Thread: wedge or hollow

I asume wedge means from the end the blade looks like a wege and a hollow means it has a curve in the blade?
Is one better than another/
Thanks

Yes, a wedge's cross-section is straight, while a hollow's cross-section is curved.

The only way to know for sure which is better is to try both

thanks for the reply. I figured as much.

depends on beard type and personal preference, i have a hollow and sometimes its rings whilst shaving, i think the sound helps me - but i've been told a wedge can be easier to start with because its easier to get momentum behind the blade *shrugs*.

personally i think choose what you think you'd prefer and if you get used to in great, if you think the other style may be better give that a go. for me the main criteria was that it was a round edge

Almost all str8 razors have a concave grind. The old english razors have a single concave grind that is very shallow and sometimes appears as a wedge. Hence the term "wedge grind" or "flat grind".

the term hollow ground or full hollow usually refers to a blade with two concave grinds. One along the edge and the other above that. It is also referred to as a Hamburg grind or german grind. It is much thinner than a wedge.

Hope this helps,

There are many degrees of hollow and many variations of a wedge, nearly all of which are technically "hollow" to some extent.

Which to choose depends on mnay factors and only experience will be the answer. I think beginners are best with not too hollow a blade. I still find my best shaves and favorite shaving razors vary from wedges to half hollow grinds. Full hollows just never work as well for me and a relatively tought beard.

Tony

The full hollow ground razors are definitely quite noisy as they cut.

It's kind of the way I can tell a wedge from a hollow ground razor, the wedge is silent. (SBD?).

The noise is interesting, though, because you can DEFINITELY tell if your razor is shaving. The second pass sounds a lot different from the first pass.

Hollows are also noisier when you strop them.

The drawback to a big fat mid-19th century wedge is they are quite a bit harder to hone. All that surface area on the bevel makes it time-consuming to get down to the edge. Also, it makes for very uneven stroking on the finer hones.

There is quite a bit of variation in wedges.

How difficult is it to hone a wedge vs. hollow razor?

I've seen the standard videos on razor honing, but how do you judge the angle of the hone with the hollowed blade?

Thanks.

With both you lay the blade absolutely flat on both the hone and the strop. At no time do you raise the spine. The thickness of the spine is the built-in angle guide.

Hope this helps,

Just in case you run into one of those old wedges that doesn't lay completely flat here is a thread that may steer you in the right direction.