In a discussion on Wicked_Edge, Western Razors was asking about possible innovations for a new DE razor—and the obvious thing is to make innovations for a three-piece razor, since those are most common because they easier and cheaper to manufacture than (say) adjustable razors. So I offered a couple of ideas.
First, make a sturdier cap. Most mid-range razors nowadays are made of a plated zinc alloy, typically Zamak, usually plated with chrome (rather than nickel or gold like the brass razors of yesteryear). Chrome-plated Zamak razors fall short of plated brass razors in three ways. First, if the chrome plating is breached, Zamak corrodes rapidly in the presence of water, whereas in the old Gillette nickel- or gold-plated brass razors, wearing through the plating (“brassing”) was more a cosmetic issue than destructive of the razor.Indeed, I assume that chrome is used for Zamak razors because it doesn’t wear so easily as nickel or gold: Zamak must not be exposed or the razor dies.
Zamak has a second flaw: it is much more brittle than brass. Thus a dropped Zamak razor is much more apt to break (usually the cap’s threaded stud breaking off in the handle) than a brass razor, which would bend rather than break—and probably could be bent back into shape.
And Zamak even has a third problem: if you slightly overtighten the handle on a Zamak razor when you put in a new blade, the threaded stud’s attachment to the cap is weakened, and eventually the stud simply parts from the cap when you tighten the handle. When that happens it feels as though no real stress is put on the stud, but the continued overtightening has weakened the joint so that when it eventually fails it simply comes apart easily. Zamak is not only more brittle than brass but also lacks the tensile strength of brass.
One change that would solve all three problems would be to make the razor’s cap of plated brass or even stainless steel instead of Zamak. Baseplates are subject to much stress or wear (the wear is on the threads) and so they could still be made of plated Zamak. The breakage problems all seem to be the cap and in particular the breaking off of the cap’s threaded stud.
A second idea is to build some resonance into the razor’s head—some sort of mini-soundbox that will amplify the cutting sound. I think that would have a lot of appeal—and it’s something a cartridge razor cannot offer, so it would be exclusive to the DE razor (as, indeed, are things like adjustable razors and slants).
The Merkur Futur, Vision, and Progress have some degree of amplification of the cutting sound, but it seems to be by accident rather than design. With some thought and CAD work (perhaps with the help of a luthier) it might be possible to design a razor head so that you can easily hear the cutting sound, a sound a shaver listens for in any case since it helps him find the right blade angle and is also pleasant in a contemplative way. So it would have both a practical use (making the angle easier to find) and also would be intriguing. And it requires no moving parts, just some clever design.
I know: it’s odd. But no odder than designing buildings to remove the shadows between them, like this . And it might be patentable.
You might be able to use 3-D printing to create test prototypes, in which case you can readily and easily iterate design ideas: rapid prototyping. While 3-D printed razors are not be sturdy enough for real use, you could shave enough with one to see how well it does at amplifying the cutting sound. Then, after you get the design worked out, you could try machining one (maybe there’s a conversion program to take 3-D printing files and convert them to CNC files), or make a mold, though I think making a mold is expensive.
Nowadays you can buy 3-D printers at relatively low cost, and razors are relatively small are thus a suitable size for inexpensive 3-D printers.
Just a couple of ideas. Ideas are easy; implementation is difficult.
Filed under: Business, Shaving, Technology
