New SR has shorter handle than my first, fingers get in the way. Help?

I have two straights, my new one has a short handle, meaning the place I put my fingers to where the blade begins is short, so my fingers are right up against the beginning of the blade making it difficult to see what I'm doing. My other straight had a much longer handle part, making using it and seeing what I'm doing a lot easier. I didn't even know this was a thing to look into, as it doesn't seem measured anywhere.

Does anyone else know what I'm talking about and can assist in want to look for when buying online or if this is possible to fix on the razor?

New SR with short handle
https://imgur.com/a/Fabr2

Other SR with longer handle
https://imgur.com/a/HUPD4

Are you saying the pivot hole is to close to the heel?

I assume you mean the tang, which is the area between the blade and the pivot pin.

It is impractical to "fix" it, as that would require drilling a new pivot hone in hardened steel. I would suggest that you just watch for razors that appear to have longer tangs. Alternatively, learn a way to adjust your grip to accommodate the shorter tang.

Only way to fix it is to nibble material out of the scales, or try to drill a second pivot hole through an area with little if any material to spare through hardened steel. You don't want to drill through hardened steel. You'd have an easier time pulling teeth from a live bear without anesthesia. And you probably don't want to screw up your scales either.

So that pretty much leaves adjusting your grip.

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Originally Posted by Marshal

Only way to fix it is to nibble material out of the scales, or try to drill a second pivot hole through an area with little if any material to spare through hardened steel. You don't want to drill through hardened steel. You'd have an easier time pulling teeth from a live bear without anesthesia. And you probably don't want to screw up your scales either.

So that pretty much leaves adjusting your grip.

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Ahhh thank you very much! Does my razor in question tang seem unusually short or was my first razors tang just longer than usual?

Hold one finger not two....

Or play with how you hold it.

I think that that picture is for a barber that is not shaving himself.

I hold my scales straight from the blade.

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Originally Posted by 32t

Hold one finger not two....

Or play with how you hold it.

I think that that picture is for a barber that is not shaving himself.



I hold my scales straight from the blade.

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I use the one finger grip for some passes and it is quite comfy, doesn't seem to take much time to adjust to. Of course, I'm just a noob, so what do I know?

Unlike the illustration, I hold the tang between my thumb and forefinger and rest my middle finger on the tail. The distance between the scales and shoulder of the blade does seem vary a bit on different razors.

Bob

The traditional grip is to have the first two fingers plus the thumb on the shank and one finger on the tail. The scales are often held at a right angle to the blade. However, it is not necessary to hold it that way.

You did not mention if you are trying to shave with one hand or both hands. Many newcomers try shaving with their dominant hand only as they do not feel comfortable shaving with both; I know I started that way. Once you get comfortable shaving with either hand, it is much easier to see.

If you use the traditional grip, as you shave some portions of your face, the scales will block your view. If that happens, simply alter the position of the scales. Sometimes, I shave with the scales pointing straight out from the blade (Japanese Kamisori style). I do not like doing that with a 5/8" razor as I have difficulty judging the blade angle against my face, but it works well with larger blades.

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Originally Posted by RayClem

The traditional grip is to have the first two fingers plus the thumb on the shank and one finger on the tail. The scales are often held at a right angle to the blade. However, it is not necessary to hold it that way.

You did not mention if you are trying to shave with one hand or both hands. Many newcomers try shaving with their dominant hand only as they do not feel comfortable shaving with both; I know I started that way. Once you get comfortable shaving with either hand, it is much easier to see.

If you use the traditional grip, as you shave some portions of your face, the scales will block your view. If that happens, simply alter the position of the scales. Sometimes, I shave with the scales pointing straight out from the blade (Japanese Kamisori style). I do not like doing that with a 5/8" razor as I have difficulty judging the blade angle against my face, but it works well with larger blades.

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Thanks for the tips. I use both hands when shaving. And the weird part is, it's my fingers that are blocking my view , not the scales , due to how close they are to the shoulder (beginning) of the blade.

It sounds like it's just a technique issue on my end rather than the razor have too short a tang, is that what you are getting from the pictures posted?

Edit: I'll take some measurements tonight

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 32t

Hold one finger not two....

Or play with how you hold it.

I think that that picture is for a barber that is not shaving himself.

I hold my scales straight from the blade.

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I hold mine as show in the picture, with exception to upward passes on the neck. Just goes to show there's more than 1 way to skin a cat.

I played with 3 fingers over the thumb, 2, and 1. 2 over the thumb like the pic works best for my purposes.

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Originally Posted by Marshal

I hold mine as show in the picture, with exception to upward passes on the neck. Just goes to show there's more than 1 way to skin a cat.

I played with 3 fingers over the thumb, 2, and 1. 2 over the thumb like the pic works best for my purposes.

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I too do it this way but im trying to get comfy with only one finger. It just dont feel as secure. Ill get it but i have to keep remind8ng myself to keep trying.

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Originally Posted by Gasman

I too do it this way but im trying to get comfy with only one finger. It just dont feel as secure. Ill get it but i have to keep remind8ng myself to keep trying.

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That was how I felt about it too. Too loose with just 1 finger up over the thumb. Not quite as much control either.

But like everything else from hones to strops to shaving angle, the grip is something you gotta play with to find what works for you.

I'm a proponent of the index/thumb grip. When I started using a straight razor I experimented with both grips but settled on the index/thumb approach because I really didn't feel like I lost a significant amount of control but gained a bit of nimbleness. Upward, ATG, strokes on my neck still stick to my index finger and thumb but the razor is generally trapped against the side of my first knuckle instead of the pad of my finger.

At this point I have razors with top and bottom jimps, jimps on just the bottom of the tang and jimpless blades. All-in-all I don't really notice much difference in control as I keep the tang clean and dry throughout my shave.

As Marshal just mentioned, you have to decide what works for you and like so many things in our hobby, YMMV.

Actually, when looked at side by side the tang, distance between the back of the heel and the pivot pin is about the same. Blades and scales look longer on one or the other, but the “holding space” looks about the same.

But, they may feel very different, depending on a lot of other issues. Which is why scale “Design” is so important to how a razor will feel while honing, stropping and shaving, rather than designing on the fly.

Scale thickness at the pivot, for me is a big comfort factor, the thinner the better.

Just slight refinements of scale, width, thickness and length from the pin to the end of the scale, especially at the pivot pin, can make a large difference in how the razor feels and as a result, performs in all the above practices.

You just have to adjust your hold, for a variety of razor designs, there are just too many variables to make all your razors “feel” the same, unless you buy all the same razors, probably the idea behind the 7 day sets…


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