I have been using the Feather system for about a year now, and I really like the Feather/KAI SE blades. So far I have been using mostly the Feather DX and RG, but I have used the SS, and KAI Captain razors as well. Here is a photo of the Feather DX and RG straight razors I have been using:
I have heard a lot about the Cobra, and recently got to try it on a pass-around. A tad on the mild side (the Cobra does have a guard like most DE's and SE's), the blade on the Cobra is not completely exposed, so you are a little "restricted" on what angle to use. BUT, the Cobra had a neat twist - it put the excellent and very sharp blade in a "T" handle, so it was very neat to use.
For a while now I had ideas about making my own T-Straight: a razor like the Cobra, but like a real straight razor with no guard of any kind. But I don't have a CNC shop, nor a 3D printer, so I am somewhat limited on what I can do by hand on my hobby shop (garage). I had used strong, neodymium magnets on a flashlight-related project, and I have been thinking that these might be strong enough to hold the blade in place. I took notes, and wrote down some concepts, and keep thinking about the idea of making my own razor (blade holder) to try these ideas, and see if I can shave with it.
But I then heard about the Huntlee, which I think an outstanding design, seems to have better ergonomics than the Cobra (I really never liked the Cobra's handle), so I put my own prototype on hold and waited for a while. After learning that the Huntlee is delayed, I decided to re-engage my own project since I just want one for myself - for my personal use. I figured it would be cool to give it a try.
Since I have easy access to DE handles, I made it so that I could screw in any M5x0.8 threaded DE handle, and I made it so that it will work with any Feather/KAI blade regardless of size (light, pro, super, guard, etc). I finished it yesterday (Sunday) and I shaved with it this morning. Yes, I was pretty nervous, but I was surprised with a great shave - same as I normally get from my Feather DX, BUT with the added ergonomics of a DE/SE type handle.
It is certainly not a pretty sight, and the magnets I had on hand where too thin to have the strength I needed, but it works, and it gives me ideas of what to try next. This is my T-Straight razor, first prototype:
It does look a little scary, right?
Here are a few more work-in-progress pictures. Getting the brass block to the target size:
Testing to make sure the blade fits:
The red "thingie" allows me to remove the piece, put it back again, and be nearly spot on perfect again, so the DRO measurements/positioning remain from operation to operation:
No guard of any kind - the blade is fully exposed:
The angle between the head and the handle was loosely done based on another well known SE razor:
Once I picked the angle, I milled, drilled, and tapped right in that fixture:
Here I am using one of my DE handle tools to check/verify the threads:
It looks scary, but the blade can't move backwards (back wall), nor sideways (side ears), so it can only move up - this is what the magnets are doing. But I only had available (from a past project) the really thin ones you see here, and I had to stack a lot of them together to get the tension I wanted. That is why I said the magnets were not quite strong. I ordered last night some magnets of the same diameter, but longer (cylinder shape, instead of disk shaped) which should be substantially stronger to try out. That being said, the magnets are in fact strong enough as while shaving the blade has stayed perfectly in place:
To give you an idea, those side ears holding the blade from lateral movement are only 0.010" wide!. If/when I make another head, I am planning on making them a tad wider, and incorporate a few lessons learned from this one.
After two shaves the angle I used seems to work great, but I would like to move the handle further back away from the edge - this one is a tad too close:
Today I tried the new head with one of my Titanium handles, which gave me a better balance since the brass head is relatively small and light compared to the solid brass handle:
I have heard a lot about the Cobra, and recently got to try it on a pass-around. A tad on the mild side (the Cobra does have a guard like most DE's and SE's), the blade on the Cobra is not completely exposed, so you are a little "restricted" on what angle to use. BUT, the Cobra had a neat twist - it put the excellent and very sharp blade in a "T" handle, so it was very neat to use.
For a while now I had ideas about making my own T-Straight: a razor like the Cobra, but like a real straight razor with no guard of any kind. But I don't have a CNC shop, nor a 3D printer, so I am somewhat limited on what I can do by hand on my hobby shop (garage). I had used strong, neodymium magnets on a flashlight-related project, and I have been thinking that these might be strong enough to hold the blade in place. I took notes, and wrote down some concepts, and keep thinking about the idea of making my own razor (blade holder) to try these ideas, and see if I can shave with it.
But I then heard about the Huntlee, which I think an outstanding design, seems to have better ergonomics than the Cobra (I really never liked the Cobra's handle), so I put my own prototype on hold and waited for a while. After learning that the Huntlee is delayed, I decided to re-engage my own project since I just want one for myself - for my personal use. I figured it would be cool to give it a try.
Since I have easy access to DE handles, I made it so that I could screw in any M5x0.8 threaded DE handle, and I made it so that it will work with any Feather/KAI blade regardless of size (light, pro, super, guard, etc). I finished it yesterday (Sunday) and I shaved with it this morning. Yes, I was pretty nervous, but I was surprised with a great shave - same as I normally get from my Feather DX, BUT with the added ergonomics of a DE/SE type handle.
It is certainly not a pretty sight, and the magnets I had on hand where too thin to have the strength I needed, but it works, and it gives me ideas of what to try next. This is my T-Straight razor, first prototype:
It does look a little scary, right?
Here are a few more work-in-progress pictures. Getting the brass block to the target size:
Testing to make sure the blade fits:
The red "thingie" allows me to remove the piece, put it back again, and be nearly spot on perfect again, so the DRO measurements/positioning remain from operation to operation:
No guard of any kind - the blade is fully exposed:
The angle between the head and the handle was loosely done based on another well known SE razor:
Once I picked the angle, I milled, drilled, and tapped right in that fixture:
Here I am using one of my DE handle tools to check/verify the threads:
It looks scary, but the blade can't move backwards (back wall), nor sideways (side ears), so it can only move up - this is what the magnets are doing. But I only had available (from a past project) the really thin ones you see here, and I had to stack a lot of them together to get the tension I wanted. That is why I said the magnets were not quite strong. I ordered last night some magnets of the same diameter, but longer (cylinder shape, instead of disk shaped) which should be substantially stronger to try out. That being said, the magnets are in fact strong enough as while shaving the blade has stayed perfectly in place:
To give you an idea, those side ears holding the blade from lateral movement are only 0.010" wide!. If/when I make another head, I am planning on making them a tad wider, and incorporate a few lessons learned from this one.
After two shaves the angle I used seems to work great, but I would like to move the handle further back away from the edge - this one is a tad too close:
Today I tried the new head with one of my Titanium handles, which gave me a better balance since the brass head is relatively small and light compared to the solid brass handle:
)
