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Hello,
in the perspective of honing for me a really/totally straight edge seems reasonable.
As you can see in the wiki there are a lot of different edge profiles (smile, frown…)
Even on my new razors from different current manufacturers there is always a little bit “smily” in the edge profile at least near the stabilizer.
· What is the reason to have a other edge profile than (totally) straight ?
I personally would prefer a really straight one ...
You get more of a slicing action if there's some curve to it (smile).
Sometimes it's just wear from the particular honer's stroke.
A truly straight edge requires more honing skill to maintain its original straight lines. A smiling edge can be more forgiving on the hones. I find they are also more forgiving on the face and allow for maneuvers not so easily pulled of with a perfectly straight edge.
Faces aren't perfectly flat, a bit of a smile will help in getting the hollows on your face and neck. A slight curve in any cutting tool also means it will cut more efficiently and with less pressure as there is only a small portion of the blade that is leading the rest of it instead of the entire blade trying to cut at once.
Just to clarify :)
Straight = Good
Smile either Factory or Honed in = Good
Any other profile = Bad Honing
Alot of the old barber manuals taught barbers to hone towards a smile. It helped steer away from a frowning edge.
If their supposed to have smiles, why do they call them straights ? :<0)
I like em straight or you could just say, I use mostly straight. I have smilers and starting to add them into the rotation. It's been a brand thing with me mostly. Not too many ducks with smiles and if they are smiling , look under, "Any other profile = Bad Honing" in Glen's post above. You may find it under frown. To my knowledge no razor was made to have a frown. In a year or month I may have a totally different favorite. I have seen this posted by others also. Just do what feels good at the time but don't be afraid to try new things.