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Smallest straights?

For me, stropping these blades is more of a challenge then shaving with them. Once you figure out the angle, they are quite nice.
 
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I have a heljestrand No. 4. I got it for 5$. Its around 2/8 or 3/8

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Here are mine. All 4/8 and all good shavers. I also have a 4/8 Griffon XX that i have to re-scale.
Top to bottom:

Dubl Duck Dwarf
Original Schulze
CV Heljestrand MK 24
DePew's Perfect Razor

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My Otto Busch Weltmeister. I'm surprised to find it has a whopping 7/16" blade. It shaves well but fills with lather much too quickly.

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AWWWWWW dey ooooh sew cute! whos a cute wittle wazer? you are. yes you are!.....I'm sorry, going to bed now. back on my meds tomorrow.
 
Well here are some of my 4/8's and under. I really like the smaller blades. Bigger ones are great too but I can just handle a < 4/8 better.

There is no question in my mind that they are harder to learn to use and BBS is BBS, but once you get them down... yeah baby lol. sorry about the picks.

Ok, my Dovo 4/8 Best. It was my first - you never forget your first lol. They don't make them anymore but she's still one of my best shavers bar none. Best $80 or so I have spent on a straight.

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This Filli is what I would call a 3/8 - it was sold to me as a 4/8. Sizing is voodoo. It shaves like a champ as well. Very little tolerance for angle though.

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This W&B has to be one of the smoothest shave I have off of a Coti.

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Then there are my two Revisors - can't tell if I like the steel to this day. They shave well, but there is something "tinny" about them. I blued the smaller one. It's only got a 2.5" long blade. Revisor does however have one of the best selections of 4/8's out there. (Note - I forgot to take a pick of the other one : ( lol )

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Ok so on to my Swede love these two are both in the rotation as well - crisp edges! These are a bugger to hone but once there... Strop well after honing!!

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Here are my two 29's - these things are SMALL as in 2.5" blades and 3/8 wide (I think). They take some time to master but oh what an edge!! Being so small they are my travel razors. I love these things and the scales are first rate! I have a true 4/8 on order from Sweden now - a 30. Can't wait!!

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I would be remiss if I forgot my Boker (I know I forgot one or two here lol). This thing likes my Naniwa's way more than my coti's (I find), and once you get an edge... I think this thing might be my sharpest blade. I love it when it finds it's way into the rotation! It sings like a champ!!

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Opps lol - put the same pic in twice in my Swede love shot lol - oh well.

Anyway, don't let anyone tell you that a 4/8 or smaller is for trimming only, or that they are a masters tool or whatever. They are great shavers like all the others. They are a bit more sensitive to hand movement in that the angles change quickly. Moreover, they don't have the weight that the larger blades have, so i find that it takes a little more effort to get the no pressure but push thing going on. But they have their positives too.

I find they seemingly get into tight spots a bit more easily and can be whipped around my face like no other. I personally find them faster to use than say a 7/8. But then I don't use my larger blades much to know for sure any more.

I will concede that they are harder to strop. Some guys say they are harder to hone as well but I don't find that. Especially if you have a small stone. I think every straight guy should try one out and give it the time to shine. I know I did, and now I don't know what to do with my larger blades lol. YMMV.
 
Here's a new arrival that I got today. It needs a little TLC but I'm planning to actually finish some of my other projects before starting another :001_smile
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I didn't know it was only 3/8ths when I bid on it, I just fancied having some Japanese steel and didn't want a kamisori. The tang has HASHIMOTO RIKI on one side and SCULPTURE HARTHY KING on the other. There's also different initials in a script font on each side but I can't quite tell what letters they are.

The background is dupion silk which has purple weave on a red weft, so it changes colours in the light. I might try making some micarta from it for the scales for this razor when it moves into my active projects.
 
3/8 Swedish MK 29

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Solingen My Special 4/8

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My favorite straight of all time - 6/8 short Whitham Sheffield

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It's the only pic I have with me. MK No 24 on top, MK 30 below it. He 24 is fine, once you learn to maintain the angles, the 30 shaves like any other razor, just at about 80% size of a normal razor.

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My humble contribution. It's a Heljestrand without specification. Size around 5/8 verging in 4/8 shoulderless full hollow. I don't use it much because I like bigger blades. Which is a shame really because this is one fine razor.
 

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Here's the smallest SR I have, next to my biggest one - a 10/8 or 11/8 George Brittain (I forgot and didn't take the time to remeasure) next to this TINY George Brittain - it seems too small to be practical, but I'll find out once I restore it. I've never seen anything like it before.
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