Thread: What ground is best for Thick Beard?

Originally Posted by BScott1122

hey guys i havent made a post in a while beacuase ive mainly been tlkin with larryandro. he is sharpening a straight razor i got as we speak. If i were to buy another razor what ground should i get for extremely thick beard. the hairs on my beard are individualy VERY thick and are extremely hard to cut. This i why im coming into this SOO slow because i cant get a good shave. all i get is pulling and hurting the blade i have is a robeson shuredge 5/8 hollow ground. Would something else be better like a wedge or 11/16 or maybe a japanese razor? any thoughts would be appreciated thanks

I have the same problem. I have only tried 3 full hollows, but the "more hollow" ground ones cut better for me. The 5/8 "bordering on extra hollow" cut easier for me than the 6/8 "legitimate full hollow", which cut easier than the 5/8 "almost full hollow".

ps: I find the gullotine technique works really well to get the cutting started under my lower lip and on my chin where the hair is particularily coarse (and also on my upper lip if I skip a day shaving). If I come straight down in those areas, I have to press pretty hard no matter whether the spine is .5, 1, 1.5, or 2 spine widths away from my face.

See: Shaving passes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I had a big problem going from the super-sharp disposables to the real straights, with the razor pulling and tugging and not cutting well, and talking and *talking* to me like a kid on a sugar high. My beard is pretty thick. I got a W&B 1/4 hollow / near wedge that took things up *severa* notches, and realized I had only been using a couple of full hollows. One of those was even Lynn-honed, so I know it wasn't my sharpening technique. Then I got a 1/4 hollow Helje and that has never been beat for mowing down whiskers without a beat. Also I have a 1/2 hollow Clauss (4/5 on the Henckel's scale) that comes in a solid third.

It's definitely true the wedges dont talk as much (give as much feedback), so you have to be a bit more careful - as they will thus cut you more easily, especially if you have them *very* sharp. I actually dont like all the feedback of hollows - I find it distracting, makes me think I'm doing something wrong. (Perhaps this is not the same for those with daintier beards.) I still havent been at this forever so I wonder if as my technique asymptotes up and out, if I'll be able to go back to the full hollows and get out of them what I need. But I doubt it.

Just my 2 cents, having recently been through this issue and - for now - out the other end.

Hmmm...

I used to think that a heavier beard required heavier grinds. Now, after acquiring many different grinds and sizes, I've found that I prefer 3/4 to full hollows.

I had the same kind of revelation that Seraphim did in this thread;

A hollow apology - Straight Razor Place Forums

It's all a journey, and fwiw my journey for the perfect razor for my heavy beard has arrived at a 7/8" full hollow (for now...). Who knows where it will end. The journey sure is fun.

Originally Posted by BigBubba

Hmmm...

I used to think that a heavier beard required heavier grinds. Now, after acquiring many different grinds and sizes, I've found that I prefer 3/4 to full hollows.

I had the same kind of revelation that Seraphim did in this thread;

A hollow apology - Straight Razor Place Forums

It's all a journey, and fwiw my journey for the perfect razor for my heavy beard has arrived at a 7/8" full hollow (for now...). Who knows where it will end. The journey sure is fun.

I've come to think that the weight of the razor is a factor. A heavy razor, no matter the grind, seems to shave with little effort. If you have a heavy beard a light razor requires more user input. What razors are heavy? Usually the wedge and quarter hollows. This may be one of the reasons I personally tend to use 6/8ths and 13/16ths full hollows.

Originally Posted by BScott1122

hey guys i havent made a post in a while beacuase ive mainly been tlkin with larryandro. he is sharpening a straight razor i got as we speak. If i were to buy another razor what ground should i get for extremely thick beard. the hairs on my beard are individualy VERY thick and are extremely hard to cut. This i why im coming into this SOO slow because i cant get a good shave. all i get is pulling and hurting the blade i have is a robeson shuredge 5/8 hollow ground. Would something else be better like a wedge or 11/16 or maybe a japanese razor? any thoughts would be appreciated thanks

A thick set of whiskers demands excellent face preparation
and a sharp blade. A heavy blade does feel less skittish
and may also have an advantage on the hone for some of us.

For me the advantage on the hone made the game for
me. Less flexible on the face AND less flexible on the hone
joined forces and helped me hone much more precisely
on all my stones. More "heft" on the strop helped there,
because, it was easier to strop and hone with just the weight
of the blade.

Those lessons learned translated to all my other razors
and now polish and sharpness rule the quality of my shave.
But it took a heavy razor to teach me...

So yes pick up quality steel heavy wedge or 1/4 hollow...
It will teach you and it will find a natural place in your rotation.

Hi,

Having whiskers like steel wire, I too chose a wedgier grind to start with when I took up shaving with a straight; I didn't seem to get as good results with full hollows.

However after my skill levels improved, I went back to try the full hollows, and was most surprised when they gave a shave as good if not better than the wedgier grinds !

I now use all types of grinds in my rotation, and enjoy them all equally well.

In shaving, like a lot of things in life, your perspectives & views change with time & experience. Mine certainly have

Best of luck.

Have fun !

best regards

Russ

Originally Posted by BigBubba

Hmmm...

I used to think that a heavier beard required heavier grinds. Now, after acquiring many different grinds and sizes, I've found that I prefer 3/4 to full hollows..... the perfect razor for my heavy beard has arrived at a 7/8" full hollow (for now...).

Hmm - I've never shaved with anything beyond a 6/8, but from what I know, it seems to me you are "replacing" a lot of the heft from a heavier grind with the heft from a huge blade by using a 7/8. Though a wedge 5/8 sure is a lot cheaper than a FH 7/8 or 8/8 - and when it comes to vintage, one is usually limited to the 4/8 to 6/8 range.

Everybody has their favorites and so of course some prefer this or that size or grind over the other however as I've said many times if you think you need a specific grind to shave a specific beard type you are wrong, wrong, wrong.

My old example is back in the day when barbers routinely shaved people and were competent if you looked at the typical Barber's arsenal of razors you would see full hollows and either 5/8s or 6/8s. Some real old timers who learned on wedges might use those but they were the exceptions. The fact is if a barber could shave every guy who came into his shop with those razors and give him a BBS, comfortable shave, well that's impossible according to the match your razor to beard crowd.

So, to me if you have difficulty with the shave check your razor and/or your technique.

A hair popping sharp grind! No joke. Like the others above have noted, they are getting good shaves with all types of blades. What really differs is the steel and the degree of sharpness, as established when setting the bevel. I would rate my beard as average. Depending on which razor I use and probably what I had for breakfast the day I honed it, I get different shaves. All are sharp but some slightly more so than others. A lot of them haven't been honed in over two years and my honing experience has improved so as time permits and new acquisitions stop showing up on my list of razors to hone I will tune these up. I expect you will find the same with most razors of the same make and style, especially with vintage straights where heat treating metal was more of an art than a science. Since you are just starting out I would suggest picking up a low cost wedge if you can find one. Maybe a Red Imp 132. Then if you can find an SRP meet that you can attend, go to sporting a few days growth and test shave with several different style razors homed by different people. Then make the decision for future blades from your first hand experience.

Wedge or 1/4 hollow get my vote for thick beards.

Pabster