Thread: Shaving with a Full Hollow Grind

I have several full hollows that I just can't get the hang of shaving with. I'm not sure if it is the coarseness of my whiskers or what. Consequently, they don't show up in my rotation very much. Is there anything technique wise I need to know relative to using a full hollow grind?

What sort of problems do you have with the hollows? Do they not shave properly or is it uncomfortable?

Typically I've found that the hollows are more sensitive to the angle -- if you're off by a little you can either tug at the hairs or irritate your skin, in my experiences.

Originally Posted by commiecat

What sort of problems do you have with the hollows? Do they not shave properly or is it uncomfortable?

Typically I've found that the hollows are more sensitive to the angle -- if you're off by a little you can either tug at the hairs or irritate your skin, in my experiences.

Commiecat,

They tug quite a bit and my skin is definatley sensitive to it. Reminds me of the shaves I got when I fist started using a straight. I know the razors are sharp. I have been adjusting the angle in each direction to try and figure out how they shave. But I can't figure it out. I bailed out on a Droescher Black Smith today when I went to shave my chin and finished with my Filarmanica DT12.

So what would you recommend for the WTG, XTG and ATG angles?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Alembic

Commiecat,

They tug quite a bit and my skin is definatley sensitive to it. Reminds me of the shaves I got when I fist started using a straight. I know the razors are sharp. I have been adjusting the angle in each direction to try and figure out how they shave. But I can't figure it out. I bailed out on a Droescher Black Smith today when I went to shave my chin and finished with my Filarmanica DT12.

So what would you recommend for the WTG, XTG and ATG angles?

Thanks.

Well I think I follow the general rule of around 30 degrees for my WTG pass. It would probably be a tight squeeze to get my pinky in between the spine and my skin.

For my XTG I keep it pretty flat with the spine almost touching my skin. I don't go ATG.

Commiecat,

Thanks. I will try to tighten the angle more on my XTG - don't know about my WTG yet.

Alembic,

If this does not work for you I would suggest immediate disposal. As I am a disposal expert I would be happy to dispose of them if you ship me all of your full hollow razors. I am even feeling generous enough that if you wish me to dispose of these blades for you I will reimburse you the full cost of shipping.



-G

I have a very course beard and I do a very light N-S pass then I soak my beard with a hot towel for about 20 seconds, re-lather and hit it again in earnest. My beard is so tough that a 1/4 grind razor is a "singing razor" for me! My wife can hear my beard being cut when she is in the other room when I use even a 1/4 grind. I like full hollows but for me they can not compete with a 1/4 grind for smoothness or ease of use. I have heard that it is technique, prep, sharpness and ......no never mind a full hollow is harder for me to use.


Take Care,
Richard

Make sure your hollow is super sharp. I found when using a full hollow first time I couldn't shave well at all, but I think the technique is a bit different because now it's totally fine - not sure exactly what I do different.

Did you see the recent thread on the scything stroke ? IIRC Utopian draws an analogy between shaving and cutting a tomato. If you try to shear the whiskers by attacking them with a straight cut it isn't as effective as slicing them as you would a tomato.

So if you are doing a WTG from the ear level down to the jaw line instead of moving straight down you are also moving at a slight diagonal. IOW the point or the heel won't end up being on a vertical plumb line from where you started to where you finish.

You will either move the edge forward as you go down or backward as you move down. This slices the whiskers. The bad news is that the angle has to be right and you cannot be pushing the edge into the skin as we tend to do when we are new. If you do this applying pressure you'll slice the skin. The edge skims the surface of the skin slicing the whiskers. It is not like scraping ice off of your windshield.

I consider this an advanced shaving technique and it took me a couple of years to be comfortable with it. Different people have different learning curves. I see some guys picking it up relatively quickly but I was not one of them. Eventually I got to where I could do this on about any part of my physiognomy except the knob of my chin and my upper lip. I'm still very careful on those two areas.

I started with full hollows and found them very sensitive to angles even different full hollows needed slight tweaking of the angle for good results (I say good because with only a little more then a month into this I know I'm still probably years away from best results). Then I tried a 1/4 grind wow what a difference, easier on the skin and less tugging from what I've read it has less to do with beard type and more to do with technique but i still prefer the full/singing hollows. Yes they are still more irritating to my skin but I keep coming back to them maybe I'm just stubborn. Continue working at it and I'm sure it will improve, if not you can always take deighaingeal up on the generous offer to dispose of it for you, you never can be too careful when disposing of a straight and it's always worth it to go with a professional disposer have fun, part of enjoying straights for me is experiancing the subtle quirks that make each razor unique and learning to master them.