FAMEX Redux

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by twhite, Nov 26, 2018.

  1. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Wow, a sharp Nacet blade, one shim for additional rigidity, and wide open setting gives a spectacular shave. Don't think I've had a better 1+ pass head shave from s DE. I'll have to try the same setup with the original.[​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2018
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  2. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    And next on it's journey.
    tomx.jpg

    I am going to put in a full blade shaving with it on various adjustable settings.

    Since the head and cap are symmetrical I won't use both sides on the same setting.

    The furthest I am willing adjust it is once the handle is locked snug, I can with some extra torque adjust it down about another 180 degrees. This maybe too tight though and if done on a regular basis may fatigue the cage enough that it will permanently distort and/or eventually break. This type of design would probably never work with a harder metal like stainless steel or plating like rhodium or chrome.
    If @twhite ever decide to make this more than a 1 off razor there are ways to keep that from ever happening.

    I think the first 3 shaves I will start here back off by 90 degrees to snug then switch over to the other side and figure out how far back to go from there for the next 3 shaves.

    If @twhite wants me to I'll get out the feeler gauge and post the gap measurements on each shave.
     
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  3. twhite

    twhite Peeping Tom

    Feel free to do what you like. The more info the better. Hope you like the shave.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     
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  4. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    On what I think should be as tight as you should go the the gap is .021 inch / .53mm. That is where my first shave will be.
     
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  5. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    Initial impressions, this shaves like a Cooper Monobilt with the way I had it tightened. Lots of blade feel but angle makes the difference between ripping up your face and shaving it. Extremely close shave with little to no irritation. Only thing is the handle may have backed off a bit while shaving. For the next shave I re-tightened the handle to snug. Interestingly the gaps on both sides are not the same. One side is .021 inch / .53 mm and the other is .025 inch / .63 mm. The reason why from what I can see is the force from the cap is not distributed evenly across the cage. On side compresses a little bit more than the other.

    I'll double check the gaps again tomorrow before and after shaving see if the handle really is backing off or not.
     
  6. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    I did the .021 inch / .53 mm side today. A lot milder of a shave. Good news is the handle didn't back off at snug. The shave wasn't very smooth either with that said I'd say it shaves like a 40s style super speed at this gap but the overall shave is more like a Ranger Tech or Red Tip. Good but not in the same league as the first shave and this was with a fresh blade edge also.

    Tomorrow I'll shave the other side which is at .025 inch and then after that loosen it up so the opposite side is at .025 inch (assuming I can without over loosening) and compare to see if there is any other differences in the shave at the same gap setting on both sides.

    Reading this again I forgot to add the other day when the gap was .021 it was on the opposite side of razor from today's shave.

    If you look at the bottom side of the razor with By Tom reading left to right; the left side is at .025 inch, and right at .021 inch.

    The first shave the .021 inch gap was on the left side and today's shave the .021 inch gap was on the right.

    With all this said I would suspect there will be differences on the .025 inch gaps on each side.

    For the final 2 shaves after doing both sides and .025 inch, I'll pick a previously used gap and flip the cap around see what happens.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2019
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  7. Slipperyjoe

    Slipperyjoe Rusty Metal Tetanus

    Seen folks do up handles of all kinds but this is the first razor head. You've done an amazing piece of workmanship! Bravo..:happy096:
     
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  8. Red Rider

    Red Rider Well-Known Member

    Interesting razor. Great design and machine work twhite (Tom).

    0E5293FF-3989-42F0-B3B8-099AA9814695.jpeg
    Patent 1
    Patent 2
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2019
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  9. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    Today's shave at .025 inch gap on the left as I described in the prior post. Great shave almost as good as the first one and as I suspected the blade feel was like the first shave. Only issue is either the blade was almost spent which can happen from rubbing feeler gauge across it or the gap needs to be shallower when using what I am pretty sure is a negative shave angle on the blade.

    Tomorrow's shave I'll gap the other side to .025 inch and compare.
     
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  10. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    I just set the Tom-X for tomorrow's shave and interestingly enough both sides are now almost the same gap. My guess is that one side had more force being applied than the other when tightened beyond a certain point and backing it off to here evened that out. Also best I can tell the blade is loaded evenly on each side. The way the shoulders and holes are designed if there was any slop this would be a potential cause for an uneven blade load but these are tight and straight and no distortion when tightened down.
     
  11. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    On this shave I had the gap at .025 inch as per how I described each side in a prior post, this side if anything got milder as you increase the gap, lot of noise and blade feel but the angle of attack I think is what makes it so mild. It was a bit better of a shave than the other side at .025 inch not quite BBS but close.

    Next 2 shaves I am putting in a fresh blade and reversing the cap to see what is going on with the cap / cage not compressing evenly. 2 shaves, haven't decided the gap setting to use yet for both one on each side with a fresh edge and that should be good enough. Once I get the razor set I'll post the gap results.
     
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  12. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    As it turns out the gaps are pretty even within .001 of each other when you reverse the cap. I did it a few times and got the same results with the cap reversed. Same result with the gaps being uneven the opposite doing it a few times. Last 2 shaves will be with the even gaps set at .021 inch for both sides, fresh blade edge for both shaves on each side.
     
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  13. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    This shave was on the right side. If you look at the bottom of the cage the right side is the right side of lettering if you read it left to right.

    This one was pretty mild but really efficient, almost no audible feedback. Best shave so far with this razor. This shave was also the first one that I got a few small weepers from. This is about as close to BBS you can get without over shaving your face is how I would describe the shave.
    After doing the other side it looks like I will be putting in 2 extra shaves just to see how well the razor performs after the blade is broken in on each side.
     
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  14. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    One thing I can say with almost 100% certainty the Tom-X is nowhere as aggressive as the Famex. The Tom-X will shave you almost down to the skin and you can use quite a bit of pressure without cutting yourself but the Famex if not careful will not only shave you but fillet a few layers of skin off if you use too much pressure.
     
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  15. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Is that because the thinner gauge of the Famex? Geometry should be the same right Tom?
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2019
  16. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    No idea, I am basing that statement on how they differ in the feel during the shave. If the next few shaves are like today's then I would say the Tom-X is a better shave during and final result as long as the cap and plate are oriented correctly. Then again the Famex maybe has the same issue and I didn't notice it yet. Something I will check the next time I use it.
     
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  17. twhite

    twhite Peeping Tom

    Jeff

    I tried to keep it as close as possible. I just used calipers to measure the original. I did not go to the added time to throw it on a comparator to get exact measurements. I was only trying to get the flavor of the original.

    Again it was just an exercise to se how it could be done.


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  18. twhite

    twhite Peeping Tom

    For the base plate I literally spent 5 minutes taking rough measurements and maybe an hour to draw it up in CAD. Then another hour to program. Total machine time including simple futures 4 hours.

    The cap I tried to copy as close as possible to the original as it was to replace @BBS cap.

    So as you can see it was just a quick and dirty job for the base plate.


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  19. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    It sure came out well :) .
     
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  20. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    The Famex cage is visibly asymmetrical. Whether it started out that way or deformed over time I have no idea. The Tom-X is also a lot thicker for the cage. I am assuming the difference here is @twhite used a solid piece of brass and machined it down, the Famex looks like it was stamped into shape from a thin sheet of brass after pressing out the holes for the comb and such.

    I am sure @twhite could have made this identical shave wise to the Famex if he spent a little more time to replicate the shave plane the same in the cage shape to the cap for whatever side of the Famex he wanted to. The overall shape of the cage wouldn't have made a difference as long as that parameter was adhered to. It would just be a matter of making sure the curvature of the cage matches where it crosses for the same tangent line for the shave plane on the Famex.

    With that said they should adjust differently, @twhite picking a heavier handle to for this razor was genius since that extra heft allows for at least the same amount of adjustment and the same if not more resolution in movement of the blade. In less words it allows for better fine tuning of the adjustment.

    If it had a scale and dot on the cage it would be interesting to see just how repeatable the accuracy is of the adjustment. Once snug there is no slip I can feel when I turn the handle.
     
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