Always been hard for me to judge the difference. This might help though The straight razor - Straight Razor Place Library
Bob
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Always been hard for me to judge the difference. This might help though The straight razor - Straight Razor Place Library
Bob
Tried the higher angle today with much better results. Used a lot of short strokes to help with changing angles. It is un-forgiving with deep creases not stretched enough. :aargh: Har!
Next time I'll be using a slicker soap/cream to help with the higher angle. I'll be perfecting "Shave the Lather" with the higher angle now.
Thanks for the tips everybody. I can handle this now. :bow
i guess with a tough beard & poor technique, you might say a wedge could be more user friendly but a good full hollow properly sharp & used virtually flat on the face will do the same job.
On defining wedges , all razors are ground on rotating wheels & the diameter of the wheel determines how hollow. I have not seen a razor that was flat ground unless it was excessively honed that way so what people call a "true" wedge is just a worn razor. So all wedges & 1/4 hollow razors are hollow ground. If someone can show me machinery that was used to flat grind razors I'll accept the "true" wedge theory. :)
I think it was a reply Neil Miller made in one of the long threads on wedges. IIRC he speculated that the only way to grind a true wedge was to grind it on a single horizontally turning grinding stone. That is only spec though.
Bob
Lots of great advice in front of me.
My personal insight is heavy wedges or near wedge razors do not flex very much
and as a result they seemed to hone and strop easier for me.
They are also slightly softer steel that responds to almost any hone (generalization).
A touch-up every Saturday was needed for my favorite when other razors shaved
for months.
Many have been abused by knife sharpeners and require work.
Then one day I stumbled on a very fine ground Robusto(?) astoundingly fine ground
with a very very thin grind to the blade. My then new 12k hone and a hint from
the old guys here to use a very light touch on the hone AND on the strop.
I found I had an edge was as sharp as any Feather DE blade but smoother.
The additional weight makes shaving seem easier too.
Good or bad they will teach you.
If you have a good one enjoy the heck out of it.
I don't know about the specifics of manufacturing straight razors, but is there a reason a wedge couldn't be ground on something like a 2x72" belt grinder (e.g. a KMG), like knife makers typically use these days when making flat ground blades?
Granted, I think that belt grinders like that are a relatively new invention so I can't see any historical razors being made like that, but aside from that I can't see any reason why it can't be done.
If you have the skill I guess you can make whatever you want but how would you hone such a thing?
Razors are honed with 2 contact points on the stone, the edge & the spine, because they are hollow ground, be they on a 36" wheel or a 2 " wheel.
Flat ground blades, ie knives are honed with only edge contact so not really what we're talking about here.
Personally I'd hone it by using a piece of tape on the spine to give it a tiny bit of lift, like some people on here recommend to avoid spine wear. An alternative would be to just go with a zero grind blade, although that would indeed take a long time to hone and be very inefficient.
But still, fair point on the honing, although from the wording of your post I thought you were just asking about the grinding itself and not the honing process too.