Shortie or full-size SR - Which would be best for a beginner?

I have been lamenting to myself that the Chinese razors I'm starting with are all too long. It makes me nervous focusing on a section of the razor and forgetting about the other parts. Really wishing I joined in time for your short English Kamisori PIF.
 
sd_baker said:
I have been lamenting to myself that the Chinese razors I'm starting with are all too long. It makes me nervous focusing on a section of the razor and forgetting about the other parts. Really wishing I joined in time for your short English Kamisori PIF.
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You have got me thinking. I have a few spare Taiwanese SRs and @Gargravarr has provided me with some lovely flame figured European maple for scales. I am very tempted to modify one of the SRs into a shorty. If I did, I would probably go for an edge length of about 55mm to 60mm.
 
rbscebu said:
You have got me thinking. I have a few spare Taiwanese SRs and @Gargravarr has provided me with some lovely flame figured European maple for scales. I am very tempted to modify one of the SRs into a shorty. If I did, I would probably go for an edge length of about 55mm to 60mm.
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@rbscebu and I'm sure apart from myself, others would gladly take it of your hands when completed :giggle::giggle:
 
LesC said:
@rbscebu and I'm sure apart from myself, others would gladly take it of your hands when completed :giggle::giggle:
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I'm so tempted that I have already unpinned a SR ready for this project. It's a fairly beefy 6/8 half hollow. Will probably go for a French point and grind a bit of a thumb hollow into the shank.

I will start a new thread on this soon.
 
Another reason I'm interested in a shorter razor is that I'm learning to shave, strop, hone at the same time. I found that honing all the way to the toe difficult, and doing TNT near the toe difficult as well. After (I think) my razor is ready to shave, I can't seem to HHT to the same degree in the 2-3 mm at the toe as the rest of the razor.

Others have mentioned that Chinese razors have a bit of warp at the toe. I'm not sure if it's my pressure management or a slight warp I haven't detected.
 
I have now decided that a shorty may not be best for a beginner.

Over the past few Sundays, I have been shaving with a Dutch point shorty. All went well, shaving with my normal level of concentration. This morning I had my first shave with a French point shorty. I learnt something about shorty shaving.

As some may know, I do not mute the toe on any of my razors. I keep them sharp and pointy to help keep my concentration up. Shaving this morning with my French point shorty, I gave myself a very minor nick on my cheek during the first (N-S) pass. Nothing major and it was all gone by the time I rinsed off at the end of my shave.

This got me thinking as to why I nicked myself. Then it dawned upon me. When shorty shaving, the toe/heel is closer to your skin. It then doesn't take much for that toe/heel to come in contact with your skin when you do not intend it to happen. Hence, I was "rewarded" with my little nick.
 
sd_baker said:
Another reason I'm interested in a shorter razor is that I'm learning to shave, strop, hone at the same time. I found that honing all the way to the toe difficult, and doing TNT near the toe difficult as well. After (I think) my razor is ready to shave, I can't seem to HHT to the same degree in the 2-3 mm at the toe as the rest of the razor.

Others have mentioned that Chinese razors have a bit of warp at the toe. I'm not sure if it's my pressure management or a slight warp I haven't detected.
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Don't worry about it. The only test that really matters is the shave test.
 
I think a standard length blade would be good. I started with a longer than standard and really had to watch it when I got close to my ears. A shorter one might be okay because many people are used to safety razor length blades, but the down side is that then they'd have to learn the standard size if they decided to continue.
 
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