What difference does the grind make?

I'm curious as to what effect the grind of a razor has on the shave. Clearly the blade cross section is different so presumably a full hollow will give or flex a lot more than a near wedge but I wonder how that effects the experience of using the razor and the end result?
My main reason for asking is that I am teetering nearer to buying a Koraat blade and I see he offers near wedge, quarter hollow and half hollow blades. The near wedge is least expensive the others progressively more so but still very reasonably priced.

I believe the corseness of the beard determine which grind is best from what I have seen in previous posts.

I do not agreed with regards to different grinds for different beards.

As noted, different grinds will flex differently. Grind also plays into blade mass, which plays into blade inertia; heavy grinds are often described as feeling like they plow through the beard. Of course, blade size also affects blade mass, and often heavy grind blades are larger blades.

I am not familiar with Koraat, but I would think a heavy grind blade would be easier to make, as it requires the removal of less metal, there is more metal to hold heat while grinding, and the thicker blade would give greater tolerances. I've never made a blade, so I'm just speculating (very old blades were heavy grinds, and, if you look back at earlier customs, few if any were full hollow ground).

I'll tell you what I've found.
I have fairly coarse facial hair.
My favourite grind is the 1/4 hollow. It works a treat on my face.
Recently I purchased a T.I full hollow, my first full hollow as I thought they couldn't handle my type of hair.
The first shave I had with , I was blown away. Although the thinness of the tang made it tricky to keep a grasp of.
The second shave was also good. The third was a fail , I had a weeks worth of growth and I did get through it but not to my satisfaction.
I think a full hollow wont hold up as long as a 1/4 wedge can, on a coarse beard.
I've also got a near wedge custom but I think its more for looking at than actually shaving with:confused:
Personally 1/4 wedge 6/8ths are the best for my facial hair....

They will all shave well if the edge is right no matter what grind I have full hollows half hollows and quarter hollows and can tell the difference with the feedback off many of my blades, but what I will say everyone of them will deliver equally good shaves if honed correctly.

Back in the day when barbers gave straight shaves they did not stock an arsenal of differing blades to be used with different facial hair types. You would see pretty exclusively hollow grind razors and mostly 5/8s and 6/8s size.

So every customer coming into the shop was shaved with one of those and I'd say they were satisfied with the result. If you needed to specialize the razors I'd think those barbers would have used a selection of grinds and sizes but they didn't and that's proof enough to me.

Different grinds will feel different for sure but from my own experience I'm with the barbers of old.

I think in many cases when you use these part wedges people simply use them differently and that combined with the different feel can cause differing results. Just a guess on my part.

Sharpness being equal, a hollow will make noise as you shave and will be easier to maintain, a wedge (or close to it) will be silent or close to silent when you shave and a wedge might take more time to refresh and will usually need 1-3 layers of tape. Both kinds seem to like my beard so it doesn't matter which I use but I prefer 1/4 to full hollow

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Originally Posted by celticcrusader

They will all shave well if the edge is right no matter what grind I have full hollows half hollows and quarter hollows and can tell the difference with the feedback off many of my blades, but what I will say everyone of them will deliver equally good shaves if honed correctly.

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Pretty much been my experience also.

Bob

The only ones I've had some issues with are the extra hollows, I can detect the flex in those

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Originally Posted by BobH

Pretty much been my experience also.

Bob

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Originally Posted by rodb

The only ones I've had some issues with are the extra hollows, I can detect the flex in those

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Can't say I have had any real issues with those either. Biggest difference in use between the different grinds I have found is the level of noise produced by the blade when shaving. It runs the gamut from very loud with extra full hollows to near silent with near wedges.

Bob

my sweet spot is a 1/2-3/4 hollow in a 6/8. The weight and balance is best for me. Though i do have some near wedges and some full hollows that feel pretty good in my hand. I found that the correct balance between scales tang width and blade weight are way bigger factors for me having a good and easy shave than the actual grind. Honing is a different animal all together. I don't see a difference in whisker whacking ability in accordance to grind only quality of honing which can be directly affected by the height of the bevels and your experience level.

Finding exactly what I like has been the best by product of RAD by far. It has really helped give me direction when I am doing a rescale.

If the edge is honed to a 12k hone it's the same edge on a hollow or wedge So it will cut the same , I have them from full hollow to wedge like, still get the same shave just a different feeling or sound , the edge is what cuts , and in my experience, if the blade flexing on you , your using too much pressure and it might not be sharp enough. Tc

The grind, size and weight are truly a matter of personal preference if all the blades are at the same level of sharpness. It's what feels best in your hand and works best for you.
I can tell you that you can't go wrong with Koraat. Everything that I've seen from Ulrik is awesome.
Here's mine.

Pete <:-}

Attachment 206950

Similar to what others have said, the feel of the shave is different. I like both, but will usually go for a wedge or quarter grind if I have not shaved in a few days becasue it seems to be more effective. For daily shaving, the hollow grind works great and gives you better feedback. I personally love the sound of a full hollow during s shave, to me it sounds like separating Velcro!

Thanks everyone. Still plenty to think about but I reckon I would do fine with any of them. Looks like a gut feeling call when I place the order!

Have got all 3 grinds Ulrik sells my first was a french point near wedge 8/8 liked it so much, I ordered a 8/8 barbers notch 1/4, and his model vitae which is a 8/7 1/2 spanish point. Love all 3 but my favorite is the near wedge.Attachment 207027Attachment 207028

You can find a lot of information here plus you will see the different grinds when you scroll down lower:

The straight razor - Straight Razor Place Library

I would say all types of grinds will shave you equally well, regardless of beard type. I have a slow growing beard with thicker hair shafts. Not as dense as some others I've seen but difficult enough to cut comfortably unless I have a truly sharp enough blade.

However, when I have a multi day growth going on (4 or more) I do find my 1/4 or 1/2 hollow razors easier to use somehow. Less flex in the blade is what I would attribute it to.

For me if I shave daily I can use 5/8 or 4/8 equally. they do pretty good. now if I wait for 3-4 days then I reach for the larger and most of the time heavier razors. for me it's a matter of which is more comfortable. There are those that it makes no difference. It's a matter of preference.

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

If the edge is honed to a 12k hone it's the same edge on a hollow or wedge So it will cut the same , I have them from full hollow to wedge like, still get the same shave just a different feeling or sound , the edge is what cuts , and in my experience, if the blade flexing on you , your using too much pressure and it might not be sharp enough. Tc

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Also if the blade flex's on you it might be at the wrong angle to the face which will make it drag and skip and can cut more that the beard. Even a very Sharp blade can feel dull if used at the wrong angle. I have found that out myself.