Thread: Bigger is Better ! Or is it ?

A bit of an interesting shave on Wednesday evening ( interesting = disappointing ) . I decided to use my Bartmann 7/8 full hollow , stropped up and shaved . Jeez it was almost like shaving with a blunt knife , it left lots of those awkward opaque whiskers , yet the razor is sharp ( the same razor sliced my face twice when I fist shaved with it back in January ) .. Not being a fan of the HHT I tested with the thumb test and shaved my arm hair .. fair enough , Last night I took it for a few pass's on a Belgian blue -say about 8-10 then about 3 on the yellow , just to make sure it was sharp , tested again - fine ! prep'd and began shaving - urgg awful , finished with one of my 5/8 quarter hollows - which as always gives amazing results .. Then I thought !!!! is it possible that because the Bartmann is a full hollow 7/8 ( sings like a choir ) the blade is thinner that it flex's ever so slightly over my face -- my skin is very very soft , yet the smaller thicker blades do a much better job .
Just curious - is my skin type ( baby soft LOL !! ) incompatible with this style of razor or maybe it's just a newbi not yet mastering the technique and still not grasping the difference between a sharp razor and nearly sharp ......
It would be good to here opinions

That is a tough call. I would bet it's not sharp enough if you are pulling your skin taunt! I personally like bigger blades when I haven't shaved for a day or two and smaller blades for every day shaves.

Try shaving with it after you have 2 or 3 days worth of growth. I've noticed that my larger razors seem to do better that way. Of course YMMV.

I have both the blue belgian and the yellow coticule and the blue is a very slow hone 8-10 passes is nothing on it and 3 passes on the yellow is also nothing. If you need the blue probably 30 passes is the minimum and probably about 20 on the yellow is the minimum. Usually I use the norton 4K and then switch to the yellow.

I find the singing razors really hard to hone, myself. Lets assume that for the sake of argument that it is really sharp though (I don't think the fact that you cut yourself is acceptable evidence though, the shaving of the arm hair is more so).

I would think that a 7/8 singing razor might need a different angle than a 5/8 1/4 hollow in order to compensate for a little flex.

But my intuition tells me the bevel on the 7/8 may be too smooth. I'd go back to 4k and start over again if you dont' settle the problem.

I have the same problem though and gave up on meat cleaver singing razors a while ago.

And no, I don't really think bigger is better at all. I think guys who like bigger blades are just confused and are really secretly trying to say "heavier is better" which I'm thinking a 5/8 1/4 hollow may be heavier than a 7/8 Full.

Originally Posted by Garry

Just curious - is my skin type ( baby soft LOL !! ) incompatible with this style of razor or maybe it's just a newbi not yet mastering the technique and still not grasping the difference between a sharp razor and nearly sharp ......
It would be good to here opinions

I've got the same skin you have and have just as much failure and success with small and large blades in that regard. It's the edge that will cause problems, not the razor size. There is certainly a different muscular effort between larger (yes, heavier Alan) and smaller blade and using your razor incorrectly (ie. too much pressure, bad shaving angle, NOT STRETCHING ENOUGH) can cause irritation and other substandard results.

There's sharp and then there's SHARP! An edge which is not sharp enough or uneven will certainly have trouble cutting close and comfortable, but be careful not to go too far the other way. The problem I've been having has been in over polishing my edges and a wired edge will cut, but also pull my whiskers and irritate my delicate skin immensely. I think I've been forming wires by using too light pressure on the hone and too much time on higher grits. This may be part of your problem or it may not, but either way I think it's good food for thought.

X

Your 7/8 Bartmann simply isn't properly honed. Bartmann's are fine razors and when honed well shave wonderfully whether the beard is thick or thin. A number of the very best shavers I've got are 4/8 to 6/8. Big razors are beautiful, have a great heft and feel and are very desireable but the smaller razors are, in my opinion, easier to hone and take a better edge.

The larger razors need to be "thicker" in order to maintain adequate stiffness and their bevel seems to be more obtuse. The smaller razors can have more acute bevels and thinner blades without compromising their strength because there's less steel to bend. As a result, I think the 5/8 razors get outrageously sharp. They don't seem to hold an edge quite as well as the larger razors, but that makes sense because a more obtuse angle would put more metal and strength in the cutting edge.

I guess I'll just say that I think 5/8 and even 4/8 razors are vastly under-rated. Everyone has become fixated on the large razors - the larger the better. Where once, 5/8 was considered the standard sized shaver, many today think it's undersized and undesireable. Too bad, though, because they may be the ideal size for the ultimate in sharp shaving.

A question about human nature.. Do you guys think that some men would get bigger razors for the same reason they'd buy big flashy cars -- to make up for other size-related inadequacies?

P.S. I am not accusing anyone on this forum or trying to be a prick, just asking this out of psychological curiosity.

Ofcourse, that is why I choose 7/8 and 8/8's, to match my "personality"...

Dude, you're from the Balkans, which means a thick and heavy growth of beard. I'm one of those few aberrations with a relatively moderate growth, so I can get away with using 5/8 and 6/8. I wouldn't have a legitimate excuse to use one of those full inch wide monstrosities lol.