As I posted about here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/362422-Another-quot-my-first-restore-quot, I recently got around to procuring an old Sheffield wedge, a William Hargreaves. I had never used a razor like this and with the raves this style often receives, I wanted to try one. I also wanted to try restoring an old razor, making scales, etc. I really enjoyed the process and learned a lot. When I got around to shaving with it though, I have not been so thrilled with it. I'm new to straight shaving--started in may--and so far my dovo best 5/8 is the next biggest razor I've used. I have one other hollow ground razor and a Torrey 5/8 near-wedge. The Torrey I didn't like the first time out either--the lack of auditory feedback was really disturbing--but I got used to it. The Hargreaves has been a different story. I've now shaved with it several times and I just can't get used to it. I've found that the weight and the near-complete lack of feedback lead me to use a lot more pressure when I'm shaving, causing a lot of irritation. I thought maybe I Haden put a good edge on it, so I re-honed it last night. This morning I got a very irritating shave and a not very close shave either. I had to pull out my dovo to redo my third pass in order to get it close and it was dramatically more comfortable! Clearly, especially with the direct comparison, I like hollow ground razors much better. Anyone else feel this way about wedges?
All I can say is thank goodness gold dollars are hollow ground--I just ordered 10 of them yesterday!
All I can say is thank goodness gold dollars are hollow ground--I just ordered 10 of them yesterday!