Hollow Ground safety razor blades

I have been offered a bunch of hollow ground safety razor blades, but I don't quite understand the offer help please. I thought that only straight razors were referred to as holow ground? What am I missing?

 

Doesn't sound right to me, but I'm definitely no expert.

...however, if you do end up buying them, will you see if the guy has a line on some blinker fluid for an '83 Corvette?

 

Let me see what others have to say. I might offer the woman some blinker fluid in exchange for the blades.

 

PAL made Hollow Ground Blades - These are carbon blades probably from the 50's

 

hollow ground blades

Another possibility beyond those old Pals and other thin blades, is what we usually tend to refer to as "wedge" blades for early safety razors such as early Kampfe Stars and Gems. Even though we call these "wedge" blades, they really aren't; they are actually hollow ground, not true wedge blades.

Regards,
Tom

 

I wouldn't pay for them if they're vintage- they're probably rusted.

 

Yeah, even if they don't appear rusted, the edge could have imperceptible oxidation that would make them unshaveable... I bet they're cool to have though and you may find members who are blade collectors that might like to have a few.. So I wouldn't pay much, but I might pay a little bit of cash for some blades depending on the number and the amount requested.

 

Hollow refers to the grind. It isn't actually hollow. Just very thin. Just like a str8 razor. Hence they thought by calling the blades hollow ground they could convert str8 razor shavers. I'd assume pre-50's if they're referring to hollow ground blades and showing a str8 on the package.

 

Ah, so I won't have to go find some blinker fluid after all.

 

The Pal Hollow Ground blades do have the curved grind like straights. Like previously stated, they are carbon steel. I have a display of them like above, but besides collector value, their value is limited. I wouldn't touch them to my face.

 

Drats I have blinker fluid ready to be offered.

 

Well, I certainly learned something.

 

Personna also had their version of hollow ground DE blades.

 

There were these also.

 

Bill, I love that line in your signature:

I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather... not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.


Hilarious!!!!

 

Reviving an old thread to say I just shaved with PAL hollow ground blade from a 44 pack that I presume was from the early 1950s and it shaved beautifully!

The blades have a thin film of oil that prevented corrosion and they are still sharp as all get out. These give a very "different" kind of shave than modern blades, but give nice results.

Bill

 

Yes, the Pal blades can be quite good. I use them and other vintage carbon blades very often.

 

...

 

And does hollow ground bring any improvement to the shave?

 

Hey Dragos, with 2 shaves under my belt I can't speak with any great authority, but I can offer some impressions.

The PAL blades are wickedly-sharp along the blade edge. If a surgeon needed an emergency replacement for a scalpel these would be a fine choice. I made the mistake of making a tiny lateral move shaving with the PAL and it cut me cleanly. Very impressive!

The extreme lateral sharpness does not translate into the kind of whisker snipping sharpness one would expect from a very sharp blade like a Feather.

The PAL in my shaves tugged a little, not really what I would have expected from such a sharp blade, but from what I gather reading posts by those who are experienced with these vintage carbon blades this tugginess is a typical attribute.

While I need to work these a bit, the blade was not irritating to my face, and the end result was nice and smooth. They do feel very *different* than a modern coated stainless steel blade.

Cheers,

Bill