for error.....you get a little extra warning time before things get ugly. Now we're not talking even a tenth of a second here, but even that short amount of time can be enough to adjust what's wrong in mid stroke.

Sharper the blade, the less time you got. The Feather gives almost no warning, so you gotta pay attention to detail with those.

A good blade for most people is one that's both forgiving and sharp enough to be effective.

That's about it,

Martin
 
Are you talking about Derby Blades again! You haven't brought them up in a couple of weeks now. Hope your supply hasn't dwindles down to "0" yet!:)-)
 
Johnus said:
Are you talking about Derby Blades again! You haven't brought them up in a couple of weeks now. Hope your supply hasn't dwindles down to "0" yet!:)-)
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Ah yes, the famous Derby blade. I believe you're the resident Derby savant here. I think you should start a separate thread on those bits of shaving Turkish Delight.

From what I understand, the're not any good unless paired with the Derby soap/cream superlather. Then it's spectacular! That about right?

I received 10,000 Derby blades from my last Secret Santa exchange, and i still have a few left.

Type at you later, fellow Yankee Doodler
 
OK - you did it, dodgy. Pandora's Box, Can of worms, Cat amongst the seagulls!

What IS the difference between a sharp, forgiving blade and a sharp, unforgiving (Feather) blade? I'm reluctant to include the word 'mild' because then we drift off into blunt, draggy blades (Derby).

I'd been shaving with 18, 19 and 20 blades from NTS's comparison spreadsheet and thought it time to have another go with a Feather - not as bad as of old but still drew blood several times, nicks and weepers - and a touch of the same old razor rash in sensitive areas. Back to 18 - 20 and not a problem again.

Is it just a matter of sharp, sharper, sharpest? That's all I can think of - and the rest is what we imagine. Or is there a physical difference, as revealed by a microscope?
 
Has Martin nipped off to consult a book of razor blade mythology? Or is he seeking wisdom from a gang of street thugs who kill people for a living...stay tuned to find out!!!!
 
Bechet45 said:
What IS the difference between a sharp, forgiving blade and a sharp, unforgiving (Feather) blade? I'm reluctant to include the word 'mild' because then we drift off into blunt, draggy blades (Derby).

Is it just a matter of sharp, sharper, sharpest? That's all I can think of - and the rest is what we imagine. Or is there a physical difference, as revealed by a microscope?
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What's up Carl,

Mild blades are not to be confused with crap blades......like the Derby. Lots of people like the mild Red Personna blade and a few others. Oh, no offense meant at all to my fellow 'crazy about Derby' Yankee.

Carl, I think the grind has something to do with performance. What it is, I can't tell you. I'll include Squire's labor of love for you to look over.Lots of pics using scientifical stuff!!! He's got more posts about how he actually did the testings.

Maybe this will help....who knows.

http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29705
 
John said:
Has Martin nipped off to consult a book of razor blade mythology? Or is he seeking wisdom from a gang of street thugs who kill people for a living...stay tuned to find out!!!!
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How you doin John,

Heh, I didn't see your post earlier, otherwise I woulda posted that blade review link as a reply. The guy spent some serious time putting that together. Well actually, he and his mom did it together as a high school science project.

Martin
 
dodgy said:
John said:
Has Martin nipped off to consult a book of razor blade mythology? Or is he seeking wisdom from a gang of street thugs who kill people for a living...stay tuned to find out!!!!
Click to expand...

How you doin John,

Heh, I didn't see your post earlier, otherwise I woulda posted that blade review link as a reply. The guy spent some serious time putting that together. Well actually, he and his mom did it together as a high school science project.

Martin
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Hi martin, that old chestnut of razor blades will never go away will it :icon_lol: looks like meny a man / woman have tryed to get to the bottom of what makes a good blade ,even going to such extremes as this project.

It's a good job done for the son / mum team,it's interesting how just a pece of sharpened steel can make or brake a good shave :icon_rolleyes:
 
dodgy said:
Sharper the blade, the less time you got. The Feather gives almost no warning, so you gotta pay attention to detail with those.
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Cheers for the info Martin, but I am afraid you are about 12 hours too late. I tried a Feather for the first time this morning and have to agree with the no warning bit, so does my neck. It took quite a long time and a lot of syptic pencil to quell the flow!
Nice blade though, I just have to be a wee nit more careful next time.

daz
 
I used Squires list that Brenda has linked to when i first started to gathering blades going with the highest scoring ones.

I still cant use Feathers and the 7 mark for Derby's still leaves me scratching my head.
 
Derby score must be to do with one's beard and one's prep. In my early days, I bought fifty of them so I must have rated them - I remember thinking of them as safe. Now, I find them draggy and dull but get a good enough shave without irritation - well, I did last time, a good while back, immediately before consigning them to the ?Que? jar.

As high as 7, eh? Generous judge.
 
Bechet45 said:
Derby score must be to do with one's beard and one's prep. As high as 7, eh? Generous judge.
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Of the blades he reviewed that I've tried, I found Squire to come close to my own experiences in most cases. There's a few I don't agree with....the Derby being a glaring example.

It's basically just a guideline, which is all you can hope for.
 
RB73 said:
The other old chestnut would be, how can so many (well ok, a fair few) differently labelled blades made in the same factory be noticeably different.
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nearly all are made from the same grade of steel

the answer is usually the machining/quality control

personally i wouldn't be surprised if two different machine lines in a factory shave different
 
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