Thread: Gauging The "Conventional Wisdom" On Straight Razor Specs For The Beginner

I agree with TC on this one: the newbie has to start with a properly honed razor. Time and again we get guys trying to learn with inferior off brand razors or good razors with inferior edges.

We see a lot of beginner posts saying they prefer stiff grinds. I believe this is because they are more forgiving of mistakes in angle & pressure & probably even lather quality.
A full hollow is far less tolerant but that could make it the faster learning path. I think it depends on the individual & if they have someone showing them the ropes.

A 3/8 straight is usually used for hair-cutting. My barber in France uses one to cut my hair, by way of my personal experience and observation. For starting out in face-shaving, the 5/8 or 6/8 are pretty ubiquitous, the 5/8 being more nimble and the 6/8 being more plodding. If one has a fairly round face obscuring the underlying bone structure, a 6/8 should work well. If one has a thin, angular face where the bone structure is pronounced, a 5/8 may be preferable. As to the grind, I'm really on the fence about this. If I had a round face, perhaps a thin extra full-hollow grind might be the way as the varying angle of incidence would be reduced, but as I have a thin, angular face, I'm inclined more towards a thicker half-hollow grind as there the varying angle of incidence is increased. Yet the opposite also can work well. In the end, though, it all boils down to learning from a limited set of variables given the limited set of circumstances that one is dealing with, provided that the edge itself is not compromised. "Practice makes perfect" and all that in other words. A full-hollow 5/8 seems a good all-around starting point to me in this regard. As for the point, whatever, although a square or protruding point that has become rolled seriously needs to be muted before tragedy occurs, either to the strop or the face (preferably the latter as the strop cannot repair itself).

Locally, when barbers were allowed to use a straight razor to shave you with, I recall barbers using a 5/8 full hollow round point to shave their clients with. It was all that was needed to give clients a safe, comfortable and close shave. I think a 5/8 round point shave ready razor of any grind is a good starting point for a beginner today. It's all you need to get a good shave.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Locally, when barbers were allowed to use a straight razor to shave you with, I recall barbers using a 5/8 full hollow round point to shave their clients with. It was all that was needed to give clients a safe, comfortable and close shave. I think a 5/8 round point shave ready razor of any grind is a good starting point for a beginner today. It's all you need to get a good shave.

Bob

My barber, with over 50 years experience, always preferred the 5/8 blade foe shaving customers and himself.

Yeah, it's hard to beat a 5/8 shave ready full hollow when learning.
Having said that, if your first razor was a 7/8 wedge silent whisker assassin..

I started with a 4/8 Torrey, round point. I also had to clean up the rust, and hone it.

That was many years ago.