pro & con of a smiley ?

im a new SR shaver i have a strait edge it,s been honed by another just asking about the smileys good bad ore ugly ?

i dont see them a lot is way i ask ,,

The smiling razors shave a bit more effortlessly but require a rolling honing stroke to keep the smile which not always is happening. If you hone the smile just flat down the stone eventually the smile is lost. A lot of new razors do not have a smile made in them because grinding is almost an art in itself and the smile takes more skill.

You mean a smiling blade profile? I really like them. Helps with the curves on my neck. My favorite razor is a smiling wedge. I guess the con would be you need to make more passes because there's less edge in contact with your face, but I don't mind.

I had this nearly exact question here; http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/371659-Smileys-vs-Straights?highlight
I went on to making a couple 8/8 smileys in search of an answer. I feel that a smiling blade is slightly better, my neck hair grows sideways and I can get much closer to an ATG pass with a smiling blade. The really surprising thing to me is how much I still enjoy using my straight edge blades, its as if the contrast makes me enjoy both shapes more. I like the look of a smiling blade better. IMO they are more challenging to hone and strop, though honing and stopping is part of reason I like straights so I enjoy this extra challenge also. This is a very interesting topic to me, and I hope this thread continues for a while.View attachment 433865

If the condition of the blade is good, I have no problem with smiling razors. However I don't necessarily prefer them.

While I like the look of smiling razors I would never explicitly seek one out. Personally I think the extra work required in honing isn't worth the hassle. Clearly some guys really dig it though and theres nothing wrong with that.

I prefer a nice-smile, no teeth showing... Don't know why, but I like them way better than a flat edge.

A smiling edge may ease a warped edge,

I think some think they are a bad honing, but it depends on the example

I find them easier to hone, actually. I've noticed about 80% of my straights curve to the left. (Cheap, expensive, newer, older...) so to me it's more work to keep the straight edges straight. Rolling x's are way easier.

GreekGuy said:

Personally I think the extra work required in honing isn't worth the hassle. Clearly some guys really dig it though and theres nothing wrong with that.

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I think this is why we see fewer smiling blades in threads like "What Straight Did You Use Today" I also think it would be harder to mass produce smiling blades. I really dig em, but have no intention of using them exclusively. Three of my seven razors have smiles. Four smiles out of seven might be about right for me. YMMV

EDIT: I should add that I rotate as a seven day set so the quantity ratio matches my usage ratio.

GreekGuy said:

While I like the look of smiling razors I would never explicitly seek one out. Personally I think the extra work required in honing isn't worth the hassle. Clearly some guys really dig it though and theres nothing wrong with that.

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I've honed many smiles... The honing difference needed has been negligible for me.... Same stroke same feedback just a steeper heel forward and a slight roll

Heespharm,

What do you think your usage of smileys vs straight edges is? I know you have and use a lot of razors so I don't expect you to know exactly, just an approximation. Do you like them equally?

I've been using a huge smiling razor all week. Just got it dialed in on saturday.

Plus my 7 day sheffields are smiling near wedges, love em.

bluesman 7 said:

Heespharm,

What do you think your usage of smileys vs straight edges is? I know you have and use a lot of razors so I don't expect you to know exactly, just an approximation. Do you like them equally?

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I would say less than 10% ... But that maybe more due to the fact that I don't own as many smileys... I have enjoyed shaves from both but prefer western or western grind kamisoris.... I ink that's why I like smileys too... Less of the edge against the skin at one time

global_dev said:

I've been using a huge smiling razor all week. Just got it dialed in on saturday.

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I saw that razor in your other thread. I really like the looks of that one.

I'm thinking that the degree and type of 'problem areas' that a person has on their neck, is what determines the amount of advantage they see in a smile. As I said my neck hair grows west-east and a smile allows a closer to true WTG and ATG.

I actually thought this was something to do with these, not straight razors. Serves me right for not reading which forum it was in!

the contoured edge of this blade is phenomal! the point, a bit touchy, but the smile.. a phenom when dialed in