Thread: Are some razors just better than others?

JimmyHAD, yesterday 11:21 AM
"One barber in particular would take his thumb and flick the point to make a ringing noise. He told me that if the razor didn't "ring" it was not as good as one that did. I'm not saying that is a fact rather just mentioning what he said."

Same basic idea as the 'singing sword' from tales of the old knights. The best sword would sing when you flicked it.

Now a razor that does not sing will cut whiskers. But you will get peak performance with an ultra thin edge, only a few molecules thick. Your barber's thumb test indicates that you have the 'fin' (can't think of a better word for it).

If the edge is not ultra thin when you first get the razor, you have to think through the geometry to get it there. But once you get there, you can maintain the edge for quite a while.

And you will know you can do it; that's worth something, eh?

Originally Posted by John G

JimmyHAD, yesterday 11:21 AM
"One barber in particular would take his thumb and flick the point to make a ringing noise. He told me that if the razor didn't "ring" it was not as good as one that did. I'm not saying that is a fact rather just mentioning what he said."

Same basic idea as the 'singing sword' from tales of the old knights. The best sword would sing when you flicked it.

Now a razor that does not sing will cut whiskers. But you will get peak performance with an ultra thin edge, only a few molecules thick. Your barber's thumb test indicates that you have the 'fin' (can't think of a better word for it).

If the edge is not ultra thin when you first get the razor, you have to think through the geometry to get it there. But once you get there, you can maintain the edge for quite a while.

And you will know you can do it; that's worth something, eh?

Welcome to SRP John. Your use of the word "fin" to describe it was the subject of a great debate awhile back. I don't want to start it over again, just mentioning it as it came to mind. Take a look at the SRP Wiki for all kinds of interesting stuff . They are building a razor database right now and contributions ( photos not money ) are appreciated.

Steel, Schmeel. For all practical purposes we're talking about what most of us have and most guys have vintage or new factory made razors. Just consider that most of our vintage razors were made in an environment where most companies only did minimal fabrication. Most bought the blanks from a supplier and most bought the scales from a scale supplier and many probably didn't even do the heat treatment. It was a rare company that did it all. So based on that you can conclude that the steel is pretty comparable from brand to brand and no different for the English makers or U.S makers. maybe the really old stuff from the mid 1800s or earlier were complete manufacturers out of necessity.

So if you want to know why one is better than the other I'm afraid the raw material is not the place to look. Of course modern custom's are a different story with choices in steels.