Thread: Heavy metal question

I've not been using a straight long, but have a Dovo special 6/8 and love it. I've purchased a couple of razors off ebay and the're conciderably less metal in the older blades (robeson,etc). While I understand the measurement 5/8, 6/8, The thickness of the dovo is alot thicker.

Now my question is, If I wanted a vintage of the same or similar weight and size, which brand or styles should I be looking for?

There were all sorts of grinds back in the day, some thicker and some thinner, just like today. The Dovo Special is a pretty hefty grind with a very thick spine (which is where most of that weight is BTW). This is a pretty old Dovo grind - I've seen Fritz Bracht Tennis razors with that grind, and the fabled Chronik uses that same grind as well.

Dovo also makes other razors that have the sort of lightweight grind you're talking about, but they tend to be their high-end razors because it's more expensive to get that really thin grind - only the best and most experienced grinders can do it without ruining too many razors, and that last bit of grinding has to be done very slowly.

Their Prima Klang is probably their thinnest ground razor, and I really like their Bergischer Lowe as well, which is a somewhat thicker and less flexy grind but has a lightweight spine so the razor feels quite light and agile in your hand. Thiers-Issard also makes several extra-thin razors, though they also tend towards heavy spines. And my Wacker Stippleback is extremely thin and flexible - you can see it flex on the hone just under its own weight.

It sounds like you are looking for something that is half hollow, quarter hollow, or a wedge. You may or may not have luck searching for those terms on ebay, since many sellers don't know much about razors.

Sheffield blades tend to be thicker grinds. W&B, Joseph Rodgers, Joseph Allen, Frederick Reynolds, Joseph Elliot, Greaves/Sheaf Works, George Wostenholm, J Wostenholm, Manhatten Cutlery, George Savage (they are pretty rare)... The list goes on.

Note that typically, Sheffield blades that are "hollow ground" are about half or quarter hollow. "Medium hollow ground" usually refers to the blade size (5/8) rather than the amount of hollowing that has been done. There are full hollow Sheffield blades, so don't assume they will all be heavy grinds.