I own two straight razors and would like to buy more. The tang is knurled on my Dovo Special Tortoise and smooth on my Boker Edelweiss. I much prefer the knurled Dovo to a smooth tang, although my Boker gives a nice shave. Questions: Do all Bokers have a smooth tang? What other manufacturers offer knurled tangs? I feel like shopping!
Knurled or Not?
- Thread starter Randall J
- Start date
I think you're referring to "jimps." Some razors have 'em, some don't. I also prefer razors with 'em. Some of the Wade and Butcher razors have great jimps.
I think most of mine have them. Mine are all vintage and I do have several Wade & Butcher.
I have a couple of Bokers with jimps and many without. The way I hold a razor when shaving, I don't notice them either way.
I like the jimps but I really like the file cut on the underside of the blade. They give a confident grip on the blade.
- Thread starter
- #6
Yes, that is exactly what I was inquiring about, "knurling" -- seems to be a little known term.
"knurling" is what DE guys call their grippy little handles. The "file cuts" on straight razors are "jimps."
I'm sure my taxonomy is incorrect, but it is easier for me to understand jimps as any patterned design on the top and file cuts as grooves on the underside of the blade. For some reason, it's easier for me to understand this way. I don't think I've seen anything other than "file cuts" on the underside. I've seen many patterned designed on the top many times.
Jimps may be on the top or bottom, to improve grip. Perhaps by "knurling" you're referring to a worked spine? Like this?
View attachment 710102
But have seen any other working on the under side of the blade other than "file cut"?
- Thread starter
- #11
knurl
(nûrl)n.1. A knob, knot, or other small protuberance.
2. One of a series of small ridges or grooves on the surface or edge of a metal object, such as a thumbscrew, to aid in gripping.
tr.v. knurled, knurl·ing, knurls To provide with knurls; mill.
I never expected this to turn into a vocabulary exercise. What is being called a "jimp" appears to be our double-secret shaving lingo for a proper word of the English language known as "knurl". See definition. Correctly, whether it is a bump on the top edge or a "file cut" on the bottom edge, it is a "knurl" -- in the real world anyway. To break it down, what I wanted to know is:
- Are all modern Boker's smooth on the bottom of the tang? (i.e. without jimps, file cuts, or knurls)?
- What are other current production razors can a buyer an reliably expect to have gripping aid on the bottom of the tang (i.e. jimps, file cuts, or knurls)?
I never expected this to be so hard.
Here is a picture of an upside file cut or more properly an underside jimp. Someone else may know more of Bokers and modern razors. I mostly see them in older straights, but I don't see why they're not. I'm sure some of the razor artist on here could put them on any razor. I personally like them; others think they don't help.
Attachments
knurl
(nûrl)n.
1. A knob, knot, or other small protuberance.
2. One of a series of small ridges or grooves on the surface or edge of a metal object, such as a thumbscrew, to aid in gripping.
tr.v. knurled, knurl·ing, knurls To provide with knurls; mill.
I never expected this to turn into a vocabulary exercise. What is being called a "jimp" appears to be our double-secret shaving lingo for a proper word of the English language known as "knurl". See definition. Correctly, whether it is a bump on the top edge or a "file cut" on the bottom edge, it is a "knurl" -- in the real world anyway. To break it down, what I wanted to know is:
- Are all modern Boker's smooth on the bottom of the tang? (i.e. without jimps, file cuts, or knurls)?
- What are other current production razors can a buyer an reliably expect to have gripping aid on the bottom of the tang (i.e. jimps, file cuts, or knurls)?
I never expected this to be so hard.
Use whatever language you like, sir. whatever . . . .
Yes knurling gives an entirely different result from jimps or should I more properly write "jimping" as the process?
As for the jimps themselves I do like it when they extend over the edge of the tang. I have only two razors with this feature. Here's one, a Kavall:
C.
As for the jimps themselves I do like it when they extend over the edge of the tang. I have only two razors with this feature. Here's one, a Kavall:
C.
Similar terms have different meanings in different contexts, and the differences are often subtle. I don't think I've ever seen an engineering term correctly defined (from my perspective) in a general-purpose dictionary, even if a second definition prefixed by '(SCI)' or '(ENG)' is given.
Eg. there are plenty of pictures of knurled automotive bolts where the cuts are all running parallel, whereas if I asked a gunsmith to knurl the front strap of a 1911 frame and I got back something with cuts all running parallel (like the cuts near the rear of the slide, which would fit under your dictionary's definition of knurling but are almost always called 'cocking serrations' for whatever reason) rather than a checkered pattern like this
I would be irked, because in that context 'knurled' normally means a checker pattern.
File jimping (often just 'jimping'), a term mostly used in the knife world which found its way to the razor world, implies a pattern with serrations all running parallel. The terminology has been in use for decades, at the least. Some razors have it on the top, some on the bottom, some on both sides, some on neither side.
Eg. there are plenty of pictures of knurled automotive bolts where the cuts are all running parallel, whereas if I asked a gunsmith to knurl the front strap of a 1911 frame and I got back something with cuts all running parallel (like the cuts near the rear of the slide, which would fit under your dictionary's definition of knurling but are almost always called 'cocking serrations' for whatever reason) rather than a checkered pattern like this
I would be irked, because in that context 'knurled' normally means a checker pattern.
File jimping (often just 'jimping'), a term mostly used in the knife world which found its way to the razor world, implies a pattern with serrations all running parallel. The terminology has been in use for decades, at the least. Some razors have it on the top, some on the bottom, some on both sides, some on neither side.
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