Thread: Poll : What size razor do you prefer ? Why ?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Witha 4/8 you can shave all your face & never have to rinse as the blade undercuts the lather leaving it there for the next passes.

Haha, that may be true, but I'd like fresh lather on the next pass anyway! :-)

Ironically one of my best shavers is a touch over 4/8 (beu Brummell 35) ... But despite the fantastic shave time after time I feel that something is left to be desired...

I love the razors whit a little more weight,7/8 or 8/8. But the most razors that i have and use are 6/8.

it seems that when i take a 5/8 or less i have constant nicks, so i dont use the smaller blades anymore.

I cast my vote for 6/8" blade-width razors. Here's why: You didn't give me the option of any /16" blade widths. If you had done so...

• 4/8" Just too small. I suppose a 4/8" wedge be just the thing for trimming a moustache or goatee, but certainly not for keeping my cheeks, jaw, or neck clean-shaven.
• 9/16" I have five razors of this size: two AE Berg's, two Union spikes, and one "Case's Ace" (the first four are near-wedges/quarter-hollow, while the last is full-hollow ground). I often turn to either of the AE Berg (Eskilstuna) razors, and find that their very stiff grind more than compensates for their lighter weight -- provided that I don't go more than two days without shaving.
• 5/8" I have thirteen razors of this size, of which five are near-wedges/quarter-hollow, and the other eight are full-hollow ground. I regularly use the stiffer grinds, but rarely pick up any of the others; my reluctance to use the hollow-ground razors is due wholly to a preoccupation with getting cut by them (this is totally absent with the stiffer grinds).
• 11/16" I own eight razors in this size, and seven of them are among my finest shavers. Here, too, I prefer the stiffer grinds, and one of these can easily handle four days-worth of unshaven beard. This is my favorite size.
• 6/8" I own six in this size, of which only one is a stiffer grind -- my Wheatly Bros. Wheat Sheaf. This is my favorite razor. The other five don't get used very much.
• 13/16" Only one of these -- an F.W. Engels Leader -- and most definitely a full-hollow razor. In too many instances, it's an unwieldy size, which very quickly takes me back to that "getting cut" place. It rarely gets handled, and I haven't shaved with it in at least five years.

One other factor is the blade tip: I have come to learn that spike/square tips do not play nicely with a "meatier" neck, while round/French tips are quite accommodating.

Conclusions:

1. Grind, size, and weight are a triangle, in which any two can generally compensate for the third.
2. Beard prep, #-of-days-growth, and honing influence that compensation.
3. Visceral feedback accentuates any fear of getting cut, increasing the likelihood that you will.
4. For me, with minimal beard prep, mediocre honing skills, and a track-tested tendency to go 3-4 days between shaves, a 6/8" near-wedge/quarter-hollow ground, hunk of patinated Sheffield steel is the ticket.

Interesting. As I've written this, I've come to realize that those full-hollow, square/spike-tipped razors ought to be in the hands of others, who will use them...

I voted for the 4/8 full hollow!I have a thin beard on the sides and neck and that's all I shave.

Anything over 5/8 is fine. Wider is good to. I have a couple 4/8 and even though they shave well they are not my favorites
Ben

I voted for 7/8. I own razors from 9/16 - 9/8, from extra-hollow to full wedge and "in my life I love them all".

But when it comes to the razors, I use most, it's 7/8s or 13/16s.

Well with the poll at its current status the 6/8 leads by double the votes of its closest contender, the 7/8. The 5/8 is in third place but far behind. I'm a bit surprised at that.

So why do the larger straight razor manufacturers make more 5/8 than anything else ? I think because new straight razor users are more likely to want to save the ten or twenty bucks they'll pay buying the cheaper offering. Also it is probably less intimidating to a neophyte that its larger and more expensive cousin. Same reason that round points are the most common.

The results of this poll, IMHO, reflect the views of experienced straight razor shavers, who've tried the various sizes and know what they like. I think the reason most custom orders are for 7 and 8/8s is because the experienced user, who is willing to pay the big bucks, wants something 'special' in size, as well as, material and workmanship. Not a size that he can buy factory made all day long.

As the young folks say, "its all good." Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll. It was very interesting AFAIC.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I think the reason most custom orders are for 7 and 8/8s is because the experienced user, who is willing to pay the big bucks, wants something 'special' in size, as well as, material and workmanship. Not a size that he can buy factory made all day long.

I'm with you Jimmy and some of the others in regards to the "special" part of a custom razor being ordered in the larger sizes. They aren't used every day & have more "cool factor/appeal". When I make them, I order 1" x .25" flat ground stock to start with as it just seems logical. The handful of razors that I have made are all 1/4 hollow ground. The steel doesn't cost that much more, but you do use more time and belts/materials making larger razors if you do the stock removal method. I have a small razor that was made for a lady that I got back from MikeBlue for HT & to be honest it was harder grinding it out than a 8/8...but finishing will be a different story I am sure. The more hollow on a large razor, the easier it is to ruin the HT on it and/or end up with a "potato chip razor" if you try to take too much material off before HT.

For me, I literally have a rotation in my display case that I pull from 4/8-9/8...most of them are 6/8-7/8 though.