Thread: Smiling Blade

I'm relatively new so please forgive my ignorance. I keep seeing the expression "smiling blade" and I am curious to what everyone is referring. I have an old Shefield blade that has an edge that is curved rather than flat and straight like most of my newer razors. Could that be the curve people are referring to? Is that the original blade shape on some razors or is it the result of use and poor or excessive honing? Mine is extremely sharp but I wonder what kind of shave it would be with the slightly curved blade.

correct, it is a smile if the wider part is in the middle or a frown if this are is the narrowest. And by the way, we are all ignorant until we learn, it is better to ask... And some of them are more than slightly curved. People say that they shave great. Smiles can be the result of honing but some are made like that. I do not think that frown are made on purpose but...

Al raz.

I believe that if the spine follows the shape of the edge, then the smile is intentional. Either way, I find the slight smile on my day to day razor is nice for those areas under my jawline.

a spine doesn't need to be curved for a smile to be intentional, but if it is I think it surely is.
sometimes razors develop smile due to poor honing, other times because the end user makes them so intentionally.

I tend to think of a smile as being caused by honing and usually this is evident from heavier hone wear at the blade tip - but it's just a labelling thing and I guess it doeasn't reaaly matter too much. However, I call a blade with an intentional convex radius yet with straight spine 'half-swept' and one with the spine and edge forming concentric convex radii (i.e.) a ('parallel sweep') as being 'fully swept'.

Can you see the smile? Chady cleared it up for me in this thread:

Regardless of the cause, a smiling razor can be a wonderful shaver.

Shaving the neck area is difficult for a lot of people, myself included. Shaving my neck was treacherous territory until recently when I cleaned up a razor that has a noticeable smile. With that razor, the neck is as easy to shave as any other part of my face.