Printable View
That was this mornings shave, excellent but lacking. It was with a W&B near wedge with 1/4 inch spine and nearly no concavity to the blade. Felt like I was using a broadsword instead of a rapier compared to the more hollow grinds I am used to. Just a lifeless experience with the only pleasure being having finally gotten the beast to take a good edge. Not detracting from that type of blades ability to shave, which is excellent, but just not the experience I want while shaving.
Bob
You've done it now Bob, and you're going to get flamed by every wedge lover on SRP lol
I'm in the same boat. The shaves are good but I don't really prefer wedges. I enjoy heavy grinds in a rotation, basically variety for variety's sake.
FLAME!
;)
Actually, it's great that we prefer different grinds, won't get in the way of each other on the bay so much :tu
Absolutely, wasn't meant to be a knock on anyone's preferences or the ability of any particular shave ready grind to provide an excellent shave. I don't get that feeling of disconnect to the act of shaving with anything up to and including 1/4 grinds. Just this particular near wedge with 1/4 inch spine feels dead.Quote:
Originally Posted by str8fencer
Bob
Talk dirty to it next time-
I've had shaves where I've felt that way. I've also gone back and forth between liking full hollows best, to liking heavy grinds better and back again. Right now I'm in heavy grind mode but that can change tomorrow. Even with the old Sheffields I tend to prefer a 6/8 to the 8/8 and larger. A weight thing as much as anything else. The good news is we will have another shot at it tomorrow and can pick a favorite.
I feel amazing after using a wedge, but that might just be because it's the only straight I currently own. I do hope my next razor (should be here today) is a little more hollow than that though just so I can figure out which one I like better.
I do like the wedge better than my seven dollar shave factory DE with a derby blade though (got a parker in the mail also lol). But that is kind of like saying i prefer filet mignon to bologna. Which I just so happen to as well
You may find that you get the opposite feeling if you're used to big near wedges and change up with a hollow. I can shave with either one and do, but I find the "racket" of the hollow distracting when I'm used to the stealthy cutting of a wedge. Preference can be very dependent upon what one is used to.
That might be part of the disconnect, the almost total loss feedback from the blade some of which has to do with the lack of "racket". I can and do shave with a variety of grinds and most all give a very satisfactory shaves as in close and comfortable. Again I said nothing about preferring one over the other but just that using that particular near wedge was different, a bit industrial if you will. A noticeably different experience but with the same good end result.Quote:
Originally Posted by ace
Bob
I've been reading this POV quite a bit lately and I have to admit that I don't get it. I love the sound a hollow razor makes as it slices through whiskers. It reminds me that I'm actually shaving and not just dragging a piece of steel across my face. JMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by ace
I refer to my heavy grinds as Silent & Deadly, I actually like the quiet stroke of the heavies, but none of my heavies are in the top 4 of my shavers. :shrug:
I find myself constantly trying to refine the edge on them, to reach the quality of cut that I get from the hollows in my rotation.
So I quess, quiet isn't always better.
I enjoy stropping a super hollow singing blade, but I prefer shaving with something much heavier...at this particular point in time.
These opinions are subject to change without notice:D
I have nothing but Ducks in my rotation but I started to put a big ole' WB in and it bit me. Now, I thought this was due to the blade size at first but a few days later I grabbed a Goldedge and it is also 7/8. Now that you mention the feedback thing I will blame it on that. :D
Why else would I lay open a major chin artery while I watch it happen in the mirror ?
Attachment 125920
Maybe it was sharper than the feedback. I did get a very nice shave out of it once the bleeding stopped an hour or so later.
well now that I have an opinion on the matter. I think I will enjoy a hollow ground better after I have tamed that square point and the slightly more rambunctous flex of the blade.
I have a small hole in my cheek and left ear from the point and two nicks below the chin just because I'm not as used to having that much play. but the shave seemed better (this is partially do to a seemingly sharper blade)
If everyone "got it" the same way, then we'd all be driving Hybrids or Ferraris, shaving with hollow grinds or wedges, and shaving with Cartridges or Straights. We'd also all be married to the same woman. That might make my wife happy, but I'm not sure you other guys could handle it. Like most things, it's personal, preference-based, there are few rights and wrongs, and we can peacefully co-exist.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan82
Yea, they are silent and deadly. I think because of the silence of the shave and general lack of feed back you have to be even more vigilant of how you are shaving. That aside they do shave as well as any hollow I have used.Quote:
Originally Posted by 10Pups
Bob
My original post was not to state a preference but merely to state how I felt after using a near wedge. I now know there is a real difference and likely why, the lack of feedback compared to other blades I have used. The biggest lack of feedback is the audio part but also the deadness of feel due to the weight and thickness of the blade. Now that I have experienced the difference I don't think of preferences just differences and recognize that it will be a different experience but with the same end result, a decent shave. It was strangely unsatisfying for me only in the fact it was totally different from what I was used to.Quote:
Originally Posted by ace
Bob
I tried a full hollow this morning, just for the heck of it and to see how I felt about the experience. It was still an 8/8 blade, which is what I am used to, but the hollow grind stood out once again, and I'll try to articulate why it is that it doesn't appeal to me as it might to others. I heard the sound of the whiskers being cut, as has been noted, and I assume that is the blade flexing as it cuts. What that seems like to me is that the blade is somehow working harder at getting the job done than my near wedges seem to be. With my near wedges, I can sense the whiskers being cut without the blade having a reaction to the cutting, seemingly more effortless. Again, this is not a matter of which is better, because the shaves are the same, but a matter of what noises one finds more attractive while shaving. Again, to each his own.
The horror of the dying whiskers.
,,,,,,,,the horror, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I think some people shave with a much more raised angle than is needed causing pulling & irritation. The way I shave I don't find full hollows so noisy except for strokes that demand a raised spine like at the start of the coup de maitre etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by gunsandbibles
I hear more noise but I don't understand how it becomes distracting. Much like some others have said I can use it to find a better angle.
Okay, good. It's not just me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
Just had one of these the other day Bobby! My 15/16 Gotta.... gorgeous blade, wonderful shave but just felt MEH about it. 3 passes bbs, no irritation to speak of. First time I've felt completely indifferent to a razor, didn't hate it, didn't love it.
Brooksie
Well, if you are really that indifferent to the poor thing I'm sure I can do something about it. :hmmm:
Bob
Hmmm..........perhaps you should talk to your doctor about Prozac.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
I have a near wedge W&B, circa 1880. It shaves just fine, but I prefer my new Boker Silver Steel extra hollow ground. I get much more tactile feedback..not to mention audible feedback! I've heard that a really hollow ground blade can flex and cause problems while shaving, but mine does not. Perhaps because it was honed by Lynn, an no whisker will stand up against it.
