As an update to my post The Art of Wet Shaving, I wanted to show you a video on double edged shaving blades making. This following one was filmed at Croma factory in Germany.
As I said in the mentioned post, the form of the blade as we know now, came in 1904. Gillette’s 1904 patents gave it the power to block entry into the installed base of handles that it would create. While other firms could and did enter the replaceable-blade market with their own handles and blades, no one could produce razors or blades styled like Gilette’s during the life of the patents. Gillette set a high price for its handle and fought to maintain those high prices during the life of the patents, through 1921.
Nowadays Gilette is selling expensive disposable blade cartridges with expensive handles. Some of them are “improving” by the year. Unfortunately that’s not true. How else could they still make huge profits if not selling dear “disposable” values. The classic double edge is today manufactured in Sweden (7am), Russia (Astra, Gillette, Iridium, Rapira, Nacet, and Polsilver), Greece (Bic), Germany (Bolzano, Croma, Merkur, and Wilkinson Sword), Israel (Crystal and Red Personna), Turkey (Derby), Korea (Dorco), Japan (Feather and Kai), Egypt (Lord and Shark), Bangladesh (Shahzad and Sharp), India (Supermax), and Pakistan (Trig).
Croma Diamant Double Edge Blades
In the early 1900’s, the shaving blades were a little bit thicker. They weren’t very expensive, the prices were moderate comparing to the handle. To thoroughly increase blades life, some devices were invented to sharpen the tiny blades, using a technology similar with the one used for shaving razors, stroping on leather.
Twinplex double edge blades sharpener
Above is a Twinplex double edge blades sharpener, with two cylinders coated in leather used to strop both sides of the blade at once. It has gears that flip the blade between cycles, to strop both sides evenly. There are other three different models I know of, but they’re not important anymore, because here is my advice: Taking in account that the price is far smaller than the multi blade cartridges one, and a classic double edge blade can be used approximately four times, depending on everyone’s beard coarseness of course, actually almost as much as the expensive cartridge (which starts to irritate your skin after the fourth shave), it’s too complicated to try to hone or strop the tiny thin blades. As you have seen in the video, they’re coated and extra coated with different materials to make the gliding on your face, smoother. If you’re lucky and have a grandad who used an original, you’re substantially saved in matter of luxurious shaving. If not, no big deal, with around $20 to $40 you can find an original on eBay, or you can invest between $100 to even more in a new Merkur safety razor, the last Mohican on the market. Little bit expensive is the badger brush (explained a little bit on the previous post on shaving), otherwise important is the beard to be softened enough to allow a smooth cut. This is accomplished by a combination of heat and water which allows the water to penetrate the hair shafts. The lathe made with the brush just keeps the beard’s moisture long enough for the beard to be shaved.
The people say that the Japanese Feather is the sharpest and the Turkish Derby is the least sharp of the presented blades. That is not saying Derby is the worst. It is considered “an excellent blade from Turkey” that’s highly regarded by nearly anyone, the “chromium-ceramic-platinum-tungsten and polymer coated edges” are not superlative in any one element, just good at all of them.
I want to end with another advice. If you feel that you want to sharpen your double edge blades, try to acquire a straight razor. It will offer you this substantial mannish pleasure.
If you liked what you read (and for that I humbly thank you for your patience), subscribe to this blog by Email! Follow this blog on Twitter, and on Facebook! For a joyous day, check out my pins on Pinterest or my grams on Instagram 😄. I hope you like this blog so much that you think it’s time to take a step further by becoming yourself a blogger; in order to do that have the kindness to read the Own Your Website offer I have prepared for you! You won’t regret. Thanks for passing by 😄 Speak your mind, don’t be shy!
Copyright © 2012 Rodolfo Grimaldi Blog – Double Edge Shaving Blades
