A small guide to single edge blades

Nice move. Well deserved!

 

Yes, thank you. Very useful resource .

 

Fantastic, I got those GEM stainless PTFE coated blades from Connaught in the UK to fit my Ever Ready 1912SE. The cost wass similar to a middle of the road DE blade so that's grand too! Had my first shave with it yesterday and whilst not my best shave it was pretty good nonetheless and great fun! Looking forward to today's single edge practice session!

 

Before I got into the shaving world here I bought a huge vault of stainless box cutter blades, like 250 in it, from hardware store. Brand says Personna Pro. I'll bet if you used one of those kriss kross blade stroppers or something like it to put a proper edge on it they'd shave just fine, wouldn't you think?

 

Thanks very much Tom for posting this. I have had several SE razors knocking around for quite some time and this information finally spurred me to get a few blades and finally start using them within the last month or so. I really am enjoying my non-injector SEs!

 

The shave blades are 3 faceted and the box cutter type only have 2 facets. Totally different animals Dunno how long it would take you to strop a SS blade to shave quality. Probably order some shave blades and get them faster than you could finish the first one stropping

 

when did ASR start making stainless blades? Im looking into NOS blades.

 

fram773
Thanks for the bump on this thread. Nice to know about American Safety Razor/Personna making the blades for CVS.

 

I'd like to see Connaught Shaving added to the list of sources for acquiring blades. Not sure how it is cheaper to have them made in the USA sold in the UK and bring them back here but it is. They have the best prices on bulk blades.

 

Great information!

 

First shave tonight w first safety razor a gem 1912... used the Gem personna razors.... lil bit of a learning curve but all in all a very smooth result, but i do have a lil razor burn but thinking its from first time shaving w single razor i hated shaving before but like shaving now with my brush and razor. Cant wait to get my blades for my schick injector.

 

be sure to read this if you haven't
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/se-gem-shaving-tips-tricks.31529/

nice truck by the way

 

Many thanks Tom!

It may be pretty tough to find out, but is it possible the blades intended for shaving/medical use
are just stropped (or honed with a finer series of stones, then stropped) and the "hardware store" variety aren't.

I can't imagine a company investing in an entirely different series of machines to make one vs. the other...

 

Excellent work Tom. Lots to learn in this article

 

I have good luck with the Gem Blue Star blades and I can find them local in a couple stores.

 

My understanding is that the ones made for shaving have a 3 facet edge, while the ones used in paint scrapers and such have a 2 facet edge. The ones with the 3 facet edge are sharper than the blades with the 2 facet edge, but the 2 facet edge blades last a little longer.

A picture illustrating this can be seen towards the top of the page HERE on the Ted Pella site.

 

Since I am expecting a SE in the mail probably early some time next week I have a question. I have read the carbon blades rust easily. If I give them a swish in alcohol would that suffice instead of having to remove the blade after every shave? I can get Treets locally, at least for now for 2 bux a pack, as well as the CVS blades. I picked up a pack of GEMs but want to try the different blades available around here.

 

I can't speak directly to the blades in question, as I haven't used them, BUT, I used to use carbon steel needles at work years ago. And moisture, any moisture, will blacken and degrade carbon steel fast. I would assume even alcohol, if trapped under the blade would do it the same as water. We used to prevent our needles from rotting in the autoclave by dipping them in glycerin. Kept them daisy fresh. I would think a similar treatment would keep a carbon blade fresh with a bit less maintenance. But ultimately I'm guessing...

 

Excellent work Tom!

 

Those feather blades blow my mind! They are clearly designed for Valet razors...I wouldn't think there was enough demand for such a thing. It's pretty cool though. Now I'm pretty excited that I have some Valets coming in a lot of stuff I just picked up. I was mostly picking them up because I think the design and mechanisms are beautiful. I have to admit that the old single edge razors intimidate the heck out of me.