Smaller Blades

Just for the sake of discussion, lately I have been honing a fair number of the Dovo 3/8 and 4/8 Imitation Tortoise razors. I have to admit that both of these widths are surprisingly good shavers. I have not had anywhere near the tendency to flatten out the blades under the bottom lip or chin as I do with my wider razors. I have a bunch of vintage 4/8 razors and remember why I have kept them. It's fun to have all the width's for shaving and to get to experiment. I know the larger ones have really become more popular over the last few years and I like them too, but normally will revert to a 4/8, 5/8 or 6/8 w.hen I have the opportunity to shave with my own razors. I have a pretty thick beard and always amazed at how a 3/8 razor can shave as well as an 8/8.

ps......not giving up any of my custom 7/8 or 8/8 blades..........:D

Lynn

I'm still at the stage where bigger is better. Not sure if it's that i'm fairly new to it, or i'm unconsciously over-compensating for something else! I like the weight of them. I have noticed that most guys that stick with it tend to primarily use the 5/8 or thereabouts, & use the wider blades more occasionally. I'll have to get hold of a smaller blade now & try it out!

I just found a 4/8 Puma/Bresnick at the local antique mall yesterday. At first glance I thought it was a 5/8 that had been damaged somehow and ground down to 4/8. On looking closer though it does appear to have been mfg. as a 4/8. I have never used anything smaller than 5/8 before so after reading Lynn's post I am anxious to get this one shave ready and give it a try.

Agreed Lynn! A while back I bought a bunch of old razors from a barber, and one of them was a 3/8ths. I thought that they would be harder to hone too, but it went surprisingly easy. When I did the test shave with it, I was really impressed, and it kind of opened me up to a different spectrum of razors. I still prefer heavy 7/8ths blades with a good pronounced smile, but it's good to be a switch hitter sometimes.

I think it's the weight/mass of the larger blades that's appealing. It's like putting with a heavier putter :). Once you get it online it does all the work for you and it has a larger moment of inertia -- less tendency to change direction or angle. It's also easier to deal with somethat that has the right "heft" for your hand. Similar to cell phones as they got smaller and smaller. Some are just too light to use comfortably. Then with the wider blades it's much easier to consistently maintain the angle to your face. Maybe not "easier" but angle changes are more obvious.

I shave around a beard so I need a smaller blade to see around it (need a shorter blade lengthwise too). I'd love to have a small blade with a lot of weight. I wonder if you could make a razor out of tungsten?