Alright, a different thread got me to wondering about beefing up the existing handle for my R-41 so since I have an 89L and the R-41 and they both use the same handle, I had an idea. I took my 89's handle and worked off the end cap with a pair of pliers wrapped in a shop rag. It barely got boogered up but it did get boogered a tiny bit so if you attempt this, be careful. If I was more cautious there would be no boogering but I was resigned to get the cap off. That's it! That is how far along I've made it. Off to Ace for some filler material! I'll update a bit more later. Sorry for no pics, my camera is currently dead and we are working on scoring a new one. If this works as well as it is looking like it is, I'll redo my R-41s handle too and will have pics with it at that point. Cheers!
De-suckification.....I'll be using that a lot around my teenage boys. Waiting to see what you use for filler in the handle.
Ok, I got a 4" hex bolt from Ace with the smooth shank part at the top and the threads below that. 7/16" outside diameter is the closest I could get to the inside diameter of the handle. I cut off the threads and the head of the bolt leaving a 36mm long slug that I epoxied into place with a few used Dremel cut-off wheel pieces for shimming. It is curing as we speak. I'll let you all know how it shaves later.
I like the R41 just the way it is.... In the past when I have had to add weight to things, I have used both fishing sinkers or lead shot from shotgun reloading. Just drop enough material to suit your needs then epoxy it all in place...
Perhaps next time it would be best to use a rubber material to get the cap off? It would grip better IMO and the teeth of the pliers wont mess up the handle caps....or did your edge edge get messed up where the female goes into the male?
So all this and you aren't even ready to shave! Wink, wink. I like the ingenuity, Bob. I look forward to hearing how you faired with it.
I have been considering an IKON Bulldog handle (see link below) to interchange with some of my razors. A little pricy, but it looks like a nice, hefty handle and it is available for those of us that are not prepared to do de-suckification ourselves. http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/ikbuhabuyofa.html
Yes it would. In the case of the lined handle though, I think it could be done without boogering if you made sure the teeth lined up in the valleys but I didn't think of that the first go around. For the R-41 handle though, there is no grooving, only the Muhle name. Rubber or some other method will be needed for that one. Gotta be technical when undertaking an effort such as this! I like that one too and wouldn't mind it but for ten bucks less, you can have options at BRW, which is probably where my money will end up. Not that The Bulldog is bad, just a bit pricier and limited. Now, onto the review! I hate to say it but I didn't really notice much of a difference in the shave. It does make the razor have a bit more of a heft but that is all really. I would like to see Muhle make them heavier just because it would round out the package of not just the R-41 but all of their thin walled tubing handled razors. It is a bit nicer in feel and makes me feel like I bought something a little bit better quality. It makes the beautiful finish and the excellent craftsmanship of the razor seem more complete and I don't know why Muhle doesn't incorporate a bit more heft, after all, it was less than $2 to mod it outside of what they could do in ordinary manufacturing processes. The only thing I noticed is that it made it a bit easier to let the weight of the razor do the work. That's it. Would I do it again? Maybe. It definitely isn't necessary but it was kinda fun to do.