Thread: PRC Hydra

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Where is the "vee notch"? Do you mean the angle at the end of the spine leading down to the barbers notch.
according to Ken Howley(?) That is called a "grob"

The small 45 degree grind at the end of the spine is quite rightly called a 'grob' as you say, Ed.

However this old name existed before our dear Kenneth (Hawley) did.

Ken came across it when he interviewed the venerable Billie Hukin, last employed at J & W Wraggs at the Little London Works in the 1970s, though Ken interviewed him after he retired. Billie was famed for being the last razor grinder in Sheffield.

For some reason or other a grob tip was known as a quick and dirty way to finish a razor (I believe this is attributable to Billie but I might be wrong), but in my opinion it looks quite stylish.

Regards,
Neil

OK, so you are saying that the "vee" existed before Alex Jacques started doing it? In other words, is it OK for me to rip it off occasionally without feeling guilty? I always considered that to be a sort of signature motif that would be kind of obnoxious to imitate.

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

The small 45 degree grind at the end of the spine is quite rightly called a 'grob' as you sar, Ed.

However this old name existed before our dear Kenneth (Hawley) did.

Ken came across it when he interviewed the venerable Billie Hukin, last employed at J & W wraggs at the Little London Works in the 1970s, though Ken interviewed him after he retired. Billie was famed for being the last razor grinder in Sheffield.

Regards,
Neil

This is true, I got the info from the PDF file of the interview I probably should have sited my references better, I will try harder next time then I might get an A . It is a pretty good document and all of the hand sketches are nice too.

Hey, thanks for sharing the pics and thoughts on your new Hydra. That box is pretty fancy. I recently came back to straight shaving after having given up on it for a while and PRC was new to me. After following the posts about it I couldn't resist the urge to order a Hydra myself. My order is 0301, so I am curious to see how it comes out when I receive it in December (haha). The photos on the site do indeed display a shiny mirror finish and that's one of the things that make these so beautiful, in my opinion. Unless it is just the light angle in the PRC website photos that hides these imperfections and gives the illusion of a perfect mirror finish, I would probably be disappointed as well. Another member posted the thought they wonder how these compare to older examples that were produced prior to the heavy back log, and I would be curious about that myself. It also makes me wonder about how mine will come out since it is a new order which doesn't put it in the back log category. Will they slow down as they catch up and start polishing more, or is it the case that all of the PRC razors have the same finish and the website photos are just overly shiny and glossy so you can't see the true finish accurately? As you stated, the shave is the most important thing I suppose, but I wouldn't help feeling cheated somewhat if other people receiving them after me started posting pics of beautiful shiny perfect mirror finished blades later on. Anyway, thanks again for sharing and looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how the first shave goes.

I don't think PRC's blades have ever been polished to a perfect mirror finish -- if you look closely at their Instagram photos you can see vertical lines from the grinder on many of the blades.

The photographs PRC puts out on the web are truly outstanding ... honestly, maybe a little too much so. They're amazing razor pr0n and a great marketing tool, but maybe they set some customers' expectations a little too high.

Originally Posted by Montanan

I don't think PRC's blades have ever been polished to a perfect mirror finish -- if you look closely at their Instagram photos you can see vertical lines from the grinder on many of the blades.

The photographs PRC puts out on the web are truly outstanding ... honestly, maybe a little too much so. They're amazing razor pr0n and a great marketing tool, but maybe they set some customers' expectations a little too high.

That is exactly correct. Accurate photography is more important for items that are being sold. Artistic photography that hides reality is annoying.

Originally Posted by logan5tx

Hey, thanks for sharing the pics and thoughts on your new Hydra. That box is pretty fancy. I recently came back to straight shaving after having given up on it for a while and PRC was new to me. After following the posts about it I couldn't resist the urge to order a Hydra myself. My order is 0301, so I am curious to see how it comes out when I receive it in December (haha). The photos on the site do indeed display a shiny mirror finish and that's one of the things that make these so beautiful, in my opinion. Unless it is just the light angle in the PRC website photos that hides these imperfections and gives the illusion of a perfect mirror finish, I would probably be disappointed as well. Another member posted the thought they wonder how these compare to older examples that were produced prior to the heavy back log, and I would be curious about that myself. It also makes me wonder about how mine will come out since it is a new order which doesn't put it in the back log category. Will they slow down as they catch up and start polishing more, or is it the case that all of the PRC razors have the same finish and the website photos are just overly shiny and glossy so you can't see the true finish accurately? As you stated, the shave is the most important thing I suppose, but I wouldn't help feeling cheated somewhat if other people receiving them after me started posting pics of beautiful shiny perfect mirror finished blades later on. Anyway, thanks again for sharing and looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how the first shave goes.

Spot on, and why we as consumers of a Niche Market company should interact with them directly!
Especially if you like their product!
Talking it over with us boneheads won't help them produce a better product!

Originally Posted by Scareface

Spot on, and why we as consumers of a Niche Market company should interact with them directly!
Especially if you like their product!
Talking it over with us boneheads won't help them produce a better product!

They know where we are and, if interested, need only look around. This applies to ALL manufacturers, some of whom DO post here.

Apparently I missed the part where blade positioning in the scales mattered. Could someone explain? Don't say cell rot and rust because in a barbers shop the only time a razor would be closed is probably overnight, and these guys knew how to treat their tools. As for cell rot...not many barbers would have had a career long enough to worry about it (this is a modern concern due to age). That lands me back to aesthetics and tradition rather than maintenance of the tool or even safety.

I am just curious why the actual function of blade position while closed in scales is a point of contention.

As for spacer vs. wedge I can see that one going either way....I think we over think what went into these designs a little bit. Razors were a tool much like a hammer. Just enough attention went into most of them just to allow them to perform their function reliably according to the accepted standards of the time. The small portion of extremely high end razors, of course, were probably paid more attention to. On that point I am making some logic based assumptions, though I could certainly be very wrong.

Well half of my answer appeared as I was typing lol

Originally Posted by Denvernoob

Apparently I missed the part where blade positioning in the scales mattered. Could someone explain? Don't say cell rot and rust because in a barbers shop the only time a razor would be closed is probably overnight, and these guys knew how to treat their tools. As for cell rot...not many barbers would have had a career long enough to worry about it (this is a modern concern due to age). That lands me back to aesthetics and tradition rather than maintenance of the tool or even safety.

I am just curious why the actual function of blade position while closed in scales is a point of contention.

As for spacer vs. wedge I can see that one going either way....I think we over think what went into these designs a little bit. Razors were a tool much like a hammer. Just enough attention went into most of them just to allow them to perform their function reliably according to the accepted standards of the time. The small portion of extremely high end razors, of course, were probably paid more attention to. On that point I am making some logic based assumptions, though I could certainly be very wrong.

Well half of my answer appeared as I was typing lol

Sorry! Also, the width of the inside of the wedge is considered as to where the blade will sit in the scales.
Not an easy task to get it just right. JMO