Comb or Solid - what's the difference?

What's the difference, in terms of a shave, between a comb-bar razor and a solid-bar razor? The comb-bars are all early razors, aren't they? I'm wondering why this was and what prompted the change in production to solid bars. Are solid-bars better? My 'old type' is a comb-bar and I am getting a great shave, but then my 'Slim' is a solid-bar and that gives me a great shave too. Confused. Thanks.

 

This is only a guess, but men were taking off more hair in the form of sideburns, mustaches, etc, back then, to which open comb lends itself much better than a safety bar (OC won't clog). Once clean-shaved became the order of the day, the safety bar became the usual.

More likely, though, they realized that stamping out a safety bar bottom plate was easier than having to machine or cast heads with individual teeth.

 

My face can't tell any difference.

 

You can still buy OC's. As Gorgo says, back in the "old days" people couldn't shave every day and an OC is good for shaving longer hair, so they made sense. You can still buy new OC's. Off the top of my head, Merkur and Cadet still make them. Others likely do too. If I haven't shaved for a week an OC is easier to use for me than a bar razor. Like anything else in shaving, it's all YMMV.

 

Open combs fell out of fashion partly because drops would bend and break teeth.

 

Yup.

I've never owned one but I really do like the idea of the semi-open comb...LC NEW style teeth with a thin bar running just along the edges of them. Take off any amount of facial growth but a lot less worry about dropping and breaking teeth.

 

I like all my razors, but if I could only have one, it would be my English NEW LC.

 

I gravitated towards open combs through experimentation and now it's mostly what I use. I think they're aesthetically pleasing and shave me closer and don't clog easily.

 

Those are nice razors Jayaruh. I would like to get a Gillette old. I haven't idea if they shave well, I just like them because they are old. The ones you picture are very nice looking. It's encouraging that you find they work well too. Any opinion on the Gillette old?

 

The OC razors seem to be a bit more agressive, but can get extremely close shaves. Just have to be a bit more careful.

 

Ah, now that makes some sense.

 

How often were people dropping razors!? If this was a problem I would hate to see what their faces looked like!

 

Nice! Especially the non ball-end handle.

 

Mmm okay, that's a really good point.

 

I would probably guess manufacturing costs. Less tooling with a stamped safety bar, than with open combs.

That being said, the beauty of a Gillette #15, Gillette ABC, or a Gillette Big Fellow, is hard to beat. Open combs are great to look at, and they are usually more aggressive, than the safety bar models.

 

The OTs are pretty aggressive. They were made for a different type blade than modern blades. You can get great shaves if you use a very light touch and get the angle right. My first experience with an OT left my skin pretty irritated. The NEWs however are great shavers without the irritation.
This is my one and only OT.

 

False. I have a Sheraton, a Merkur 11C, a Grafco (an old Merkur make) - all extremely mild. I have an Old Type that waits for you to stop paying attention for the slightest moment so it can bite you; very aggressive.

Just as there are mild and agressive bar ("closed" comb) razors, there are mild and agressive Open Comb razors. A bar, or lack there of, makes no difference.

 

Oh. It makes sense that the blades would be different. I was actually surprised that you can still get DE blades or new razors at all. I guess I will have to collect several and see how it goes.

 

I have an open comb. It is different from a safety bar razor in that the blade sits flat against the razor. That is, there is no gap anywhere on the blades. This makes it impossible for the blade to cut anything where the teeth are, it only cuts between the teeth. It's a very safe kind of razor to use, and some women's razors are based on this design. As has been mentioned, it's effective for long hair areas. It is less than ideal for shaving the face, however, because of the lack of ability to control blade angle, and because the comb design means you need multiple passes to clear an area.
Open comb on the left showing how the blade is sandwiched between the comb and cap.