Thread: Newbie check in and a question

Hi everybody. Awsome forum! I just signed up for the forum but I've had my razor for about 16 months. I think that I got into straight shaving doing everything wrong.

I started out with one of the cheap Pakastani razors. Fortunately it was so badly gorund that I have never managed to get anything close to an edge on it. Febuary '06 I bought a straight razor set from the Knike Center and tried to shave with that. I had no idea how to make a lather and I didn't get much of a shave. I put it away for a while and went to a DE. After a lot of practice and a lot of reading online I have the straight back into the rotation. I haven't gotten close to a BBS shave but they are getting better and a straight shave is a lot better than the DE and a lot more enjoyable.

I've got a question about blade width. Does the width of the blade change the angle that the blade is sharpened to? I'm not talking about holding the spine off the stone. I know that the razor has to lay flat on the stone when you are sharping it. What I am trying to figure out is if you have a 4/8 is it sharpened to a larger angle than an 8/8 from the same manufacturer?

Thanks for your help.

Hi and welcome,

AFAIK the angle of the edge depends on both the width of the blade and thickness of the spine. So if a manufacturer tries (tried) to maintain a ratio (or ratio range) between spine thickness and blade width the angle would be preserved between say a 4/8 and an 8/8. Whether manufacturers do or did this I don't know, but I'd imagine there must be, or have been, accepted standards for edge angles, so they probably do/did.

On older blades the spine thickness may be worn down a bit but then, if it had been honed properly, there should also be a proportionate amount of wear on the edge leading to a similar angle as when newly manufactured. But of course, there's always variations.

But hopefully someone with more knowledge than I will chip in for a more definitive answer to your question. Why do you ask, by the way?

James.

There was a thread on this within the last six months where mparker762 actually measured the angles on several razors. I think it was in the razor or honing forum; try searching those with the advance search feature.

Welcome aboard.

Josh

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

There was a thread on this within the last six months where mparker762 actually measured the angles on several razors. I think it was in the razor or honing forum; try searching those with the advance search feature.

Welcome aboard.

Josh

Ah yes - right-angle triangles - I remember... Cheers Josh. Hang on, here's a link to a couple of likely looking threads (including the one Josh mentions):

http://straightrazorpalace.com/searc...earchid=208839 (search on 'hypotenuse')

James.

Thanks James and Josh. It has been about three decades since I had a trig class and I didn't even think about that. I appeciate the information.

Ron49

Welcome ... and a 'badge of honour' for trying to hone a Pakistani blade.

Trust James to think of that. "Wasn't 'hypotenuse' used several times in that thread"?

You've come to the right place, Ron. What have you been doing to sharpen your straight?

X

Originally Posted by Doc4

Welcome ... and a 'badge of honour' for trying to hone a Pakistani blade.

I second that, and I'd like to petition for one of my own. I spent a few hours grinding my Paki-wannabe on my Norton before I realized it was trash. I'll never get those hours back. Sigh.

Josh