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Slants

Well, after @Techichi worked out in the gym so he could wield the Hammer this weekend, he just got the two sides of an OT and twisted them in opposite directions. (y)

Seriously, there was this guy on that other shaving forum that starts with a B and ends with a B that made this press type device where the top and bottom halves were already slanted, and then you added the razor head in it and pressed it to torque it. I originally asked Don if he had a spare OT head to sell me and he had three, but when I told him what it was for, we decided that he would give me an OT head and I would pay for the conversion and both of us would have it done. He has a thick cap and I have a thin cap, which I will show here once (if) I receive it.
 
Glad to hear it was a device rather than just going out to the work bench and banging on it with a vise and hammer lol. My major question would have been how to keep uniformity of the tweak all around.

Sounds like something our resident machinist @ShawnF could figure out!
 
Clouds said:
The jig was made by Tom White - designer of the TNNSER and a few other razors.
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@Clouds, glad you found this discussion. I thought you had a conversation with either Tom or Ryan (the guy that actually converts the heads), but was not sure. Did you get a very detailed instruction as to how to build such a torquing device?
 
@gvw755
It wasn't me. The dies themselves are not difficult to make. The issue is that its a male and a female so they have to be precision machined to fit together properly. There is also some "spring back" meaning that you actually have to over press/torque it and then it springs back a little. The trick is knowing how much that is and from what I understood reading about it, they (Tom) made more than one set.

Interesting project.
I have one coming - razor that is
 
gvw755 said:
Well, after @Techichi worked out in the gym so he could wield the Hammer this weekend, he just got the two sides of an OT and twisted them in opposite directions. (y)

Seriously, there was this guy on that other shaving forum that starts with a B and ends with a B that made this press type device where the top and bottom halves were already slanted, and then you added the razor head in it and pressed it to torque it. I originally asked Don if he had a spare OT head to sell me and he had three, but when I told him what it was for, we decided that he would give me an OT head and I would pay for the conversion and both of us would have it done. He has a thick cap and I have a thin cap, which I will show here once (if) I receive it.
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I've been pretty lucky. The majority of packages that have had issues arrived eventually so...šŸ¤ž

Let me know if it doesn't and I'll find you another head to mangle.
 
So the torqued Old Type head is nice, I like it. I'll be back with a more detailed review. I will say I've never been a big fan of Old Type heads...but this one did well.
 
So after spending six days going from Ft Worth, TX to Ft Worth, TX, my OT slant eventually reached me today. (y)

@Techichi and I started off with two different heads, his was a thick cap, and mine was a thin cap. Both our razors look equally scary.

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This is the OT slant compared to a regular OT (if you call a Pocket Edition a regular OT):

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Tonight I shaved with the slant version, and tomorrow I will shave with the regular OT.

First thing I noticed with my WTG pass is that there was still significant blade feel that the OT was famous for. Not quite as significant, but about 30%of the OT and so not quite smooth either. The BIG difference I noticed at the end of the WTG pass was that it was about 60% more efficient than the OT and so the slant conversion actually did what a slant razor does - achieves a smoother and more efficient shave. The ATG pass turned out to be just as efficient and I ended up with a two pass plus very minimal touch up BBS. This is definitely a modification that I would recommend to those that are truly slanted people. If you don't have a spare OT head, I know someone that might (if he hasn't sold out to all the others wanting one for this conversion). ;)
 
Tonight I shaved with the unslanted OT. I found this comparison surprising because the OT was smoother than I remembered it to be.

Immediately I found that the blade feel was about the same as the slant (if not a bit less). Of course I used a blade ready to be tossed in my slant version last night and a blade that had only two shaves in my OT tonight. I did a WTG and ATG with the OT and found that there needed to be minimal touch up afterwards. It was slightly more than last night, but both nights I ended up with a two pass plus touch up BBS. I declare this comparison a tie.

Tomorrow, I will use the good blade in the slanted OT and compare the shave with my Valencia, a razor that the slant version of the OT was compared to when it was created.
 
So tonight was my shave off between the OT slant and the Valencia. As I was taking pics of both razors side by side last night, I noticed something significant.

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Can any of you spot it (besides Dave)?

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The OT Slant is torqued in the opposite direction. Very few slants are! :sneaky:

So tonight the OT Slant took the blade of my Pocket Edition from last night with just a couple of shaves on it, and the Valencia took The blade that is about two shaves before tossing. The OT Slant took the left side of my face and the Valencia took the right side. Immediately with the WTG pass, I noticed that the blade feel of the OT Slant was still significant. More than the Pocket Edition, but not as much as the first night's shave. Similar to the first night's shave , the OT Slant was very efficient in the WTG and ATG passes. Blade feel was not as significant with the ATG pass. There was some dry touch up to do and some buffing, but overall, a two pass plus minimal touch up BBS.

The Valencia, using a blade almost ready to toss, was very smooth and had no blade feel. Efficiency was excellent and after the WTG and ATG passes, there was still some dry touch up, but not as much as the OT Slant. Tonight's winner is the Valencia! I would call it a draw except for the fact that the Valencia got a comparable shave using a duller blade. (y)
 
So after the great initial impression of the OT thick cap slant, I had to get one just to see what it was like. The converted razor arrived today and I gave it a quick cleaning and shaved with it tonight.

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I have to admit that this version was definitely smoother than the thin cap, but also not quite as efficient after the WTG pass. It made up for it on the ATG pass and there was still minimal touch up, however because the shave was smoother, I was able to do buffing and applying pressure to areas so I ended up with a great two pass plus touch up BBS.

This is definitely an interesting experiment with great results. Right now, I am favoring the Thick cap. Now to find a New Improved to destroy. (y)
 
On a different subject but still slant related, I am getting really close shaves with my RR Wonderbar. It is turning out to be a really wonderful razor--close with no irritation. I am really happy I bought this razor. I am less satisfied with my Blackland Vector. Decent shaves but really annoying with regard to how a blade goes on and comes off.
 
Southsider said:
On a different subject but still slant related, I am getting really close shaves with my RR Wonderbar. It is turning out to be a really wonderful razor--close with no irritation. I am really happy I bought this razor. I am less satisfied with my Blackland Vector. Decent shaves but really annoying with regard to how a blade goes on and comes off.
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The head of the Vector is so skinny that, for me, it is easy to put the blade in backwards. It also took me a while to find the right angle since the cap is so small. Still, it can give a great shave when everything goes right. Absolutely no problems with the Wunderbar. I got the original one when it was released a while back, and it is still my best slant and one of my best any style DE razor.
 
I remember when slants were "en vogue" back in the 2013/2014 timeframe and while I never got caught up in it, I always get fantastic shaves from my Merkur 37c. I don't reach for it near enough. Used it this morning and was again reminded how smooth a shave it provides.

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Latest version of the Gillette slants to come out of is the Tech conversion. Similar to the OT, which had two major versions - thick and thin cap, the Tech had two major versions too - triangle and oval slots.

This is the triangle slot conversion.

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The triangle slot Tech is one of my favorite razors. It shaves a little rougher than the later oval slot Techs, but it is a very efficient shaver when used correctly.

In comparing the slanted version with the OT slanted versions, the Tech looks like someone put it in their back pocket and forgot about it and sat down on a rock wall. It does not have the elegance of the OT vrsions displayed above.

First shave was tonight. When I did my WTG pass, I immediately noticed that there was significant blade feel and a slight blade chatter, both things not expected from a Tech. I adjusted the angle a little and got a smoother pass, but it was a very narrow angle as I easily adjusted it to just move lather. ATG pass went smoother and more efficiently, however there was still more stubble left over where I had to do a XTG pass for the jawline and under the chin area, taking care to stretch my skin. Buffing and slight pressure was not an option since the blade did feel like it was floating a little. Still, I ended up with a BBS, however it was not as efficient as the OT slants.
 
GearNoir said:
To do such a thing to a pre-war Tech! For shame! šŸ˜œ
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Yeah, I know. The triangle slot Techs are still one of my favorite razors. I thought it was worth trying, like the thick cap OT (another favorite), which actually turned out great. I do have an oval slot Tech waiting to be sent in to the guy that modifies these things, once my number comes up. I don't feel too bad about that one since those Techs shaved a little too mild for me, except for my birth year/quarter X4 Tech with the bakelite handle. Somehow we connected well. That reminds me, I should take it out of the cardboard box soon since my birthday is at the end of this month.
 
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