What would the difference be in the shave/fool of the blade. I'm looking to get my first razor and remember seeing that a 5/8 is a good starting width but I haven't seen a "why".
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What would the difference be in the shave/fool of the blade. I'm looking to get my first razor and remember seeing that a 5/8 is a good starting width but I haven't seen a "why".
Some feel that the narrower width is easier to negotiate the various angles of the face. Others like the heft of a wider blade. The difference between a 5/8 & 6/8 will be not hardly any.
I am the same as you , I am a newbie to this but from what I understand and what I understand from also using a shavette, a 5/8 blade is a little easier to maneuver than say a 6/8 or 7/8 blade. I think you get a little more feed back from a smaller blade where a bigger blade is a little more aggressive, I went with what I wanted and got a 6/8 anyway.
I started with a 6/8 last summer and i have had no problems. I will soon be trying a 5/8 that i have been restoring. 5/8 and 6/8 are both pretty standard sizes that are easy to obtain. You won't know what you prefer until you have tried multiple styles and sizes but you have to start somewhere and when learning a more forgiving blade will reduce cuts and nicks.
When you're starting out, a 5/8 or 6/8, round tip, half-hollow is a pretty good neutral ground to start with IMO. Very small difference between using a 5/8 and a 6/8 other than preference, if you're using 5/8 as a standard.
As far as aggressiveness, once you're comfortable with shaving with a straight, it all comes down to it's only the edge that actually shaves your face, not the blade, and size then comes down to preference with different attributes to each size, but you'd probably different levels of aggressiveness more in the grind than in the size IMO.
Once you understand you're shave, experimenting is all the fun. I used to see video's of members here using huge blades and would laugh, thinking I would never use a blade that large, now they're my favorite. Also have a pair of 4/8's that are quite awesome blades, and equally like those.
I'm not really interested anymore in a blade smaller than a 7/8, with the 9/8's being my favorite! Sheesh, when I use a 5/8 now, it almost feels like using a toy, yet when I started out, a 5/8 felt like taking a cleaver to my face.
Your preferences will all develop as you go....and that's a lot of the fun!
Cheers!
There is a bit more "difference" than just the 1/8 size of the blade
The 6/8 is bigger in several areas
Mostly the thickness of the spine and tang stand out, there is just more steel there, it is a bit easier for most, to strop and hone, the added weight from the thicker steel helps with tentative beginning strokes..
It is also the Center size for razors that basically run from 3/8-9/8
JMHO but if you can get a 6/8 easily in your price range then go for it...
Hey Glen - was just about to ask what you meant by Center size and realized you mean right down the middle! Makes sense...so yes, I can see how 6/8 would be a great starting size...cheers!Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
Thanks. I figured they would be fairly similar.
I've found that a 6/8 razor is generally easier to handle than a 5/8. I know this seems counter-intuitive but as Glen pointed out, the greater mass of the 6/8 is what makes the difference - particularly when you start to try ATG strokes, the 6/8 is way more controllable.
Yes, what Glen said. I started on 6/8 and really don't care for anything smaller/lighter. The blade mass really starts jumping once you get to 7/8 (my current fave). At 8/8 they start getting massive, 4/8 is a bit delicate (or a worn to crap 5/8).
One issue bigger blades contribute to negatively is visibility, but that's mostly for one-hand shavers. If you learn to shave with both hands you shouldn't have to "peep around" the blade for certain strokes.
It's not going to make/break your learning shaving experience. Also it's a good clue, if you're looking at used razor descriptions, as to who knows something about razors and who doesn't (if they give dimensions other than width and omit width, they have no clue-nothing wrong with that just be aware).
:gl:
I think SamSpartacus stated The One True Principle when he said:
rs,Quote:
..I went with what I wanted and got a 6/8 anyway.
Tack
Either size will do the job nicely, at least for me, but I lean towards the 6/8 size. Besides being a little heavier and with that it feels more stable, it also holds more lather so you don't stop as often to clean the blade. Another way to get more weight for any given size is to go for a grind heavier than a full hollow like a half hollow.
Bob
Go with what you think you will like. Your going to own them all in the end if your like the rest of us. I stay at 6/8 most shaves but I can go up or down the chart to have something different once in awhile. 6/8 is middle ground for sure.
6/8 - it will be good
I have used smaller sizes of razors but prefer the 6/8 for the extra weight, it seems to glide through the beard better. The smaller size blades do feel like toys and don't do a very good job at shaving for me. The downside is getting in small places with a big blade is sometimes difficult, but with time you will learn to deal with this issue. Good luck with your choice.
I have a beard so I prefer the 5/8 it's more nimble around the hairlines and neck angles. When I was clean shaven I liked the 6/8 better
Sounds like both are good choices. That opens up more razor options for me. Which is nice. I appreciate everyone's input on this.
I have between 4/8 & 7/8 razors but find the 4/8 & 5/8 razors are best. I have large hallows at the base of my neck and also trim around a short beard.
Split the difference, mate and use a 4/8 wedge...heheheheQuote:
Originally Posted by eddy79
It's to bad that no one rents sr's to newbies so they can try different razors to see what's best. Perhaps someone will come up with something.
I am a beginner and I went with a 6/8". Easy to maneuver, easy to strop, looks more bad-ass. Need I say more ;)
My go to razor is a 5/8 round point Bengall, full hollow. Just seems easy to maneuver around the face which is a plus while you are learning.
It doesn't matter too much. You will probably prefer one over the other when you get proficient, but at this point either is perfectly fine choice. 5/8 is the standard size. I'd estimate that 80% of all razors ever made are 5/8.
I prefer 6/8 though, 7/8 is already too big for my taste, and I have only found one 8/8 razor to be ergonomic enough (it's a livi in olive wood scales). I can get a nice shave out of any quality razor from 3/8 to 10/8 but 6/8 is simply the size that makes the experience most natural. The only way to know what works best for you is by trying out different options.
I have a full beard I trim around. At first I switched between a 5/8 and 4/8. What I found out was I needed to stick with one till I mastered it (the 5/8). I now only use the 4/8 when I am trying to get a really good trim.
Why not find a Mentor in your area of the country and sit down with them and see what info and perhaps razor trials at their sink that they can give you?? Could save you time and money. They may have a good beginner razor that they would sell inexpensively also. You also benefit from leaning to strop and how to shave. Probably they have a dull blade to practice with.Quote:
Originally Posted by bookdoctor
~Richard
Well newbies are notoriously clumsy and incompetent and it is only fair that they bear the cost of that.Quote:
Originally Posted by bookdoctor
If you want to try different sizes the correct way to do it is to buy the razors you want to try at market prices and when you are done with the experimentation sell them for what the market thinks they are worth. Any diminishing in the value is the rent and is due to your use of those razors. This is the only way to calculate the correct amount of the rent.
Size matters and varies to each owner. I simply can't use 7/8 on my jaw line. I've tried. Got a Livi that just looks good on the stand and haven't used in probably over a year. I prefer anything from 4/8 - 6/8. Livi has a nice regrind that is 6/8, round point, that SRD gets pretty routinely. That was actually my first blade. Then the madness started, Custom Livi, Robert Williams, and most recently Zowada.
Sounds like I'll have to try them both. The more the merrier right?
Well it sounds like "the more the merrier" would be good but not when you're learning. I would strongly suggest whatever size you pick that you stick with one only until you get somewhat proficient. Remember SR's are like snowflakes. Each a little different. Best to not introduce too much variable while learning a new skill.
Just to remind all that it's a big world and there are lots of choices and decisions to be made...
I accidentally bought a 4/8 razor recently. It was in great shape and it took a brilliant (smiling) edge.
The shave blew me away. The blade was light like a super-hollow 5/8 but quiet like a heavier grind and it carried more lather than i would have thought.
I can imagine if that edge had been less that great, I would have hated it, but that was not the case at all. It's now my dedicated touch-upper.
Size don't matter, you like what you like and try different stuff every chance you get to broaden your human experience. :chapeau
Yes - I have a boxed pair of Wilkinson Pall Mall straight razors, very cool, was surprised when they showed up and they were 4/8th.
As WadeP mentioned, they turned out to be, and still are, superb blades...and that's one of the many aspects of the fun of this.
We're probably some of the few people on this planet who could tell someone, in complete seriousness, dozen's and dozen's of different ways to shave, with each being enjoyable and unique!;)
+1 on the heavier grind. I have a dozen 9/16-5/8 near-wedge and quarter/half-hollow grind razors, and they're every bit as effective as my 6/8 near-wedges. The 9/16 are especially maneuverable, and they're all spike point (which, in a hollow-grind, would guarantee at least one nick per/shave).Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
If anyone is intimidated by 6/8ths they should try a 3/4.
:gaah:Quote:
Originally Posted by WW243
Bob