Thread: The different razor grinds

I was just the opisite as i found the full hollows to cut the whiskers better and still to this day feel the same. As far as the angle, i find the lesser angle is easier to see so it works great with a full hollow for me. YMMV as they say.

Very interesting! Good to see the difference from in opinion. Guess the best way to find out is getting a different grind. Would you all recommend going full blown in the opposite direction ( near wedge) or dipping toes into the water with something middle of the road (say 1/4 grind) and is there a big difference?

Originally Posted by Desolation

Would you all recommend going full blown in the opposite direction ( near wedge) or dipping toes into the water with something middle of the road (say 1/4 grind) and is there a big difference?

I own a 7/8 near wedge Wosty so I knew how that grind shaved before I bought the 8/8 near wedge Koraat. It's a happy treat when Ulrik's razor comes up in rotation.

Originally Posted by Desolation

Very interesting! Good to see the difference from in opinion. Guess the best way to find out is getting a different grind. Would you all recommend going full blown in the opposite direction ( near wedge) or dipping toes into the water with something middle of the road (say 1/4 grind) and is there a big difference?

Along with grind consider the blade size also so you can compare apples to apples.

Bob

Yes: very good suggestion.. thank you

Very nice pictures and explanation Ulrik, thanks a lot.
Allow me one remark. Some of the old Solingen grinders would not consider the grinds you show in your first two pictures as full-hollow. The full hollow status is determined by the diameter of the last grinding wheel you use and according to the literature this diameter is 2 times the width of the blade. But I have seen old grinders that use diameters of only one time the width of the blade. Means for a 8/8 full hollow, the last wheel they used was a bit less than 30mm in diameter and they are really grinding deep in the blade towards the edge. You may call this extra-hollow or whatever today. Just as a complement to your explanation and wonderful work.

Best regards Peter

Hello Peter,

thank you for this additional information. This is surely the best definition for a full hollow grind, since it is related to the actual blade width, that makes comparison between different blade sizes easier.
The second of the two first razors shown in this thread follows this rule, blade width is 24mm and the last grinding wheel used is about 50mm. 30mm wouldn´t be possible for me, since I make the grinds side by side on the beltgrinder and that´s just to small (but who knows, maybe I´ll give it a try someday :-) )
Since I only make smiling blades a traditional hollow grinding machine (which would make the grinding a lot easier) won´t work with my blades.

best regards,
Ulrik

Great pictures Ulrik, stunning precision work, very informative, thanks for taking the time to do this. you should update the post with the different point styles, (I know there are posts with them already, would be nice (easier) for the newer members to get all the visuals in one post.

Originally Posted by Ulrik

There are some existing charts of the different grinds, but those are only drawings and do not necessarely correspond to the reality.
Of course this is only the graduation like I see it, others may have another opinion

best regards,
Ulrik

I tend to think of the grind in simple terms. I look at the thickness of the blade at the midpoint of the grind. A full wedge is self explanatory. If the thickness is 75% of a full wedge, I call that a 1/4 hollow. If it is 50%, a half hollow, etc. If it's about as thin as possible it's a full hollow, and if a belly is left it's bellied.

I arrived at this out of a desire for a simple mathematical description of the grind, as comparing real razors to hand drawn charts was not very definitive to me.

I've recently come to the conclusion that what I call 1/4 hollow is probably thinner than what most would call 1/4 hollow. Oh well, I rarely deal with those heavy grinds anyway.

Originally Posted by Desolation

Hi I’m new to this forum and I have 2 full hallow dovos and a good dollar. I noticed while shaving the dovos provide lots of feedback. When I’m doing light passes it’s almost difficult to keep the razor controlled: often when doing against the grain. The gold dollar seems slightly “beefier” and easier to control. I’m wondering if a beefier grind is up my alley.. does everyone have a similar experience? I was thinking to try a 1/4 or near wedge.. any experiences on grind and control: feedback or am I opening a can of worms?

For some the feedback is good.
The heavy razors tend to make friends early. The thinner grinds are harder to hone correctly
in my experience but will hone faster and sharper once you get used to them.
Heavy grinds like the GD once shave ready seem to find early friends.

You will find that they are all good just different.

And worms are good for the soil and for fishing.