Thread: What makes for good balance?

I have seen several reviews of blades and descriptions in BST about the good "balance" of the blade.

What makes for good blade balance? Same weight between scales and blade? Heavier blade? Heavier scales?

I recently picked up a Boker with some scales that are essentially destroyed, and wanted to try my hand at making some scales, but I wanted to get the balance correct.

'Balance' is a subjective term, I'm afraid. Generally, it's the way a razor sits in the hand when ready for use - in my opinion, the point of balance should be on the thumb, with the ring finger used to steady things. Seasoned users will understand this but newbies may have to take it on trust. Still, a well-balanced razor is easier to use and (again) just 'feels' better.

I think for most of us the balance point should be just forward of the pivot point towards the toe of the blade. If the razor is a bit blade heavy its not so bad and many like it that way but if its scale heavy the blade will want to torque away from you as you shave and it will cause you to apply more pressure towards the blade to compensate which is not a good thing. Of course if your a seasoned user you can get used to anything and some guys really don't care about balance but I think for rookies especially, and for most of us or at least for me anyway I don't like scale heavy razors.

The "balance" of any tool or instrument is the distribution of the weight of that item as it is used. When a tool has good or proper balance it is comfortable to hold, easy to control and will not quickly cause its user fatigue. When a western style (folding) razor is used the handle is held at approximately 90 degrees from the razor's edge. If the handle is properly designed for the blade, it will allow the user nearly effortless control of the angle of the edge on the skin. A handle that is too heavy will make the razor feel as though it is fighting the user and in extreme cases (especially with a rounded, jimpless shank), it can cause the user's grip to slip on the shank and the blade to turn skyward. Obviously the best way to determine a razor's balance is to shave with it. However, the quickest way to approximate a razor's balance is to open the razor so the handle and back edge of the shank are aligned. Then find the balance point by laying it across your finger. It should balance on your finger anyplace from the pivot to the middle of the exposed portion of shank. I personally don't believe the handle can be too light. So in some cases, with hefty blades 7/8" (or larger)you will find the balance point between the middle of the exposed shank and the heel. That doesn't cause any problem during use. I said this applies to "western style" razors. Eastern or Japanese razors do not fold into a handle. They are fixed so there is no balance issue.

I have a very nice Morley Clover blade from which I removed the cracked handle. While I do have a design for a new handle I have shaved with the handleless blade and it was a joy to use. So clearly it seems a handle cannot be too light. If you want to see if a handle can be too heavy, tape a weight (a 1 ounce fishing sinker would work) to the end of a razor's handle and shave with it. I think you'd find it very fatiguing.

Edit: Wow I was writing this as Blue and Big were posting their responses. We all said the same thing!

Thank you all very much! Informative, and concise.