Straight razor size determination

Use a straight. You know it makes sense.
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Shave4Fun
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Straight razor size determination

Post by Shave4Fun »

If buying a used razor, how would one determine the size if it is unknown?
Roger

I've been a wet shaver for 56 years! 8)
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drmoss_ca
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Ask the seller. He has to measure the distance from the edge to the spine, ie the width of the blade. The answer is usually expressed in eighths of an inch.

Chris
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Shave4Fun
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Post by Shave4Fun »

Gracias.
Roger

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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

I have been discovering that the size given is not always what you get. My Dovo Astrale was sold as a 5/8" but it is probably closer to .700" (excuse my decimals). 5/8" is my preferred size but in reality a real 5/8" actually looks small to my eye. Most of my 5/8" razors are in reality a little larger than that.
Richard
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Shave4Fun
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Post by Shave4Fun »

rustyblade wrote:I have been discovering that the size given is not always what you get. My Dovo Astrale was sold as a 5/8" but it is probably closer to .700" (excuse my decimals). 5/8" is my preferred size but in reality a real 5/8" actually looks small to my eye. Most of my 5/8" razors are in reality a little larger than that.
I assume you talking about used ones?
Roger

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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

Shave4Fun wrote: I assume you talking about used ones?
New. I may be going crazy but I'll have to measure my Dovo again.
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Post by mparker762 »

The sizes are only a convention. European makers don't make razors in eighth's of an inch - they make them to some metric size and we're rounding them down to the nearest eighth. And most of the old english razors are so worn nowadays that who knows what their original size really was? But we stick to eighths because it feels be about right - different sizes look noticeably different, and different sizes shave noticeably different, and the same isn't really true anymore if you drop to sixteenths.
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Shave4Fun
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Post by Shave4Fun »

mparker762 wrote:The sizes are only a convention. European makers don't make razors in eighth's of an inch - they make them to some metric size and we're rounding them down to the nearest eighth. And most of the old english razors are so worn nowadays that who knows what their original size really was? But we stick to eighths because it feels be about right - different sizes look noticeably different, and different sizes shave noticeably different, and the same isn't really true anymore if you drop to sixteenths.
The U.S. is about the only country in the world not fully metric. I never thought about that when considering eurpoean razors, etc. Will now. :roll:
Roger

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xChris
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Post by xChris »

I've read on other forums/posts that the measurement is from the edge to where the grind stops (i.e., where the honing happens at the top of the razor). That is the explanation for why a razor measures more than its #/8 size.
Chris
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