Thread: Grind for beginner?

Hi gents!

A youtuber asked for for advice on what grind to get:

"Hello Thomas. I want to start straight shaving soon. I'm looking forward a 5/8 dovo. But I'm not sure whether to choose full or half hollow. I've read half hollow is more forgiving for a beginner, but I was wondering if such a razor is better for heavier beards. I have a thin, not too dense beard (except a bit denser on my neck).
Which gring would you recommend me considering that I'm a beginner and my beard is not too thick?
Full or half hollow?"

But I dont really know too much about grinds, or how they differ in shaving ability?

A little help would be much appreciated.

Thomas in the Wiki and the beginner section is a recommendation and why

but here is the condensed version

Size 6/8 why=because it is dead center, and perhaps a bit easier to control on the strops but 5/8 is fine too

Grind 1/2 hollow why= because it is dead center and a bit more forgiving to a newb...

Round nose because it gives the illusion of being slightly safer

What Glen says is as good as you'll find.

I continue to find 6/8 the easiest size to use.

I found the heavier grinds (1/4 hol & near wedge) easier to use at first. I continue to like them alot, but below the mouth line, my growth is quite heavy. I use and enjoy blades as small as 4/8, and flexible full/extra hollows, but they were much more of a challenge at first.

With what you've heard already, I would say the condition of the edge is probably more important than small differences in size & grind. Everyone will say shave ready is critical - and they're right. Beyond that, I would say an edge optimized for smoothness - such as from a coticule or jnat. The friendliness of those finishes did more for my enjoyment of a blade than looks, sizes or grinds could possibly provide.

By all means, keep posting on how the first shaves go. The help here is unbelievable.

I agree with everyone above--half-hollow, finished on a gentle hone. 6/8 blades aren't as common as 5/8 blades, and that's why I started on a 5/8. Having learned on 5/8, I found that my one 6/8 blade carries way more lather (so I don't need to rinse it as often) and shaves under the nose almost as well as the narrower blades--the difference there is negligible, but it exists.

Since all my muscle memory was formed on 5/8 blades, I have cut myself a couple of times with the 6/8 just because the edge was a little farther out from my grip than I was used to. But if you learn on a 6/8, everything else will be that much safer... except of course for those monster 7/8 and 8/8 blades.

Best wishes!

Originally Posted by pinklather

Beyond that, I would say an edge optimized for smoothness - such as from a coticule or jnat. The friendliness of those finishes did more for my enjoyment of a blade than looks, sizes or grinds could possibly provide.

And Ya lost me there,

Are you saying that edges off other stones are not optimized for smoothness ???

Or are you saying that In Your Humble Opinion that Your razors honed by your hands shaved on your face, perhaps like the edge off of your Coticule and your J-nat more than other stones that you have experienced on your razors... See how personal that got ???

I tend not to like broad statements like that, it confuses people...

No doubt, that the advice given in the wiki and repeated her by Glen is sound; but, I started with 5/8 full hollow Dovo and had no problems (excepting a few nicks in my strop). I would just recommend that he finds a razor in his price range that he really likes. One of the things that I think we overlook too often here, is that a straight razor is a lifetime commitment-- in all likelihood, most of our razors will far outlive us.

Besides, there's plenty of time to experiment with size and grind later. After all, if you keep buying only one kind of razor, that makes you an addict

Originally Posted by gssixgun

And Ya lost me there,

Are you saying that edges off other stones are not optimized for smoothness ???

Or are you saying that In Your Humble Opinion that Your razors honed by your hands shaved on your face, perhaps like the edge off of your Coticule and your J-nat more than other stones that you have experienced on your razors... See how personal that got ???

I tend not to like broad statements like that, it confuses people...

Not to hijack this thread, however... Although I am not the original poster that led to your response, I do find an edge off my coticule to be smoother than my Naniwas. Even stranger, if I tweak an edge off a Naniwa with a coticule, I don't get the level of smoothness than if I used only the coticule from start to finish. I have tried a number of different razors and I get the same response each time. Any insight? PM is okay.

The simple answer is "You found your stone sell the others"

The complicated answer is "Practice makes perfect"

I say that because you mentioned multiple razors... Some razors excel on some stones in some hands...

I use a Coticule on Sheffield steel for my customers because that gets me the best responses from them...

Now does that mean I would get bad responses if I used a Coticule on say a NY brand extreme hollow??? Nope... But I know that taking those razors out on the Shaptons to a 30K finish gets me "Wow"

Same as I know taking the Hard Steel Solingens (Friodurs, ERN's, Re visor's, Wacker's just a few names there) is going to get me "Wow" when I use the Naniwas..

Or the Swedes on a CH12k

You also have to take into account the stones themselves, paired with the hands pushing them... everything I just said above, could change for a different person...

Softer Lower grit stones tend to be more forgiving to heavy hands, where as when you get into the 8k+ hard Synthetics and the higher grit Naturals you have to have a smooth light stroke. hence the practice makes perfect statement... You also have to take into account the Slurry action which softens your stroke try that on the Naniwas too and see what happens. (there is a whole thread about it)

You also have to take into account Personal preference in this whole thing, the stones action can account for a ton there, your personal choice of razors can too and of course your stroke...

You will notice that the more razors you hone, and the more stones you use, the more you will learn that there really is no best/smoothest/magical stone they are all just tools...

This is exactly why when I see broad stroke statements, I will usually say Whoa there, that isn't necessarily true for everyone...


Edit: I forgot the whole differences in Natural stones too, here read this thread it will explain it

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...nese-hone.html

look at post #12 twice, you will see the same statement again, that I wrote above

[QUOTE=gssixgun;733127]
"I use a Coticule on Sheffield steel for my customers because that gets me the best responses from them...

Now does that mean I would get bad responses if I used a Coticule on say a NY brand extreme hollow??? Nope... But I know that taking those razors out on the Shaptons to a 30K finish gets me "Wow"

Same as I know taking the Hard Steel Solingens (Friodurs, ERN's, Re visor's, Wacker's just a few names there) is going to get me "Wow" when I use the Naniwas..

Or the Swedes on a CH12k"

Thanks, Glen. In a few short paragraphs you shared information on honing which must have taken years of experience to garner. I take my hat off to you. And, I can see that I will use the KISS principle for years to come.

[QUOTE=Qatsats;733140]

Originally Posted by gssixgun

"I use a Coticule on Sheffield steel for my customers because that gets me the best responses from them...

Now does that mean I would get bad responses if I used a Coticule on say a NY brand extreme hollow??? Nope... But I know that taking those razors out on the Shaptons to a 30K finish gets me "Wow"

Same as I know taking the Hard Steel Solingens (Friodurs, ERN's, Re visor's, Wacker's just a few names there) is going to get me "Wow" when I use the Naniwas..

Or the Swedes on a CH12k"

Thanks, Glen. In a few short paragraphs you shared information on honing which must have taken years of experience to garner. I take my hat off to you. And, I can see that I will use the KISS principle for years to come.

Your welcome, but please don't miss that last line there

You also have to take into account the stones themselves, paired with the hands pushing them... everything I just said above, could change for a different person...

It never ends my friend, find what works for you and play it out to the smooth conclusion

Also to bring this full circle, for a beginner to start learning to hone, I still believe learning to touch them up first is the easiest way to learn...