About Anthrax

On 29/03/2004, at 9:33 AM, soulwedgie wrote:

> i've tried a variety of razor blades, with various success.  can

> anyone recommended a tool or a specific brand of razor blade else >that gives great results?

From Lindsay Rowlands, March 29, 2004: ( [lrowland@metz.une.edu.au ]

I recommend using the blades found in window scraping tools. They are very cheap these days and available from just about any supermarket. 

To prepare the blade before using it on a skin, it is essential to
round the corners on a piece of concrete or sharpening stone, etc. This lessens the chance of nicking the skin. I've also found it helpful to bend the blade slightly - the top edge is untempered steel and bends easily though the blade itself will snap if pushed too far. 

Beyond that, removing hair is just work; there are really no shortcuts other than developing skill and efficiency. Just the same, it will pay not to hurry since there is no effective way of repairing a cut in a skin. 

Another point that springs to mind is that the generic blades I use
seem to hold their edge for quite a number of skins, so I'd steer away from the idea that there is an ultimate blade/tool for this job. I was told by a prominent Ghanaian drummer that 'back home they use pieces of broken glass to remove hair from skins'. I gave it a try and while it is possible, I'll stick with what I do now.

Hope this helps, cheerz,

Lynzz

From Shorty Palmer, March 29, 2004

the list has seen this one before on more then one occasion. i use a single edge original bic (not a store brand) razor. take the orange cap off and then break the white plastic guard off from in front of the blade. this will expose the blade completely. file down the two corners of the blade so they are not sharp, kind of rounded off. i use a wet stone but you can use sand paper. i put the head on and get it tight and when i am done tightening the head and while it is still wet i shave the skin. i hold the handle of blade about parallel with the head and shave with the flow of the hair. you are really scraping the hair off and not shaving like you do you face or legs, not that i shave my legs. it only takes me about 3 minutes to shave a head with full hair, no trimming with clippers or scissors.
happy drumming 

shorty  www.goatskins.com