Thread: Why big blade width?

Great information guys thanks for the insight.
I Have a 5/8 king cutter and a Dorko 6/8 that were handed down to me.
The king cutter is in good shape and the dorko is away being rescaled and restored as it had some cell rot starting.
I'm just looking for an in expensive razor to practice stripping technique etc so I don't wreck the two I have already. I have to be careful as I fear RAD will be something I will pick up very quickly if left in supervised lol.

Srp is fantastic, I have learnt so much in a short time.
Sometimes I end up reading posts on here all night just learning about one aspect of the process to getting a good shave.

Thanks again for the help.

Sounds like you have what you need all ready. As said earlier the smaller razors are great shavers too, but IMO are harder to strop. My personal opinion, the 6/8 is the easiest to learn how to strop with, and my favorite size to use. Either way no matter what you have, you will learn how to use it.

I think that my friend pfries hit it pretty much on the head as did others. I will add that 99.9% of Everything involved with straight razors is 'Personal Preference'.

Personally I started out with a 9/16 Genco that was my Uncles and it's still one of my favorite razors, however I 'prefer' a 6/8 to 11/16. I didn't find that I preferred that size for a couple of years.

I like the weight just as Geezer said. With that said, if you have a stash or goatee that you trim a 1/2 would do well. I personally know of one member who uses some 3/8 to trim his goatee (I honed them for him). As my good friend pinklather will tell you those 3/8 are strop eaters!

If you can start in the middle of the road you will be fine. If you decide to lean toward one side of the road or the other, there will not be any police to tell you that you are on the wrong side of the road as it's your private road and you can go down it however you please

Sanfte Rasur, mein Klingenbruder!

(Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades)

This may seem ridiculous but anything less than a 5/8ths and I tend to over shave and look like a lobster. It's a habit I can't break and although I am not a seasoned veteran I have been using straights for a year and a half. I had a great 4/8ths Henckels that shaved like a champ but I had more trouble with lighter weight as far as dropping my blade angle. I know its completely backwards but even after a year of shaving every day I still have to correct myself more with the small blades. Also I have a very pronounced square jawline and my 7/8ths Greaves is my go to because I just do my best shaving with it. Its personal preference imho and just what works for you. I don't over shave with a big blade and get lobster face and I would say I'm 10 times less likely to cut myself with a bigger blade. That's just my two cents and what works best for me.

I spent over a year consistently using a 5/8 full hollow straight razor 99% of the time and I really have found that it is really what I prefer. I have liquidated most all of my razors to enjoy them in particular. The larger blades are favored by many and they command premium prices but for me give me my Heljestrand MK31's and I will be happy!

Originally Posted by ADG638

Hi everyone,

As an amateur learning the ropes it is suggested 5-6/8 are good blade widths.
I have seen allot of more experienced members showing their razors or potential purchases and they are all larger widths, 8/8 13/16 big wedges or the like. Obviously they have the skill to use a straight razor properly.

Why is a wider blade better?
Is a smaller blade not more manoeuvrable around some areas?
Also there has been a bit of talk about the higher prices on some vintage blades because they are in high demand at the moment.

I've been on the Electronic Bay a bit lately looking to pick up another blade for a back up and for learning reasons.
i have seen a few popular brands in 4/8 that are reasonably less expensive than a 5/8 or bigger.
why does this size seem to be unpopular and would they be suitable for the learners out there?

I took an opposite track. As a new straight shaver I preferred the large "meat choppers" because they seemed to compensate for lack of skill and get more whiskers. As I gained experience I began to prefer the smaller ones. My favorite size is 5/8 because for me there's nothing finer than one of those fine tuned. 9/16 and 11/16 are only 1/16" apart so I really don't notice much of a difference. I have one 4/8. It is a nice razor but I haven't used it in so long that I forgot what it was like. But that's still only 1/8" difference from a 5/8.

In Shaving Made Easy (https://archive.org/details/shavingmadeeasyw0020th), they suggest that 4/8 is the best on pp.15-17.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

I took an opposite track. As a new straight shaver I preferred the large "meat choppers" because they seemed to compensate for lack of skill and get more whiskers. As I gained experience I began to prefer the smaller ones. My favorite size is 5/8 because for me there's nothing finer than one of those fine tuned. 9/16 and 11/16 are only 1/16" apart so I really don't notice much of a difference. I have one 4/8. It is a nice razor but I haven't used it in so long that I forgot what it was like. But that's still only 1/8" difference from a 5/8.

In Shaving Made Easy (https://archive.org/details/shavingmadeeasyw0020th), they suggest that 4/8 is the best on pp.15-17.

Cajun makes a very good point about 'preferences' as he said he started out with the really big razors as they do as he says compensate for the lack of skill (due to mastering the angles). Then as he became more experienced he found that he 'prefers' a 5/8. He's found his 'preference'.

While the blades may differ in only an 1/8 of an inch when you go from a 5/8 to a 1/2 that's a big jump (IMHO). Lynn has a video out there with a shaving demonstration where he says that the difference in the width of the blade makes a difference on the angles. He is quite right!

As I've said time and time again, 99.9% of Everything about buying using maintaining honing and storing Straight Razors is Personal Preference.

Sanfte Rasur, mein Klingenbruder!

I too am fairly new to SR shaving. I got a Dovo 6/8" Bismarck to start and have no regrets. It shaves very well and I now have two Bismarck's (one ebony scales the other faux pearl scales). And there is a difference between those two. I also got a bit of RAD and have quite a few razors from 4/8" to 6/8" -- with most 5/8". The smaller blades are great for shaving around my Van Dyke, other than that I prefer the Bismarcks. Some of the razors I got were picked up inexpensively and I use them to help with honing and stropping skills. It was a good way to go from that stand point. Eventually I'll probably have a nice collection of sharable SRs. But for now my Bismarcks are my go-to blades. They just feel good as I shave. Of course, one of them was honed by Lynn and shaves better than the other.

In my rotation I have from 3/8 to 8/8 and find easier using 4/8 and 5/8 because they are much more agile and easy to drive everywhere in my face.
It's like for cars: in urban traffic a small smart or ford ka are much easier to drive than a big hummer.
But we all dream of custom 8/8 and big rolls.


I think that it's in male essence dreaming of big and great things, big blades and big guns, big cars and big di ks

I started with a 13/16 then got a 5/8 as a practice & back up found myself using the 5/8 more for a while as it was lighter easier to maintain & manuvoure when shaving
But my preferred size now remains is in the 6/8 to 8/8 range