Thread: Going from a 6/8 to a 5/8. A newbie's journey.

As John Lennon sings it - It'll be...just like starting over....

I've been getting pretty good with my 6/8 Dovo Bismarck. In fact, I could get as close as my Merkur Barberpole - provided I had a few days' growth. The Dovo is my 1st razor, and I hated it. But after some time off (and a beard), I returned to touch up my neck and cheeks with the Dovo instead of the DE and I just *got* it. It rocked. "Brilliant!", I thought. Happy days.

So I ordered a Boker Edelweiss 5/8 from Lynn and have shaved with it twice now. Its like I've never shaved with a straight before. I cannot believe what a difference a 16th makes. I'm all thumbs. I'm 2 left feet. And prickly.

It makes me appreciate how much subtlety goes into learning a straight. There must be so many different characteristics according to size / grind...mind boggling!

I'm having fun, so I thought I'd share.

Ya mean 1/8 doncha ?

Hang in there you'll sort it out & then the 4/8 challenge awaits you

I used 5/8 and 7/8 razors prior to picking this one up. This one is a bit over 4/8. It is like going from a Cadillac to a Corvette. So as they say: Size does matter!!

The best first time shave with a different razor I had was with a 13/16. I don't think any of my other shaves were executed so perfectly first time around. No cuts, nicks or blood, No razor burn...Just BBS smooth all the way. The next best abd by far sharpest shave I had was with my reconditioned 6/8 Bengall, but I got cut with that one on the first shave (Thanks Oz ) so even though the shave was as good or better, blood was involved... . I've used 5/8 prior to both those razors.


Mick

Once you've been shaving for awhile you pretty much quickly adapt to any size (within reason). I got a NOS 2/8s Mercur and I still can't use it. It's so small I can't properly hold the darn thing. It's really made for trim use anyway and is great for the upper lip.

IMHO I get better shaves out of a larger blade, 6/8 and up ! My 9/16 ate me up yesterday, didn't even post SOTD yesterday. YMMV

Holy crap!! you shave handcuffed?!?! Thats some skill there!!!!

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

I used 5/8 and 7/8 razors prior to picking this one up. This one is a bit over 4/8. It is like going from a Cadillac to a Corvette. So as they say: Size does matter!!

Gentlemen:

I must agree with my friend Mvcrash that blade size does matter and switching around requires some adjustment.

The adjustment period of, say, switching from a 6/8" to a 5/8" is minute, especially if the blade size variation is in the rotation, but it is an adjustment nevertheless.

I use blades of 6/8", 5/8" and 4/8" sizes, though mostly 6/8" and 5/8" sizes. In the rotation I have organized them in such a pattern that the shift is gradual. This I find almost eliminates the problem of adjusting to different size blade sizes.

** (Slightly off topic, Mvcrash which lather bowl is that?) Thanks. **

Regards,

Obie

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

I used 5/8 and 7/8 razors prior to picking this one up. This one is a bit over 4/8. It is like going from a Cadillac to a Corvette. So as they say: Size does matter!!

Is the difference soley from the blade width? It seems to me, (theoretically at least) that the width of the blade will have an affect on the angle of the bevel. This is assuming that spine width is the same.

It also seems that wider blades (of the hollow ground variety anyway) will flex a little more than 4/8 blades.

Is this thinking consistant with what those of you who use multiple razors experience?

I have both 5/8 and 6/8 and don't really notice any difference. They both seem to shave the same.