Thread: 5/8 vs 6/8

I am a beginner and I went with a 6/8". Easy to maneuver, easy to strop, looks more bad-ass. Need I say more

My go to razor is a 5/8 round point Bengall, full hollow. Just seems easy to maneuver around the face which is a plus while you are learning.

It doesn't matter too much. You will probably prefer one over the other when you get proficient, but at this point either is perfectly fine choice. 5/8 is the standard size. I'd estimate that 80% of all razors ever made are 5/8.
I prefer 6/8 though, 7/8 is already too big for my taste, and I have only found one 8/8 razor to be ergonomic enough (it's a livi in olive wood scales). I can get a nice shave out of any quality razor from 3/8 to 10/8 but 6/8 is simply the size that makes the experience most natural. The only way to know what works best for you is by trying out different options.

I have a full beard I trim around. At first I switched between a 5/8 and 4/8. What I found out was I needed to stick with one till I mastered it (the 5/8). I now only use the 4/8 when I am trying to get a really good trim.

Originally Posted by bookdoctor

It's to bad that no one rents sr's to newbies so they can try different razors to see what's best. Perhaps someone will come up with something.

Why not find a Mentor in your area of the country and sit down with them and see what info and perhaps razor trials at their sink that they can give you?? Could save you time and money. They may have a good beginner razor that they would sell inexpensively also. You also benefit from leaning to strop and how to shave. Probably they have a dull blade to practice with.
~Richard

Originally Posted by bookdoctor

It's to bad that no one rents sr's to newbies so they can try different razors to see what's best. Perhaps someone will come up with something.

Well newbies are notoriously clumsy and incompetent and it is only fair that they bear the cost of that.
If you want to try different sizes the correct way to do it is to buy the razors you want to try at market prices and when you are done with the experimentation sell them for what the market thinks they are worth. Any diminishing in the value is the rent and is due to your use of those razors. This is the only way to calculate the correct amount of the rent.

Size matters and varies to each owner. I simply can't use 7/8 on my jaw line. I've tried. Got a Livi that just looks good on the stand and haven't used in probably over a year. I prefer anything from 4/8 - 6/8. Livi has a nice regrind that is 6/8, round point, that SRD gets pretty routinely. That was actually my first blade. Then the madness started, Custom Livi, Robert Williams, and most recently Zowada.

Sounds like I'll have to try them both. The more the merrier right?

Well it sounds like "the more the merrier" would be good but not when you're learning. I would strongly suggest whatever size you pick that you stick with one only until you get somewhat proficient. Remember SR's are like snowflakes. Each a little different. Best to not introduce too much variable while learning a new skill.

Just to remind all that it's a big world and there are lots of choices and decisions to be made...

I accidentally bought a 4/8 razor recently. It was in great shape and it took a brilliant (smiling) edge.

The shave blew me away. The blade was light like a super-hollow 5/8 but quiet like a heavier grind and it carried more lather than i would have thought.

I can imagine if that edge had been less that great, I would have hated it, but that was not the case at all. It's now my dedicated touch-upper.

Size don't matter, you like what you like and try different stuff every chance you get to broaden your human experience.