Quote Originally Posted by sim
One other question (for now) is a wedge blade better for a course beard than a hollow ground or does it just depend on the individual blade and user?
There's a difference between hollow ground and wedges, but wedges have a lot of disadvantages for relatively minor gain - they're fairly heavy for their size, they're much more annoying to hone, they're fairly rare. Ordinary hollow ground razors shave fine. I've got a pretty wirey beard and the only thing I avoid are the super-hollow "singing" blades, they're too light and have too much blade flex. Most of my favorite razors are full-to-3/4 hollow ground blades or frameback-style blades, while my 8/8 W&B wedge is something I prize highly but use only rarely.