Thread: Vintage wedge vs modern hollow ground?

I have been using a modern hollow ground razor by Theirs Issard for some time but yesterday I decided to try an old Sheffield razor with much more of a wedge profile that had belonged to my father and possibly even my grandfather. This had been abused in the past and was rusty and chipped but I managed to clean it up sufficiently to try it out. I tend to shave only about once a week and my stubble is very wirey and coarse (my technique is still not 100% and I usually have to finish certain areas with a safety razor, but that is another story).

To my surprise the feel of the wedge was quite different to the hollow ground despite having the same blade width. It seemed smoother and better controlled. Anyone else had a similar experience I wonder?

The modern razor profile is on the left in the first picture.

I find i like the extra hollow ground razors better. I seem to get a better shave from them and i like the sound of it cutting thru the whiskers. I have near wedge razors and can get a g9od shave fr9m them, but its not really my cup of tea. To each there own, or in other words YMMV.

Im NOT saying one is better than the other, just in my experiances the more hollow the better.

Yes, the shaving experience is very different between using a hollow ground or wedge razor. My guess is that the extra mass of the wedge would make it feel like you had a smoother more controlled shave. It is an eye opener when you first compare the shaves from blades at the opposite ends of the grind spectrum. It is like the difference between using a rapier and a boarding cutlass.

I have all types of grinds in my rotation and all are capable of giving a fine shave but I lean towards the very hollow ground ones as favourites. It is all personal preference as to which one favours.

You are lucky to have an heirloom razor to enjoy.

Bob

The advantage of the wedge over a hollow ground is that the whiskers don't get a chance to duck down out of the way.
A hollow ground you can hear a mile away, sounds like you are scraping burnt toast...
A wedge, nothin...

Interesting. The angle at the cutting edge should be similar in both razors, and both are made of high quality steel, so the only differences would seem to be the weight of the blade and the angle of rake beyond the honed and stropped edge. My initial hypothesis was that when shaving rough stubble the extra heft of the wedge helps it follow a steady course (in rather the same way as old Norris woodworking planes with extra thick blades perform better than modern ones) but an alternative thought is that for longer stubble the wedge forces the hairs to stand up more before the cutting edge slices them off.

Nice analogy with the Norris infill planes: wedges do have a bit of momentum behind them but it is the thin blade of the full hollow that generates the "scraping toast" sound. I also think the greater weight in the hand has a contribution to how they shave, or rather how you perceive they are shaving. Other opinions welcome.

i prefer a heavy and bigger blade myself,love the silence and stealth of a wedge. (though for some reason i find them harder to hone than a hollow grind)

I also have a full range of grinds, and can get a very good shave with any of them. I do tend to prefer the 1/2 hollow and 1/4 hollow. Mostly because of the feedback. I typically like to shave in silence. I think that part of why many people struggle a little with honing wedges is they also have more of a tendency to be smilers, which is yet another aspect to this. The straight edge versus the big smiler. . .

I have shaved with all grinds. Properly honed they all give great results. IMO the sound of a full hollow ground is caused by the steel vibrating under the strainof the beard hairs being cut. That said my preference is the heavier wedge or near wedge. It just feels better in the hand. I find I have a little more control and less of a chance of nicking myself. Or it could be that I just enjoy shaving with a 100 plus year old rasor that has a history it unfortunately cannot tell. Who knows where it has been and who it may have shaved. I can only imagine and enjoy.

I have to say that I have the same TI razor and another with the steel scales. I like them both but my old Joe Eliot wedge is my favorite. I like the control of it and the heft of the blade. A bit of it may also be that I enjoy the fact that it is such an old piece and that it has character that the new blades can not hope to match.