Thread: are smiles good?

Do you put a smile on razors, I was reading the barber manual and it encouraged a slight smile produced by honing and ofcourse a slight smile does seem to make sense. What do people think

While I do think that smiles are good, I wouldn't intentionally hone a razor to put on a smile because... well there's no reason to intentionally wear down a razor. I'm not sure if my honing stroke would put a smile on a razor after an extended period of time because I've not honed any single razor that much.

If you look at vintage razors, a lot have heavy wear on the toes. Some smile, some frown, and some have straight edges that are tapered. I find all of them annoying to hone. The same can be said of razors that have hone wear into the bevel.

From reading the old barbers manual in the wiki, it sounds like the ONLY advantage of a smile is that it helps counter the natural tendancy of a razor to frown (since pressure is typically focused at the center of the blade against the hone, and center spends more time making contact when hone width is less than blade length).

You could use the "gillette" argument that faces aren't square so a curve is advantageous for shaving, but I don't buy it.

If you hone properly and don't create a frown, then I don't see the purpose of creating a smile. It just makes your razor harder to hone. Honing a straight-edged razor could not possibly be simpler. Honing one with a smile is a PITA. I've tried both the recommendation in the barber manual and X and neither comes close to creating the kind of sharpness at the heal and toe that my straight-edged razors achieve.

Frowns are bad because they tend to "bunch up" the skin in front of the cutting edge.

Straight edges are neither advantageous, not disadvantageous.

Smiles are the opposite of frowns, as the curve tends to also help spread the skin in front of it, leading to a closer, more comfortable shave.

Think about it:

You have a tablecloth- if you cup your hand, and run it across the cloth, it bunches it up in front of it. That is what a frowning razor is doing.

A straight edge moving across the tablecloth is rather neutral.

A hand cupped the opposite, convex way, smooths it out.


Smile=good
Frown=bad
Straight=why bother? put a smile on there!

However, if the cloth is taut, none of that matters.

Originally Posted by IanS

However, if the cloth is taut, none of that matters.

You are welcome to test that theory yourself with a frowning razor!

Originally Posted by Seraphim

You are welcome to test that theory yourself with a frowning razor!

I think the only problem with a frown is that it's hard to get the blade sharp. I believe it was Sham who posted about taping the spine of a razor above a frown on a narrow hone to allow the whole blade to be sharpened without removing the frown.

Note, I say "I think" because I've never honed up a blade and left the frown in, so I've no idea what shaving with a sharp, frowning razor would be like.

Has anyone shaved with a sharp, frowning razor? I'd be curious to hear about it. I mean a razor where the whole edge is properly honed and the blade still has a frown in it.

very interesting,
I would actually like to try out a frowned blade tho,
ppl in the past did shave with frowned blades,
so I'm wondering how exactly they honed and used the blade
too bad I can't go back in time and just watch and ask em ;<

I've only gotten a couple of blades with frowns and I got those because they were a rare brand and filled a hole in my collection/accumulation. Like Holli4 I didn't shave with them until after I corrected them. I'm just guessing but I think that a frowning blade would be more likely to nick a shaver than a straight or smiling blade.

Again like Holli4 I won't put a smile in a blade that was made straight across but I like a blade with a slight smile or maybe a more radical smile Depends on the blade.

Some smiles are good







but some are a little iffy



I have no problems shaving with a smiling razor. And none with a straight edge either. But I prefer to hone gently curving smiles, not those that are fairly straight then have a sudden curve then gradually smile toward one end or the other. Those are annoying to sharpen