Thread: Really Big Razors - What's the Appeal?

Originally Posted by Birnando

yep, I'm on my second Toyota Prius
Still, I prefer bigger blades.
They seem to fit my hands and face best.
Granted, being six feet five inches might have a little something to do with my preferences.

And you can FIT in that Prius?!?!

I'm only 5'6", and feel like a sardine when in SWMBO's Prius. And for the record, no, I don't have claustrophobia issues...


As for big blades, I want to try one. The largest I've gone is around 6/8 on both a Geneva Cutlery round point and a W&B Celebrated Hollow Ground with a notch. I have no idea how practical it would be, but I figure I'll never know if I like it unless I try it.

I think the largest blade I own is 15/16. But generally the sweet spot for me is 6/8-7/8. I don't think I'd want to go more than 8/8. But I don't enjoy using a 5/8. In fact, I had a very nice Bartmann that I recently sold simply because I never used it. It was simply too small for my taste.

Originally Posted by Dzanda

I'm also 6'5"...am I detecting a trend?

I think not. Birnando is metric; this makes him about 10% taller.

I'm a larger sized guy at about 6'2" with big enough mitts but fail to see the attraction to large blades. I have one 8/8 Puma that feels like I am using a spatula to shave with. Not unpleasant but not handy either. If I want more weight in a razor I'll take a 5/8-6/8 near wedge. I found that I like a razor with deeper and wider tang for easy stropping and can have that w/o going to very large sized razors. The sweet spot for me is 6/8 give or take a size up or down. I'll use any grind that has a good edge and be happy. Each to their own.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

I'm a larger sized guy at about 6'2" with big enough mitts but fail to see the attraction to large blades. I have one 8/8 Puma that feels like I am using a spatula to shave with. Not unpleasant but not handy either.*SNIP*

Bob

Tell you what: I'm willing to take that Puma off your hands...just so it doesn't bother you any more. I'm considerate like that.

Originally Posted by Phrank

14/8 !?!?!?!

LOL - you're kidding right? I didn't even know they made them that big!

They might not have, but Kenny Powell does (just search on 14/8 for the October, 2013 thread). He also made me a 23/8 out of a meat cleaver I found at a flea market. I will admit that the 23/8 is tad unwieldy. The 14/8 is a dream to shave with.

Two of my favorites: 4/8 Maw & Sons portable surgical razor & 9/8 Greaves


Like any kind of preference, it's a complicated bouillabaisse that makes any one thing stick for any given person.

I know shaving with straights in the first place is appealing to a lot of people because it's got a faint whiff of danger, and obviously a bigger blade is more dangerous. I'm sure some guys like big blades because big is perceived as especially masculine.

Another appeal of them is, simply, that they are manifestly desirable -- other people obviously want them, and that drives the price up. They cost more, so they're worth more, effectively making them Veblen goods.

But all straights are also a practical item that let the user control variables that are locked in with disposables and cartridges, and for some of us straights are even money-saving (I, alas, am not one of those lucky folks). If you only ever get one razor, even if it's a 10/8 monster it might save money in the long run versus cartridges.

I regularly shave with every size and grind around. I prefer old Sheffield steel from 6/8-7/8 size, pretty wedgy -- but that's because I prefer an era and a place independently of shaving properties. For pure shaving, I've never found anything I like better than a 5/8 Heljestrand MK31.

For me personally, the thrill of 'danger' is long, long past. They're just tools, now, like good kitchen knives.

When I first shaved with a very large razor, I wasn't too taken with it. But now that I have a couple of my own and can occasionally throw them into the mix, I've found they're genuinely more fun to shave with when I've been lazy and let my beard grow out for 4-5 days.

Originally Posted by BobH

I'm a larger sized guy at about 6'2" with big enough mitts but fail to see the attraction to large blades. I have one 8/8 Puma that feels like I am using a spatula to shave with. Not unpleasant but not handy either. If I want more weight in a razor I'll take a 5/8-6/8 near wedge. I found that I like a razor with deeper and wider tang for easy stropping and can have that w/o going to very large sized razors. The sweet spot for me is 6/8 give or take a size up or down. I'll use any grind that has a good edge and be happy. Each to their own.

Bob

Hah, almost verbatim the response I was going to write, minus the Puma razor. I've pretty much settled on two razors that I use primarily to shave with - a 6/8 microtome and a 7/8 John Heiffor near wedge. Ideally I'd prefer a little more weight to the microtome but the near wedge has just the right weight and thickness of tang - 6-7/8 size range just seems to suit me best.

Also it is, generally speaking, significantly cheaper to buy razors that are under 8/8" in size. There are exceptions but the larger blades seem to command a premium.

Razors are razors - whether 15/8ths or 5/8ths, they all come down to basically the same size at the pointy end.

Some guys find small razors cumbersome in the hand, some find big ones cumbersome in the hand. IME you adapt and get used to whatever it is you have if you use it often enough.

So practically speaking there should really be no reason to prefer big over small or vice-versa (IMO, and within reason of course). However, aesthetically speaking is whole other ballgame, and I aint about to tell anyone what they should and shouldn't like when it comes to the look of their razors.

James.

Originally Posted by Dzanda

Tell you what: I'm willing to take that Puma off your hands...just so it doesn't bother you any more. I'm considerate like that.

Ya gotta love this place, just full of considerate people willing to put themselves out to help ya outta of jam.

Bob