Thread: The Wedge

So there it was after two years off looking on Eboy for a DD satinwedge and seeing rusted corroded junk it said Mint with original box. Well after winning the auction and getting it in the mail, sure enough it looked brand new, I couldn't belive my eyes, even the scales didn't have a scratch on them and then horrors, a nick in the blade, so do I send it back or fix it myself. So I pulled out my trusty 4K Norton and after about 20 minutes of intensive honing that nick was gone (along with about a 32nd of an inch of the blade).

So about 90 minutes later after seeing the blue and yellow corticule and the 12,000 japanese Hone now the blade is honed to perfection. I first used it on a 2 day beard growth and seeing as how this is the first time I've used a wedge and I have no frame of reference to compare it with my question to the experts is, is there a real difference in shaving with a wedge as opposed to a hollow ground.

I found that the feel is very different and I had to use a bit of pressure while shaving or the blade wanted to skip over my face but with a little pressure it shaved like a dream very comfortable with a solid feel. The closeness was comparable to my other DD's

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

So there it was after two years off looking on Eboy for a DD satinwedge and seeing rusted corroded junk it said Mint with original box. Well after winning the auction and getting it in the mail, sure enough it looked brand new, I couldn't belive my eyes, even the scales didn't have a scratch on them and then horrors, a nick in the blade, so do I send it back or fix it myself. So I pulled out my trusty 4K Norton and after about 20 minutes of intensive honing that nick was gone (along with about a 32nd of an inch of the blade).

So about 90 minutes later after seeing the blue and yellow corticule and the 12,000 japanese Hone now the blade is honed to perfection. I first used it on a 2 day beard growth and seeing as how this is the first time I've used a wedge and I have no frame of reference to compare it with my question to the experts is, is there a real difference in shaving with a wedge as opposed to a hollow ground.

I found that the feel is very different and I had to use a bit of pressure while shaving or the blade wanted to skip over my face but with a little pressure it shaved like a dream very comfortable with a solid feel. The closeness was comparable to my other DD's

A keen edge is a keen edge. So the biggest difference will be the durability of the edge. But once it needs it, a wedge is no quick touch up in the hollow-ground sense.

The Satinwedge, while a fine razor, is not as heavy or large as traditional wedges. It you have a heavy beard, a heavy wedge is the best medicine.

And, congratulations on finding such a mint example. Bresduck (dubl-duck, Pearlduck) didn't start marketing razors until the early 1930's, the wanning days of the golden-age of straight razors. The Satinwedge was almost an afterthought in their product line, brought to being at the request of barber's, mainly. There are not that many great examples of it out there, compared to other vintage razors.

I know what you mean about the different feel from a wedge. I first thought it was because Lynn had got it so incredibly sharp but it is a totally different feel. I like it better.

So far, in my limited experience, I prefer a shallower grind, half hollow, quarter hollow or wedge. Less noise, less flex, more substance to the blade. The best so far has been a 4/8ths wedge marked "Wedge" and a half hollow 6/8 W&B that I shortened because of a serious nick near the toe of the blade.

Just my preference,

Randy Tuttle