So most of my razors are 6/8th or less in width. I get consistently good shaves with these razors, and am able to dial in the angle and pressure easily. I have a few blades that are 7/8th or larger. I have a harder time shaving with these. Are there differences in blade angles used, or technique between the bigger blades and the smaller ones?
I personally don't notice a significant difference between 6/8, 13/16 & 7/8" as far as face-feel nor the need for angle adjustment on most blades. What gives me pause to readjust my approach are the smaller 4/8" (and some 5/8") and blades 8/8" or larger. I seem to manage more nicks on the smaller blades as I'm more prone to flipping or lifting the edge. With the jumbo blades (8/8 or larger) I tend to lay the blade flatter on the face than with narrower blades. These are all what I would consider 'micro-adjustments' to my approach, but something I'm cognizant of when I begin the shave.
I Have a Number of 7/8th SRs as Well as 5/8th & 6/8th..To Be Honest I have Never Thought about it..I Tend to Use a Sorta 30 Degree Angle with All My Blades Give or Take..In the Beginning I Did Use a Sorta More Vertical Angle but it Gave Me Irritation..I Thus Use a about a 30 Degree Angle for All My SRs but that Angle Does Change Going ATG to More Flat or Vertical.. Billy..
Now I'm going to have to pay attention to how finish my strokes. I'm guessing that is what you are referencing when you mention flipping or lifting the edge?
I've found myself catching the edge of the blade sometimes by lifting the narrower blade too early in a stroke.
I have several different sizes, but like others have noted I find the wider blade easier to use. I just honed an old George Wostenholm with a blade wide enough to land an airplane on and it shaved very nicely. I think for me I prefer a heavier blade (usually wider blade) as opposed to a lighter blade (usually narrower).
My experience is the opposite, I really struggle to precisely control a small, light razor. I first I thought is was blade size but it has more to do with weight. The extra blade with makes me feel like I can make smaller adjustments on the blade angle, for a small blade a small increase in the distance of the spine from the face makes a larger change in angle than with a big blade. I prefer 7/8 and 6/8 blades with a caveat. I tried a 7/8 hollow grind and hated it, there was too much blade flex. So for a hallow grind I prefer 6/8.
I think I figured part of it out this morning. I have always used the 1-2 spine widths from the face to find the angle of the blade. For a bigger blade, the geometry of this seems to be a little different, since the blade is wider and the spine is thicker. I changed the angle a little today to go shallower, and ended up with a smoother shave. It wasn't as good as my straight shaves normally are, but it was progress. I think I am going to focus on using larger blades only for January.
