Thread: Hollows--quarter, half, full, extra double--say what?

I have to confess that after handling a couple dozen straight razors, I know a wedge when I see one, but I cannot distinguish a quarter hollow from a half hollow or 3/4 hollow. I've looked at the cross-section diagrams but when I look at an actual straight razor, I can't really map the diagrams to it. Any tips on making these distinctions?

Another hollow question: I see the terms about full, extra and double hollows. I have an American razor stamped "double hollow" and it has that thickening of the blade before narrowing again to the edge, so I get double hollow. Do the full and extra hollow blades also have this or are they something else?

Many thanks for any help here!

best, Dan

I think you can see the amount of grinding best by looking at the toe end of the razor and straight on.

You will see a letter V if it is a full wedge. You will see a letter Y if it is a half hollow. The V part of the Y gets smaller and the fin gets longer on quarter hollow and the reverse is true for a 3/4 hollow.

The bigger the V ofcourse, the heavier the blade.

Originally Posted by English

You will see a letter V if it is a full wedge.

And if you see a Q you need to cut down on the drinking

Originally Posted by mastermute

And if you see a Q you need to cut down on the drinking

Unless the Q looks like this:


In which case, you are one fortunate fellow, continue drinking as per usual!

The grinds breakdown into 2 major categories.
1. Single concave grind. Commonly referred to as a "wedge" but some of them are ground very thin such as a 5/8 Hess Otto's Special 200 Wedge. A lot of the 4/8 American made razors are single concave grind. Dovo currently makes it and calls it a flat grind. Historically they are referred to as 1/4 hollow.

2. Bi-concave grind. These are razors that actually have 2 separate grinds. One is the edge grind and the other is the main body grind. The have a "ridge" or "belly" (fat part) that separates the 2 parts. The "ridge" is approx 1/4 of the way from the edge and moves up from there, thus /14 hollow, 1/2 hollow etc.. The terms full hollow, double hollow, etc have been much abused with no standard for comparison existing. This is also referred to as the "German grind". Look in the Help files section for the "Razor Central" doc and read that, all of it. It is a good starting point.
The position of the ridge and the thickness of the grind varies widely.

Hope this helps,
Hope this helps

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Look in the Help files section for the "Razor Central" doc and read that, all of it. It is a good starting point.

I see it but I can't read it. Darn.

OK , try this....
http://www.en.nassrasur.com/razorcentral/index.html

Originally Posted by randydance062449

This is also referred to as the "German grind".

I think it's also called "Hamburg Grind"

Originally Posted by smythe

I think it's also called "Hamburg Grind"

Thanks for the correction. had a bit of a senior moment there!

Originally Posted by randydance062449

OK , try this....
http://www.en.nassrasur.com/razorcentral/index.html

Thanks! This is great