Thread: Extra Hollow vs Hollow Grind

+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.

Strangely enough, when I was new I found that I got better shaves from my full and extra hollows than with wedges as well. Probably because I had more practice with the hollows, because now I can get equal quality shaves with both. I suppose after a while your technique automatically adjusts to the type of razor....