Thread: Wedge vs. Hollow Ground

Buy as many of each kind as you can. Mortgage your home if necessary. If you still can't decide which is better then you need to keep acquiring more blades until the answer becomes clear.

Originally Posted by mdwright

Buy as many of each kind as you can. Mortgage your home if necessary. If you still can't decide which is better then you need to keep acquiring more blades until the answer becomes clear.

Pretty much says it all!

Originally Posted by mdwright

Buy as many of each kind as you can. Mortgage your home if necessary. If you still can't decide which is better then you need to keep acquiring more blades until the answer becomes clear.

Clear as mud!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I suppose so. Crazy rotation at the end!

Ya know you gotta rotate to another butt cheek on a long car ride to get the circulation back into the other one!

Originally Posted by Scareface

Ya know you gotta rotate to another butt cheek on a long car ride to get the circulation back into the other one!

But, of Course!

I do not notice a lot of shaving difference until the blade gets very wedge like or has an extreme hollow.

Extreme hollows can exhibit flex that may cause the blade to catch, especially when the edge begins to lose keenness. I like most hollows of good quality because they can be easier to hone and strop well, they provide more tactile feedback, and produce sound when cutting hairs.

Wedge like blades are heavier making them steadier during a stroke, but they produce less sound and tactile feedback. Having much less steel removed with a shallow hollow means that bevels are wider needing more honing on the stones.

I find point shape more important. I avoid sharp spike points, but like round points and rounded or muted square points.

What everyone said is spot on. Definitely round tip for starters. I didnt listen and have the scars to prove it. Which is more fun, Driving a freight train (wedge) or riding a motorcycle (full hollow)? Both are fun to operate. Main consideration is brand, and who had it last (condition). Reputable and shave ready will both make you so happy that you will end up buying the other just to see the difference.

Most people do not even know what a true wedge is - they are a very rare beast indeed, and not often come across.

One or two respondents here know the difference, they have hinted as much by using the word "wedge-like" rather than wedge. A true wedge, referred to as a 'wedge', has straight sides coming to a point. That means that all of the blade lays on the hone and metal must be removed from all the surface of each side of the blade when honing, unless you tape the spine or use a sleeve on the spine to elevate it a bit.

The degree of hollowing depends on the size of the wheel. On old 5/8 razors for instance a set of small wheels (2" or so in diameter) is used. Look at a 2" radius and you can see the amount of hollowing it would provide.

Other size wheels are used to - 4", 8", 12" and in the old days even wider - 2 or 3 feet in diameter. Look at a section of radius from one of these wheels and you soon realise that the bigger wheels appear to give a straight side, but they do not - each one provides a smaller degree of hollowing. The term used here for a razor like this is 'near wedge' even though it is still technically hollow ground. You can se if you look at the shoulder of the spine and the bevel - these will be the only parts exhibiting hone wear, as the slight hollow keeps the middle portion of the blade off the hone, making it easier and faster to hone.

Your question then is more like 'what degree of hollowing' rather than 'wedge of hollow'.

It is a small point, but the distinction between wedge and near wedge should be borne in mind, if only for the reason that it makes you look like you dont know what you are on about if you use the wrong one!

Regards,
Neil

Er, Sorrrry Neil! We had NO idea you may come along or we would have been more exacting in what we were on about!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Er, Sorrrry Neil! We had NO idea you may come along or we would have been more exacting in what we were on about!

Caught you napping again, matey - you will have to take a wedgie for the team...

Regards,
Neil