Thread: Extra Hollow vs Hollow Grind

All this hollow talk...makes me want to put my Barber's Rattler back together and hone it out. I've shaved with big heavier blades, but the Rattler is going to be an earful and should carry a pint of lather and beard slurry.

OTOH my little 4/8 Swedish blade is fairly hollow but quiet as a wedge, not enough metal to rattle.

Originally Posted by WadePatton

All this hollow talk...makes me want to put my Barber's Rattler back together and hone it out. I've shaved with big heavier blades, but the Rattler is going to be an earful and should carry a pint of lather and beard slurry.

OTOH my little 4/8 Swedish blade is fairly hollow but quiet as a wedge, not enough metal to rattle.

The W&B 7/8 chopper with the cigar scales I had turned out to be a Rattler...had it honed up and shaved with it and was blown away, scales ended up being to bulky so having them replaced (will store the cigar scales) with some nice dark horn again, more suitable to a Wade and Butcher gentleman razor IMO...you'll like the blade I bet, a lot!

Thank you 'SirStropalot', I had a lot of questions about the different types of 'grinds' this link mad it crystal,all of my experience was with a(?) ground blade. I think the brand was Ame or Ames was fairly old when I got itbut that was a few years ago ,,,any advise on which is the best for a 'relearner'?

Great question, and dialogue on this thread around grind.
My very first straight was and still is a Boker Extra Hollow blade that cut me more than any others I own. Not knowing any better I presumed it was par for the learning course, but now almost a year and 15 different blades later I see this thread and 'dogh!' makes perfect sense regarding closeness, singing, flex, and honeability as well.
I compare every razor I get to that Boker, in looks, cut, balance etc and it is still the best shaver I own. I have improved my technique to the level where I do not cut myself every time with it, but come closer than any other around the chin and jaw line due to it's flexibility.
My W and B and other larger blades cut well and are great shavers, and right sexy blades, but the Boker just seems more, I dunno,,, surgical in it's precision maybe, if that makes sense..
That's about it for my $0.02.
Cheers

wow that's a lot to be said about the boker there are so many brands out there.I am just getting started and my head is just spilling around as to what brand to buy.i was dead set on a dovo,but the more I read I changed my mind to a real sleeper.The one that got my attention was the 6/8" Ralf Aust.hope I made the right decision

Originally Posted by semperfi6141

wow that's a lot to be said about the boker there are so many brands out there.I am just getting started and my head is just spilling around as to what brand to buy.i was dead set on a dovo,but the more I read I changed my mind to a real sleeper.The one that got my attention was the 6/8" Ralf Aust.hope I made the right decision

Actually, as you go along, it will be the shave itself, not the brand name. I rotate 32 razors. Some, like my cherished C-MON's, shave like a bat out of hell. Other's lesser known, like my Express by William Rodgers, thumbs it's nose at the C-MON's. Should I sell the Rodgers because it isn't a big time name? Hell no! Even better a shave are a couple of razors I have that have no name whatsoever on them. I'd get rid of a Genco (damn best American steel) before one of the no namers if it came down to the wire. Look for the shave first, name second if that is important. What you buy, you can sell if it doesn't make the grade as you see it.

+1 to what Razorfeld replied above.
I think I just got quite lucky with my first purchase and it always should be the blade, not the brand that makes a razor special and individual in preference..
That's part of the fun of RAD, testing all the kinds and profiles you can to see which feel best, and then which are better than that!
Cheers.

I've tried a few different grinds. My own conclusions have been that a full or extra hollow blade works best with my coarse beard and super sensitive skin. As long as I use a very light touch, stretch the skin and make sure the angle is very shallow. I get the least (actually none) amount of skin irritation with the full or extra hollows as compared to the heavier grinds and they seem to cut my beard much easier.

This flies in the face of a lot of advice I read earlier about heavier grinds being better for heavier beards... Your own mileage may well vary.

Originally Posted by Attila

This flies in the face of a lot of advice I read earlier about heavier grinds being better for heavier beards...

'Heavy grinds are for heavy beards' is another of the fallacies that start from inexperienced people and get a life on their own. At least on this forum it gets challenged every time it comes up.

The only correlation is that heavy grinds are more tolerant of inadequate technique when the shaver can not control the razor and respond correctly to the feedback. The usual analogy is driving a humvee vs. driving a light and responsive sports car. Equally sharp razor cuts equally well, but when people can not control the force behind the blade, they find it helpful to have a big mass and a lot of stiffness to provide the stability of motion.

Originally Posted by gugi

The only correlation is that heavy grinds are more tolerant of inadequate technique when the shaver can not control the razor and respond correctly to the feedback. The usual analogy is driving a humvee vs. driving a light and responsive sports car. Equally sharp razor cuts equally well, but when people can not control the force behind the blade, they find it helpful to have a big mass to provide the stability of motion.

You know, I would agree with you in theory as that makes complete sense. The strange thing is...I cut myself less with full hollows than with wedge or heavy grind razors, I have no idea why. The extra hollows had a much steeper learning curve for sure. But I never got as many nicks as I did with my wedge, 1/4 and 1/2 hollow razors.