Thread: Measuring razor blade width?

Originally Posted by gugi

John,

This is just plain wrong! Here are two obvious reasons:
(1) When Thiers-Issard, LeGrelot, or Puma stamps 5/8 or 6/8 on the blade, that is not a metric unit! Or perhaps it's just a decoration? I'm sure being at this way longer and also being a vendor, you have seen way more razors than me, plese tell me how many razors you have seen the size of which is marked in metric units. Photographs will be wonderful if you have any.
(2) 1mm is about 0.3/8. If there was a standardized way of measuring where do the variations between (say european) manufacturers, or even within the same manufacturer come from?

Zero point 3/8? Now that's a measurement!

You know, you guys can think what you want to. If you believe it is proper to shave with the spine and tape the edge when honing the handle it effects me nada!

You will see some guys that sell razors show the pictures and tell you the measurement from the back of the spine to the edge. It is difficult to come up with a standard because of the variations of the spine. For instance, a razor that is 6/8 with a flat spine would be different than a 6/8 with a rounded spine. That is where the pictures help along with measurement given.


Take Care,
Richard

Fellow retentives,

You have to give this measurement business the slack that the measurement gives itself. That being when you measure in eights you are using a rather large unit which implies a +/- accuracy of about half that unit, or 1/16". So your 6/8 razor could be about as narrow as 11/16 or as wide as 13/16, give or take a 32nd here or there.

Personally, I measure all my disinfected razors with a dial caliper and can get the width nailed down to .001". The only disadvantage there is the edge seems to suffer from my metric ministrations as my calipers have carbide faces and crush that edge pretty good. Then, of course, there is trying to figure out where to measure the width as some razors have a bit of a taper and do you use the average, tip, or heel number? Unfortunately, the tapered razors now have squeeze marks in three places along the edge.

Then when I hone them to get rid of the dents, the razors are now a bit smaller and when I measure them again, darn it, there are more of these bothersome dents. Unfortunately now, to measure the loss of overall width, which is quite small, I have to use a micrometer that can read to the tenth of a thousandth and, man, can those little C-clamps squeeze a blade, let me tell you.