I was talking to a friend of mine and he said he didn't screw the head of the razor all the way to control the amount of bend, hence the angle of the blade inside the razor. I always assumed the head of the razors were meant to be screwed all the way in, I just got curious if this was intended to be some sort of a control over the blade angle. Does anybody else here do the same thing? I am talking about safety razors where you remove the head to insert the blade by the way, like Merkur 23c.
I'm in the camp that considers not tightening a DE razor all the way a safety issue. If it loosens more while shaving you could easily be looking at a significant cut.
Check out post # 26 in the Razor Instructions thread, with its instructions for a Gillette Old Style razor. "To shave close loosen the screw at the end of the handle a trifle, allowing the blade to spring a little away from the teeth of the guard." I would never try this myself, as it seems it would be too hard to judge the "trifle". If I want to adjust the blade gap, I'd use an adjustable.
This is one way people adjust for the fact the OLD style razors were intended to take thicker blades than are being produced today. If I were to try to use and OLD style and get close to the original way it shaved, I'd go with a shim rather than a loose handle. But, as I have plenty of great DE razors I'm completely happy with I'm not going to go looking for a OLD style.
I've done it both ways using a Gillette single ring made in 1910 with modern blades and it does work and there's no issue with loose heads. Even modern blades have enough spring in them to keep everything from moving plus the bullets of the head cap help in that regard too. The key is to not totally twist off on the knob. Just give it a little small twist back. I tighten as far as it will go, then twist back just a smidge. This adjusts and works fine. The beloved Eclipse Red Ring even has an arrow on the knob and lines on the barrel for this purpose.
I have a '41 Aristocrat with a tag that suggests just that. That is to loosen the TTO knob a bit for a closer shave. We must remember these men lived in a world before seat belts, air bags and OSHA. I would not knowingly practice this technique, but must admit that once or twice I have inadvertently shaved with a loose TTO knob and can therefore testify that it does work.
I also have an early OC Aristocrat & loosen the knob a tad to open the gap & make it more aggressive. You have to be careful, though, as it tends to move & open the gap too much.
I would not intentionally loosen the razor for a more aggressive shave. If I was that anxious for an aggressive shave, I would break out the Str8 shavette or purchase a nice Str8 to have on hand for such days. When I got my Merkur Progress, I did turn the adjustment knob, which normally sets between 1-5, to what would be a 10, just to see the blade gap. I did touch it to my face and shaved about a 1/4 inch b4 ceasing my foolish curiosity. The Str8's that I have used are much more comfortable than the more aggressive DE razors that I have tried. Go figure.
Here is a unmarked razor that I have. This is one razor that I wouldn't mess around with loosening the handle to make it more aggressive
had a SS come unscrewed a little during a shave. painful. it changes the gap and angle of the blade. luckily no cuts. they were designed to be snug down on the blade for a reason.
