Thread: Different grinds

Good afternoon all, I have a stupid question for everybody. When I buy a razor say off the bay, how do I tell which grind it is?
I thank everyone who responds in advance!
Tony

Here's a chart, hope it helps.
File:SRP GrindForm.GIF - Straight Razor Place Wiki

That's actually a big help however I'm wondering if there is something that I could see physically on the razor itself that will tell me the difference between grinds?

IME most modern Solingen and USA razors are full hollow. Older, like early 20th century, 19th century are 1/2 hollow to wedge. I think it was in the 1870s that the Germans perfected hollow grinding ..... someone will correct me if I am (shudder) wrong ...... If the seller has an end shot of the blade you can see he thickness coming down from the spine to edge. TBH, as long as I've been fooling with this I have difficulty telling a 1/2 hollow from some that other guys call full hollow. OTOH, they all shave good for me.

Look for stabilizers on some. That usually denotes a thinner grind, but you can see how deeply ground it is by veiwing the stabilizer. Also, double concaves will have a distinct line down the blade, which is sometimes very obvious, or seen in a picure at the right angle. End shots tell a lot. A "belly" on a double ground blade can be seen from the end on most, if the pic is good. ALSO, search for other razors like the one you are interested in and check THOSE pics! That might help tell about that particular model if the pics are better!

Ask the seller for a pic showing the end of the blade.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Ask the seller for a pic showing the end of the blade.

Thanks Martin but I don't have anything in mind as of now. I was wondering bc I just started honing successfully and I know it's a bit different for each grind. For instance the other day I honed a full hollow and it was alot quicker and easier to hone than the wedge which I honed today.
Thanks for the responses guys!
Tony

Yes wedges are a totally different animal to hone for sure, but a pleasure to use, if you can hone a wedge to shave ready your doing something right, some of them are very frustrating.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Yes wedges are a totally different animal to hone for sure, but a pleasure to use, if you can hone a wedge to shave ready your doing something right, some of them are very frustrating.

I was actually able to get a great shave ready edge on the wedge though it took me quite some time to set the bevel. Tomorrow I'll shave with it and see just how good it came out.

Wedges can be a pain. My guess is they got honed on dished out hones and that's why they are so off. I have 6 wedges and will never buy another. Not worth it IMO. I used to think they shaved better, for me they all shave the same.