Results 1 to 8 of 8
Like Tree7Likes
  • 1 Post By JimmyHAD
  • 2 Post By gssixgun
  • 1 Post By HNSB
  • 2 Post By pixelfixed
  • 1 Post By edhewitt

Thread: razor sizing

  1. #1
    Senior Member blabbermouth edhewitt's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Perth Australia
    Posts
    7,741
    Thanked: 713
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default razor sizing

    Can anyone explain why razors are only sized in 8ths and 16ths of an inch. Anything else would be sized to the lowest common denominator, for example, a 4/8 is 1/2, a 6/8 is 3/4 and 8/8 is 1/1 or 1 inch.
    I can understand the 16ths as they are between the 8ths, I included them so I didn't get posts saying that 16ths were used, so my question is why are 8ths of an inch the lowest denominator used?
    Bread and water can so easily become tea and toast

  2. #2
    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    32,564
    Thanked: 11042

    Default

    Not sure when the metric system came to Europe. I'm guessing ....... just guessing, the inch system was universal back then, and using eighths and sixteenths as a standard was convenient.
    JBHoren likes this.

  3. #3
    At this point in time... gssixgun's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    North Idaho Redoubt
    Posts
    26,947
    Thanked: 13221
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Let me give you an example from another industry


    12 gauge
    20 gauge
    16 gauge
    10 gauge

    This is a carry over from a very old system of measurement, in fact many shooters can't even tell you what the system is, but we have never varied from it and continue to use it today..

    Want to have even more fun try and figure out Shot sizes in the shells
    Last edited by gssixgun; 07-26-2013 at 05:08 PM.
    Geezer and tintin like this.

  4. #4
    This is not my actual head. HNSB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Middle of nowhere, Minnesota
    Posts
    4,623
    Thanked: 1371
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    I think that keeping them all in 1/8's helps for comparison quickly. It's the common unit in the razor industry.

    I work in a machine shop. 0.5 inches is read as "five hundred thousandths" .0005 is "half a thousandth" or "five tenths" since .001 is the common unit for the work we do.

    In archery, aluminum arrows are measured in 64ths of an inch.
    Last edited by HNSB; 07-27-2013 at 08:56 AM.
    rolodave likes this.

    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.

  5. #5
    K37
    K37 is offline
    Senior Member K37's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    186
    Thanked: 40

    Default

    Like HNSB said, I think it's just an established interval and way to compare, like wood thicknesses being measured in quarters (3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4...12/4). It's not actually 5/4 of an inch thick when dry, it's just close and bigger than a 4/4 piece of lumber and less than a 6/4 piece.

  6. #6
    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    32,564
    Thanked: 11042

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by K37 View Post
    Like HNSB said, I think it's just an established interval and way to compare, like wood thicknesses being measured in quarters (3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4...12/4). It's not actually 5/4 of an inch thick when dry, it's just close and bigger than a 4/4 piece of lumber and less than a 6/4 piece.
    Yeah, these examples are a point of reference. As in a two by four. In the real world a 2x4 is actually 1 3/4 x 3 3/4 IIRC. Just a point of reference so we can all be on the same page.

  7. #7
    Senior Member blabbermouth
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Roseville,Kali
    Posts
    10,432
    Thanked: 2027

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gssixgun View Post
    Let me give you an example from another industry


    12 gauge
    20 gauge
    16 gauge
    10 gauge

    This is a carry over from a very old system of measurement, in fact many shooters can't even tell you what the system is, but we have never varied from it and continue to use it today..

    Want to have even more fun try and figure out Shot sizes in the shells
    The number of lead balls the Diameter of the barrel that equals 1 lb.
    gssixgun and Geezer like this.

  8. #8
    Senior Member blabbermouth edhewitt's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Perth Australia
    Posts
    7,741
    Thanked: 713
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by HNSB View Post
    I think that keeping them all in 1/8's helps for comparison quickly. It's the common unit in the razor industry.

    I work in a machine shop. 0.5 inches is read as "five hundred thousandths" .0005 is "half a thousandth" or "five tenths" since .001 is the common unit for the work we do.

    In archery, aluminum arrows are measured in 64ths of an inch.
    The ease of comparison makes sense, I just found the lack of lower (or would it be higher) denominations unusual.
    I don't really use imperial anymore, though I did learn it at school, and used it for quite a while, particularly when I worked in a builder's merchants, timber in The UK was always sold in imperial sizes, though that may have changed over the last 7 years.
    Geezer likes this.
    Bread and water can so easily become tea and toast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •