Anyone regularly use a wedge?

Ferret619

Foolish Possums are not Grand Poobahs
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hey guys,
Like many I'm sure I find the wedge or near wedge to be an interesting and beautiful proposition, for those of you that use them can you comment on how they compare to hollows.
 
True wedges are very very rare. Most are near wedges to enable honing. I haven't honed one so I can't comment on that aspect.

The ones I've used are a lot quieter and slightly heavier than hollow grinds to shave with.
 
I have only quarter hollows (near wedge). I wish I had a better photo of the prototype blade that @Robbie d allowed me the privilege of trialling. It was a heavy grind 8/8 and an absolute joy to shave with. Since we have cut ties with Tapatalk my images that they were hosting are lost.

This is the best I can do. Robbie is going to grind this more hollow but it's pretty sweet as it is to be honest.

So whilst I have never shave with a true wedge, I imagine they are pretty close in the terms that you are asking. The difference between the quarters and the full is massive in terms of feedback. There is barely any sound at all if any, and to me, they feel dead, heavy on the skin. This makes sense as the amount of movement/flex in the blade is greatly reduced due to the thickness at the edge especially if you are using a full without a shoulder which adds to edge stiffness. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, I do enjoy using them still but you won't get them singing like what you are used to. The weight is both real and perceived. Real, since they are physically heavier but the perception of more pressure is there too due to reduced movement and maybe extra ease of passing them over the skin due again to the extra physical weight. Robbies blade, with the extended tang is HEAVY! But that's a good thing in this context. It's part of the wedge feel of using something that is large, chunky, really there as opposed to using something that is light and delicate. Maybe it gives me a feeling of shaving with an axe, rather than a super fine full hollow. It really does make for a completely different shaving experience. As @Nonick has said honing a true wedge introduces an extra level of difficulty since you cannot simply lay the blade on the stone to get the correct geometry. I am guessing as I've never honed one but shouldn't be too much of a drama with an appropriate amount of tape. The tape will need to be laid on with extra care ensuring even overlap and the centre of the tape dead centre on the spine. If you get that wrong, you will have differing bevel angles on each side. This difficulty would be the reason a true wedge is rare. Given the extra work (cost) and equipment required to produce a full hollow you have to ask yourself why is it done most often this way. Naturally that is because most people prefer their razor this way. I know I do. I do enjoy a full, and even an extra hollow from time to time but it's good to change things up a bit and go for a heavy grind now and then. If you're thinking about a near wedge, get one! I'll always have one in my kit for sure.
 
This is an excellent description --
There is barely any sound at all if any, and to me, they feel dead, heavy on the skin.

I have Bengall from 1820 that is "almost a wedge" plus I have a near wedge Japanese as well.

Because they have very little feedback it is easy to use too much pressure hence a reasonable chance the blade will live up to the meat clever description held by some. I haven't found anything that can remove chin whiskers like a near wedge. Also frameback razors can behave almost identical to a wedge even though they have a relatively thin blade, on the other hand my Japanese frameback has an extraordinary thin blade and shaves like a full hollow. I think the ultimate is a Russian half hollow. @SchoolForAnts has one of mine for a trial as he wanted something like a wedge style.
 
When I get around to it I'll be sure to grab one, it just seems the vast majority that come up are either crazy expensive or have had a hard life.
 
Keep an eye out, I may have one for sale soon. I will hone it and take some pics.

Steve

PS Not tonight :)
Haha will keep an eye out, I might pile some of my DE gear and put it up for trade
 
The russian half-hollow is beautiful to use, and effortlessly removed a few days growth for me. It's highly likely it will never return to the @bald as household... like the last straight I 'borrowed' from him (y)
 
The russian half-hollow is beautiful to use, and effortlessly removed a few days growth for me. It's highly likely it will never return to the @bald as household... like the last straight I 'borrowed' from him (y)
Cheeky hey @bald as can I borrow some straights ;)
 
:)

Yeah right !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :yuck:

:)

If you lived in Adelaide :)
I feel I should have named this thread "free straights for thanks to @bald as"



I assume you are coving postage, thanks pal.


For real though please Tag me whe u get that near wedge up
 
do love a good wedge (near wedge) razor , never seen a true wedge grind on a razor,
It's a heavy smooth feel, no feed back, and always a clean shave
Slight angle changes required to allow for the lack of hollow but,
The closest I have to a true wedge is a microtome - flat on one side with a near wedge on the other side
The flat side of the microtome is a real pain to hone the full flat face, and bevel setting a worn old wedges take a bit more to hone due to extra meat to remove resulting in a larger bevel face, compared to a half full hollow
 
do love a good wedge (near wedge) razor , never seen a true wedge grind on a razor,
It's a heavy smooth feel, no feed back, and always a clean shave
Slight angle changes required to allow for the lack of hollow but,
The closest I have to a true wedge is a microtome - flat on one side with a near wedge on the other side
The flat side of the microtome is a real pain to hone the full flat face, and bevel setting a worn old wedges take a bit more to hone due to extra meat to remove resulting in a larger bevel face, compared to a half full hollow
As I understand you are the man in regards to honing, for razors getting close to a full wedge, microtome and I suppose kamisori would one simply tape and call it good or am I missing something (I'm guessing with the hollows on the asymmetrics you would just tape the not hollow side)
 
@Ferret619 I tape all my spines on almost everything purely to stop wear but this is purely my preference & not essential
my exceptions are.
Kamisori - normally no tape on the Omote (front - beveled side), but tape on the Ura ( back - stamped face) and use about a 10:1 (Omote:Ura) honing ratio
Microtome - same a Kamisori with no tape on the flat side but only if being honed correctly for use as a Microtome, but I use 1 layer of tape if being used as a razor & once the flat side is true I use a similar honing system as the Kamisori
Western ground hollows - 1/4 to full hollows all get 1 layer of tape

Wedges - new or in NOS shape with no or minimal hone wear, I use 1 layer as usual

now the fun starts,
Vintage wedges with heavy wear from decades of stropping on pasted strops take a lot to reset the bevels,
so I start with several layers (3-5+) of tape until I have a set bevel again & corrected edge geometry etc,
also the multiply layers of tape on the spine are usually required to correct spine wear & fill hollows to keep the geometry right by grinding the tape away until you have a neat looking spine again, then apply fresh tape to protect it like a good spine.

from there we have a couple of options depending on how bad the wear is & the desired finish
Option 1 - we can continue grinding away on a 1k or less until we have 1 layer of tape & a large bevel face
I must note grinding a 3mm plus wide face on an old wedge is not fun & time consuming with takes lots of tape changes to keep the angles,

Option 2 - keep the multiple layers of tape & run through to finisher & finish off on a pasted strop to smooth the hollow to bevel transition if required
but I personally feel anything more than 3 layers of tape & the bevel angle is too great & the angle required when shaving feels off (like movie shaves 90° to your face)

Option 3 - like so many a vintage wedge before us, regrind the hollow & reduce the bevel face & start fresh

hope this helps someone
 
If anyone is happy with run with the tape hone method, I can produce a full wedge up to 8/8. Of course I can put a mild hollow in if almost wedge suits better
 
If anyone is happy with run with the tape hone method, I can produce a full wedge up to 8/8. Of course I can put a mild hollow in if almost wedge suits better
what's the ball park figure for something like this sir
 
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