Thread: The maligned 4/8 sized razor

I only have one 4/8 razor. It is in the rotation and gets used. It will give as good a shave as any. The only thing that I notice is that I seem to drag the tips of my fingers through the cream on my face a bit. Being narrower it puts everything in a bit closer and tighter. No biggie though.

Pete <:-}

Originally Posted by petercp4e

I only have one 4/8 razor. It is in the rotation and gets used. It will give as good a shave as any. The only thing that I notice is that I seem to drag the tips of my fingers through the cream on my face a bit. Being narrower it puts everything in a bit closer and tighter. No biggie though.

Pete <:-}

When I use a 7/8s or 8/8s the scales hit the side of my head and my ears. That is a biggie for me. Just a clumsy big razor.

I like 'em, a lot.

I have a couple of Swedes that are more to the smaller side as well as some germans, I greatly enjoy shaving with them


I enjoy shaving with smaller blades in general, I like shaving with most other blades too, but anything over 6/8 is getting too large for my personal style

I sold a smaller (4/8? ) shoulderless Torrey last year to that I really liked. It didn't have much weight to it, but when I test shaved with it I liked the way it handled.
I love the look of larger blades, but you can't argue with results.

I have very large hands which feel cramped when using most 5/8, let alone 4/8 razors. However, in reaction to someone on another forum praising Swedish blades, I picked up an Erik Anton Berg that was in good shape and selling for a reasonable price, and it's one fine little razor and has been fun to use. It is a pain to have to rinse the lather from the blade more often, but I do enjoy using it.

My comfort zone is 5/8"-6/8" but 4/8" work really well as long as I watch the angle. I really start to have issues with anything over 7/8", they just seem to big and make the top lip really hard to shave

Not so much maligned, as they are hardly talked about, more neglected and overlooked.

I have a few in my collection but use them rarely. Like many of us, my preferred range is 5/8 - 6/8 and while I use other sizes too, the further I stray away from my preferred range, the more I begin to notice their respective disadvantages.

I have a lovely Koraat that doesn’t see much use because it is just too unwieldy. I can get excellent results from it, but it lacks precision around corners, requires more work in these areas, and is simply not the ideal size for this job.

To my mind, the venerable 5/8 and 6/8 razors represent the best compromise between maneuverability around corners and ability to clear the stubble on the larger flatter areas of my face.

Where the 4/8 size shines is touch-ups or a quick second shave in the evening before going out.
Austrians developed for this purpose the “Wiener Schaber(l)” (written with or without the “l”) that translates as “Viennese Scraper” and was most commonly a 4/8 with short blade and French head.



B.