Thread: A headshavers first go with English steel

Hey Everyone,

I thought I would capture my thoughts here in case anyone might be interested. First off, I have VERY coarse hair. I used to get slivers from hair that I had cut with an electric clipper before I moved to wet shaving and I dull most razors very quickly, and a little stubble on my head will destroy any pillow cases that have over 300 thread count... my girlfriend says its like shark skin.

For this reason, I have passed on my Dovo Pearlex and have moved to a thicker and sturdier blade in my quest to find the right blade for me.

What I settled upon is a pair of wedge razors that I wanted to compare head to head (no pun intended).

After much searching and eBaying, I settled on a couple razors that I thought fit the bill. I ended up having to send them off to be honed because the sellers were unable to hone the blades to a shave ready state. I learned a lot in this process as well. Old Sheffield steel can be a headache for the honemeister that has to deal with it, so you might want to consider looking at blades that only come shave ready if you're not able to hone it yourself.


I ended up with a 7/8 Wade and Butcher as well as a WM Greaves 6/8. Pictures are below.

The Wade and Butcher went to Lynn for a honing and the Greaves ended up with Phil from the Classic Edge. They both came with a beautifully sharp edge were well packed. Feedback I got from both Lynn and Phil was that these razors weren't as flat and perfect as mentioned by the sellers. I get the feeling this is a trend among old wedge razors, but if anyone can correct me here, please do so.

Anyways they both did a wonderful job on the first shave, and I have to say if you've got coarse hair that dulls blades like crazy, I would suggest looking in to a wedge. One thing I noticed between the 2 is that the Greaves holds an edge MUCH longer than the W&B. I have found that after 1.5 headshaves, the W&B won't do the job anymore and is in definite need of a fresh hone. The Greaves seems to still be doing well and just needed a little refresher on a pasted strop to get it passing the HHT again.

All in all, I'm happy with the wedge over a hollow-ground and actually prefer the more direct feel of the blade. The W&B is also very round and soft in my hand which makes me worry it will slip out one day.

I'm now going to move on to a Kamisori to see how they compare against the Sheffield steel. I have a Blue steel Kami that has been a bear to hone but once thats shave ready i'll compare to the other 2 I have en-route and hopefully somewhere there I will find my perfect razor.

A final thought from myself though. I don't think I will want to look for more wedges to add to my collection. Chances are, once I find the right blade for my head I will thin out the herd as space is very limited for me. I think the pain I put the honemeisters through as well to get these shave ready is also something I wouldn't want to do again, but damn these old English wedges have an iconic look and feel!

your hair must be something special ;-) I shave face and head everyday and after a few hours the stubble is starting to show again (strong hair growth), for head shaves my straights only need stropping for at least a month before I need to refresh the blade on a stone. These days I prefer a Feather straight razor with replaceable blades, het blade is much shorter and as such more easy to maneuver around. I get about 15 shaves out of a blade.

Tell me about it! My girlfriend is still still bitter about those sheets and makes me lie on a blanket first if I want to lean on her while watching TV :/

I only get at most 2 shaves per feather. I find that by the end of the second shave the blade isn't as close and I have to adjust my Futur to be more aggressive.

I am glad those have worked for you so far. I used to prefer wedge grinds on the head as well, but over time discovered that any grind will do the job. If you stop and think about it, a good edge is a good edge regardless of how much steel lies behind it - a sharp edge on a wedge is, by definition, as thin as a sharp edge on a hollow grind. Hollows and wedges have similar geometry in terms of bevel angles. The only difference is how much metal lies in the middle.

Good luck, and may none of your head shaves be red shaves!!

James.

good luck,
i wonder how much more often one needs to hone if doing the head top in the routine beard shave

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I am glad those have worked for you so far. I used to prefer wedge grinds on the head as well, but over time discovered that any grind will do the job. If you stop and think about it, a good edge is a good edge regardless of how much steel lies behind it - a sharp edge on a wedge is, by definition, as thin as a sharp edge on a hollow grind. Hollows and wedges have similar geometry in terms of bevel angles. The only difference is how much metal lies in the middle.

Good luck, and may none of your head shaves be red shaves!!

James.

Seems when I would shave my head,my blade got duller faster than when I just kept it on my face. I'm not a good honer and can't afford to send my blades out all the time.One of the reasons I got a DE was to fill in the between times. Guys in the Victorian times had it great when they could just bop on down to the cutler and have their blades honed whenever.