Thread: Blade size

Hi Pauly,

5/8 is the commonest size, and full hollow the commonest grind. Why that is, only the market knows. Twenty decades of consumers can't be too far wrong.

Wedges or partial wedges (also called half-hollow, quarter-hollow, etc.) are a little more forgiving to beginning shavers--a little less likely to nick.

A full wedge is much more work to hone than a partial wedge, because you have to hone away a lot more metal to achieve the same edge.

A full hollow gives you a nice auditory feedback of whiskers being severed; a wedge is relatively silent.

I used a 6/8 for the first time this morning (the rest of mine are 5/8), and enjoyed watching that much more lather pile up on it. However, because I'm used to the smaller blade, I lost track of the point and it gave me a good bite under the ear.

Check out the Wiki on razors for more on widths, grinds, etc.

Happy choosing and good shaving!

Don't fall for the old barbers tale you need to match your beard to the razor. Just buy what you like and if you have good technique and a proper sharp razor you'll do fine. For someone starting out we usually recommend something middle of the road as far as size and grind goes. Once you have some experience you will gravitate towards certain sizes and grinds simply because you prefer them.