Thread: Live from CHICAGO, its me!

Hello everyone.

Let me start by saying I have been browsing this site since I had my first straight shave 4 months ago. In that time I had found my grandfathers straight that he got in France during WW2. It was avery heavy and thick blade. It had quite a weight to it that I adored. The razor had been returned to his first wife's daughter. but I did get to keep his wings from the 52nd Airbourne.

THat all being said I am currently looking for a nice vintage blade to restore on eBay.

I see all the wonderful restorations that are done by many of you here and look forward to learning quite a bit here during my journey.

P.S.
Any info on the thickest blade type so I can refine my search?

You must be a Saturday Night Live fan lol... Welcome to SRP.

I'll let someone else answer your question - someone who would know. Interesting question.

Originally Posted by Haxo

P.S.
Any info on the thickest blade type so I can refine my search?

Unfortunately the wiki appears to be down at the moment (Library link at top-left of page), and if you do some digging there you'll find lots of info on blade geometry and grinds, both of which contribute to a blade's weight.

When the wiki is up again, hopefully this link may work http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwiki/index.php/The straight razor Widths and grinds

By thickness do you mean its thickness in cross-section or its width from spine to edge?

Yah I tried the wiki and it seems to be down.

I mean on a cross-section width.

I keep seeing the 7/8 and 8/8 and those seem to be the thicker blades. Once the wiki is up I plan on doing quite a bit of reading!

Originally Posted by Haxo

Yah I tried the wiki and it seems to be down.

I mean on a cross-section width.

I keep seeing the 7/8 and 8/8 and those seem to be the thicker blades. Once the wiki is up I plan on doing quite a bit of reading!

Good plan - there is a ton of information there.

7/8 and 8/8 refer to the width from spine to edge indicated in fractions of inches. There are bigger ones for sure (my biggest razor is a 17/16, but there are others significantly larger!) but those tend to be the most common of the 'bigger' sizes. Another thing to consider is the grind of the blade as that will also have an effect on its weight and how it handles. Wedge grind is the heaviest (very hard to find true wedges) with a cross-section very much like you'd expect a wedge to look, extending straight from the spine to the edge.

Then in descending thickness are
near wedge
1/4 hollow
1/8 hollow
full hollow
bellied hollow

Aha! Google to the rescue:



And so in essence, the larger the fraction, the wider the blade (i.e. 8/8 wider than 7/8, etc) from spine to edge. And in terms of thickness, the farther to the left you go in the above chart, the lighter the grind.

Welcome to SRP. Post a photo of your grandfather's razor with you have some time and ask any questions that arise.

Wow cool story bro! One of my favorite movies/series is Band of Brothers, so I'm kind of geeking out a little right now lol! I'm from Chicago and was there most of my life till about 5 years ago. Go BULLS!! I kind of wish I knew my wife's grandfather, but he passed away a while ago. He was German, and I'm sure he had some nice razors... I flipped out when my wife showed me his Iron Cross, for saving his crew during a plane crash in Ireland. He was held there, in a neutral country, and never had to fight or kill anyone. He didn't agree with the Nazi party, like many other soldiers, so he was lucky. Now my in laws can't find the medal

To maybe find a nice razor, I would also check out etsy.com. Some people sell some really nice stuff there sometimes. I also prefer a thicker/heavier blade like you do. Helps shave my full and coarse beard.

Rearden Steel: It was given back to his first wife's daughter when she came for alot of his stuff that we recently found. THe only thing that i kept was his wing badges and some papers.

Dorknight: Yah he had quite a bit of cool stuff, I actullay made copies of his (honorable)discharge paperwork, as well as his Silver Star,and distiguished service medal paperwork. It actually details all of his actions which won him his medals. Pretty graphic stuff!

I shall check Etsy later tonight to see what they have. I have found a nive 7/8 blade on ebay and can just get some scales for it. So that maybe the plan for now.

Wow, I wish I knew how to add one new scales... I could really use some on this vintage Sheffield I got. Its a nice near wedge, but the black plastic is getting old. Inside it doesn't look to great either... I'm hoping theres a meetup in the DC/Virginia area in the near future so I can do that with someones help.

Couple things...

-Check the EBay 101 thread before buying anything. (I'd link to it, but I'm on my phone)

-whatever you get, make sure it's as close to a wedge you can find if you plan on restoring it. It doesn't need to be an 9/8 chopper, as those cost a lot more...just make sure there is enough metal to remove some when you start restoring (i.e. wedge-ish)

Cheers from Ravenswood