hmm.... I had my first double-edged razor shave 3 hours ago with a razor that I yanked out of the TSD revolving grab bag last night, and found that I was only getting results from about a 45 degree angle between my face and the razor handle. The end of the handle is curved so I don't know how I could get the blade even close to parallel with my skin. Maybe I loaded the blade wrong, or don't know what I'm doing. Or maybe my problem is I'm trying to shave my hair, not the skin (hehe, just kidding) Also, there are numerals one through nine on the shaft of the handle near the blade holder. I tried 1, 5, and 9 but couldn't tell what it was doing. I think the source of my beginner problems is ignorance, as I haven't researched anything. I will probably be donating this razor to my dad
The end of the handle is curved? Are you talking about the head of the razor? The end with the blade? That would be an adjustable razor. The numbers correspond with the level of blade exposure. 1 is lowest, 9 is highest. I use a setting of 3.
Ah, thank you much! I wondered why I could barely feel the blade. Yes, I was talking about the curved head which holds the blade. It doesn't allow me any shallower than 45 degrees or so, but maybe if I leave the adjustment on a higher setting I can shallow the angle thanks!
I tried the double edged again yesterday morning, and indeed, adjusting the setting to 3 for the length of the shave allowed me more room. I got a better shave, but I felt like one pass was good enough so off to work I went! thanks for the help
I've noticed that too except its right on my jaw bone. chin->ear Weird This is good info! Thanks for posting it.
Thank you for your post. What? I'm trying to get to 5 posts so I can post links in my introduction post? Never, I tell you, never!
Hate to be a fly in the ointment here, but the above statement is self contradictory. The blade can be "almost parallel" to the face, or it can be at a "right angle" (90 degrees), it can't be both, so which is it? My guess is that "almost parallel" ie at an "acute angle" is the correct intended direction.
It is almost parallel You are correct Your confusion will leave you if you will reread this part of the post: When the skin is stretched properly, the stubble will stand up off of the face at a higher angle than that at which it normally lays on the face. Interestingly, I assume Leisureguy was only alluding to shaving against the grain since if one shaves parallel to the face with the grain, the razor actually meets the hair at a very low angle - stretching the skin though will allow for a flatter shaving angle though to produce that right-angled slicing action Leisureguy suggests we are looking for. If one is shaving against the grain, a flat blade angle will naturally raise the stubble off the face (although proper skin stretching will relieve the skin of bearing that burden) and strike it at an angle much closer to 90 than if the blade was angled higher against it.
Ahhh, Enlightenment! Well that makes perfect sense of course. Thing was it was morning when I read it before finishing that first cup of joe and was getting ready for work. He led me into the paragraph talking blade angle in relation to the face and ended with blade angle in relation to the stubble. All my mind registered that early in the morning was the difference between parallel and right angle. He also never explained what type of razor he was describing the use of (leaving the imagination to roam). It sounds like he's talking about a straight razor though it doesn't say so specificly, because with a DE or cartridge type razor angle is pretty much determined by the design of the contraption holding the blade. With these pressure and length of stroke would seem to me to be the primary concern.
Great Post! You know I've been at this a while now and have my technique down. I can pick up just about any razor/blade combination and get BBS or near BBS every time. However, I should have read this post in the beginning, it would have saved me some time, effort and trouble! This was a great post!
This should help explain how holding the razor at the right (heh heh) angle nearly flat against the face will direct the edge of the razor head-on with the whiskers. I can't figure out which is right, to strip the info from the link, or just post the link. So I'll just post the link: http://www.straightrazorplace.com/s...ced_shaving_techniques_for_the_straight_razor
Question! From all the blogs and other tid bits of info i have found on line they all seem to recommend a 30 degree blade angle for shaving? Got any in put on this guys? I might have misunderstood the post but 90 degrees makes me nervous..lol I'm sort of guessing that it will be trial and error. I'm really banking on a close to nick free shave as i can get. I plan to take my time, for me to get my face a smooth as a babies bottom is my number one goal. can't help but notice that pro's are kinda hinting just shave and leave detail till you get use to the blade.
I believe you misunderstood the post, or I did. If you'll start with the razor flat on your face and gradually increase the angle to where you like it then I believe you will have a much more comfortable and effective shave.
