Thread: Razor sizing

I just noticed that my dovo 5/8 buffalo is closer to 3/4. I also have another razor that I thought was 5/8 (and is) but I wonder if it really is a nominal 4/8. That is, are the nominal sizes for new razors smaller than the actual sizes?

I am a four-month Newbie so take that into account in my post.

Listing the razor width is a bit of a can of worms. It seems that most people measure from the top of the spine to the cutting edge but some measure from the bottom of the honing mark on the spine to the cutting edge. Also some razors vary in width from the toe to the heel which creates more than one width. Determining the width is not always cut and dried.

I measure my razors from the top of the center of the spine to the cutting edge. When it is over a 8th inch mark, I use sixteenths. By doing my own measurements, I have a standard for comparison. I don't particularly worry about advertised sizes unless they are a full 8th off. If you order a 6/8 you shouldn't get a 5/8. However, if the 5/8 is closer to 9/16, it is just not important. That said, I would be more than happy to get a 6/8 from the dealer if I had paid for a 5/8.

MEASUREMENTS: 3/8, 7/16, 4/8, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 6/8, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, 8/8 or 1". Ultimately a slight difference in a sixteenth measure just isn't important. The shaving difference between a 11/16 and a 6/8 is negligible. I wouldn't worry about widths being exact. I have seen some NOS razors advertised as "7/8s+" or "almost 6/8."

I ordered a new 5/8 Dovo, a new 6/8 Hart Steel, and a new 6/8 Thiers-Issard Le Grelot. All of them measured as advertised.

Hope this helps.

The sizing issue actually gets way deeper and tends to be a "fun" discussion...

There are almost as many theories on this as with the name "Barber's Notch" the easiest conclusion is that different makers measure differently anything other than that starts to go to speculation...

Here is a "discussion" about it...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ade-width.html

and here

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...rt-wacker.html

See I told ya they get to be "fun"