[napoleon]

I was wondering, since the heel of the razor spends less time on the hone than the rest, if the heel of a shoulderless razor gets more time on the hone, than of a razor with a shoulder since one can put it further up the hone?

[Russel Baldridge]

Yes and no.

Yes, a shoulderless blade allows for easier access to the heel when honing.

No, once you master the techniques needed to hone a straight razor, you'll have all the skills you need to make it equally sharp along the entire length, regardless of whether it has a shoulder or not.

But shoulderless smiling razors are my favorite kind by far, they're just more suited to the job at hand in all aspects. I have a thing for functional simplicity.

[Bart]

Russel, I'm puzzled.
I too have a fondness for smiling blades. They seem to catch the whiskers on certain hollow parts of my neck that much better.
But I wonder what the exact advantage of a shoulderless blade is. So far, I assumed it was only a grinding alternative.

Bart.