What is the best engineered razor in your opinion?

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by fram773, Feb 24, 2014.

  1. fram773

    fram773 Well-Known Member

    I ask this question purely based on a design standpoint. Not necessarily what is your favorite or your best shaver.

    My vote goes to the GEM Micromatic. This thing is crazy robust. The TTO Knob feels much more solid and smooth than a SS knob. Also it has much less fragile exposed parts. Something I learned very well... Better than a 3-piece DE IMO. No threads to strip and no clumsy way of loading the blade. The angle of a SS (or other DEs) doesn't work for me. Its too large thus it scrapes rather than cuts. The SE razors have a much smaller more acute angle that I find cuts not scrapes. Also the SS doesn't have a built in angle as the SEs do- flat against the face. Yes I know I've turned into somewhat of an SE evangelist since discovering them thanks to this forum...

    But not all SE razors are created equal. Some people say the best design is the 1912-style. I disagree. Tolerances are sloppy. Out of all the ones I've seen they are not perfectly straight. See what I mean (GEM Jr pictured):
    DSC02781.JPG DSC02782.JPG
    Seeing that they always curve into a frown and not a smile it leads me to believe it is a manufacturer defect probably as a result of the more primitive manufacturing techniques of these earlier times.Also I don't like that the blade is supported essentially by two little corners.The bottom is concave. You are trusting only the rigidity of the blade. This is probably why I have a harder time shaving ATG on my chin (blade flex) with the 1912 and Jr than the Micromatics.
    DSC02784.JPG
    Now behold the MMOC:
    DSC02780.JPG
    It's hard to believe but there is a blade in there all right. The tolerances are much tighter and the blade is held firmly on both sides through out the length of the blade. This allows for no blade flex. Try it. Push the blade down on a 1912 with your finger. There is some give. Try it with the MMOC and no give. I am referring to the MMOC without the two knobs the one with the knobs there is ever so slight give:
    DSC02764.JPG DSC02758.JPG

    Furthermore the 1912 style has another design flaw- its spring. As you know some razors are missing their blade stops. Look at your 1912 style razor as you close it- there is a part that pushes the blade down forcefully shut. This will lead much sooner to the wear of the blade stops. This problem is further aggravated by the use of modern stainless blades. Stainless is harder than carbon. But steel is still harder than brass. The MM is TTO and thus does not push the blade forcefully down.

    Thus my vote goes to the MMOC.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2014
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  2. WetShaveObsession

    WetShaveObsession Well-Known Member

    Vintage its hard to not say the Gillette Techs, for a TTO the SuperSpeeds and for modern tough to beat the DE89 head ....
     
  3. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    I would be limited to vintage Gillettes, a Schick I2 injector, Schick Krona, Weber PH, Fatip, and Parker 99r.

    I think my vote would go for my Gillette Slim. It's over 50 years old and is still going strong. That's impressive for something with so many little mechanical parts to it IMHO.
     
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  4. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    +1 on the Slim
     
  5. Darkbulb

    Darkbulb Cookie Hoarder

    I think it would have to be a vintage adjustable for me.
    I'll 'third' the Gillette Slim. Looks great, feels great and can easily be adjusted to your personal preference (mine is between 7 and 9).
     
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  6. LookingGlass

    LookingGlass Well-Known Member

    For me, the Gillette adjustable. The engineering on these razors is pretty amazing when you remember they were designed and manufactured 40 to 50 plus years ago, depending on the model. I have owned and disposed of Muhles, Merkers, EJs, and Parkers in favor of these fine old Gillettes. I think of them as the F-150 of razors - Built Ford Tough.
     

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  7. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    "Best" is pretty subjective, even in engineering. So I'm going to take that to mean "What is most effective for me and in case of a tie, what's the most robust design". I think the prize goes to the Pre-war Tech.

    The Tech lets me get a slightly lower blade angle than any of the TTOs. That gives me more comfortable shaves. Another bonus with the 3-piece design is simplicity. I think the best designs are usually the least complicated and the 3-piece design is about as simple as a razor can get while giving up nothing in performance.

    Some others give me great shave too so they're worth mentioning. The NEW has about the same head geometry as the Tech but the teeth bend easily so it's not as robust. A Schick injector also gives me great shaves but it's more complicated. The EJ / Muhle / Merkur designs are great but zinc alloy just isn't an ideal material for razor parts. And stainless razors like the Weber or Ikon are great but stainless will rust if not cared for so it's tough to beat brass / copper as a material for making razors.
     
  8. fishcrow

    fishcrow Birdman of TSD

    My personal opinion the best engineered would the Fat Boy. When it was released it was very innovative, to be able to dial in your shave to your liking.
     
  9. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    My vote is for the Long Comb NEW for a three piece and the Slim for an adjustable.
     
  10. alpla444

    alpla444 That's sweet!

    I have to agree with the Fatboy, just for being a game changer at the time and well made.
    I do use SE Gems and they are also an engineering marvel they movement as the top plate retracts and then flips.
    And I have an ATT 3piece that is well engineered stunning.

    so for me its all 3 not sure if thats what you wanted to hear but thats my choice (That said my goto razor is a British TV superspeed, it never fails me)
     
  11. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    I think I'll give my vote to the EverReady 1924 "shovel head"...It I.M.O. it is a very inovative and, unique design..The razor is robust,easily cleaned and loaded....The only downside to them,at least for me, is the lack of blade variety, availability,(it's getting harder and harder to find Gem SS blades locally for me) and the blade cost is rather high compared to the DE blades I use....:)
     
  12. I disagree, I go by engineering standards of today. Metallurgy and process plus price point matter. My vote is Weber....and it's American, a bonus!
     
  13. fram773

    fram773 Well-Known Member

    This Weber?
    P1000405.JPG
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2014
  14. I'm sorry, I can't see your image...am I doing something wrong?
     
  15. CyanideMetal

    CyanideMetal Wild and crazy guy

  16. Is that rust I see? What happened yo your razor? Hard water? Lack of proper maintenance? Something appears to have gotten fubared?

    I'm sending out two Webers for DLC soon as my company uses that surface coating all the time. Something is definitely no bueno in that image. Have you emailed Ed?
     
  17. CyanideMetal

    CyanideMetal Wild and crazy guy

    Ed said the main reason he doesn't DLC coat his razors any more is becasue it was too difficult to get a consistent coating on the razor. Apparently, he had a bad batch or two and got tired of dealing with it.
     
  18. fram773

    fram773 Well-Known Member

    That is not my razor. That is from a popular shaving forum that shall not be named. There's been a few reports of various brands of stainless razors rusting but mostly it's just cases of a (SS) razor blade rusting inside a SS razor that is left assembled.

    Still I'm not sure why SS razors seem to be so popular. Why have so many companies popped up in such a short amount of time all selling SS razors? Yes, to challenge the pot metal razor producers (i.e.. Merkur). But brass won't rust and its durability is proven. Seems more about marketing to me...
     
  19. Different companies use different chemical recipes for their process. The folks we use do a phenomenon job and it comes out pitch black. The polished head should look nice. DLC by itself has NO water dispersing properties so you must dry and alcohol, a water dispersant, the razor after use. The matte finish of the metal was not a good choice in my opinion for DLC whereas the polish is.
    We use it on out product all the time with no issues. I would suggest some fine gun oil and a tooth brush, then strip clean with brake clean then wash, rinse and alcohol.

    Gosh I'm sorry guy.
     
  20. fram773

    fram773 Well-Known Member

    Also while those rust cases could have been legitimate customers I would not discount rivals using shady practices such as putting their competitors razors in salt water. Businesses can be very cutthroat. It certainly is a possibility...
     

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