Many guys feel they don't get a good shave from a DE razor and invest in a Slant razor. Then find that the Slant is a bit too aggressive for them even tho they make less aggressive ones. Never even knew about slants till I started coming to these forums not long ago. A problem with many men with average beards is growth in many directions, especially around the neck area. What my dad thought me too many years ago, was to use my razor angling it on downward or upward stroke or any direction I need. I doubt if this works for everyone but it works for me and my sons. Denis
Your technique is exactly what the slant razors duplicates, albeit with a straight pull towards the handle.
I've never understood how a slant can give a better shave just by being a slant. The blade does not "slice" through hairs, as when a knife saws into a loaf of bread. Like all other manual razors, the blade still chops straight through them. The slant's blade is oriented a bit differently, but the cut's direction of motion through a whisker is only slightly diagonal vs perpendicular. It's still a linear chop (unless you're doing a Slide, in which case you can do that with a standard DE).
Try pushing downward on a sharp knife blade through a dense loaf of bread versus sliding the knife through the same loaf. This same concept applies with the slant razor and the rational behind the Gillette slide. Someone posted years ago the concept of angular contact using a blade edge as meeting less resistance in the cutting motion. In the article, the author cited the redesign of the guillotine blade from a 90° perpendicular edge to an slanted angle which resulted in cleaner, more efficient cutting. Not a pretty example, but the same logic is applied to mowing through the whiskers.
I understand all that but the slicing vs pushing through a loaf was my point: unless I'm picturing it wrong, the edge of a blade in a slant does not slice its way through a hair any more than a standard DE's blade does (or a DE, injector or straight for that matter). One singular point of the blade edge comes in contact with the whisker, as with any razor - there's no slicing along a given length of the blade edge as with a knife through bread. So I cannot picture how the slant's angle changes the cut from "chop" to "slice" but I'm more than willing to learn.
This is basically how I picture it. Tell me if I'm wrong, but seems to me that there's no bread slicing going on with either one. PS I have no axe to grind whatsoever against Slants.
Here's the article I was referring to above. I mentioned just the geometry (angle) above, but the author here posts more information regarding the slant advantages. http://shavenook.com/thread-the-slant-concept
This method has been around quite a while. Start at 0:37 of the video below. Mark (Mantic59) calls this method the Gillette Slide after old Gillette print ad instructions from the early days of Double Edge razors.
All saw blades have a angle Table, Jig, circular radial arm (some to control the way the wood is cut. So you don't hurt yourself) . If you use a handsaw you don't lay it flat on the wood to cut it, you hold it at an angle. Same with paper scissors, it slices at an angle, doesn't come straight down And chop the paper in half. And on a slant as it slices more blade will be used on the hair.
Im a shop craftsman, If i have to route two layers of 3/4" plywood, this is what's used. It will cut through 1-1/2" of ply in seconds, no burning, great cut. Spiral flush cut bit. If i use this, is takes longer, burns the bit/wood, And smokes out the shop. Poor cut. Straight flush cut bit. Are they both chopping at the plywood?
I try not to over think my shaves. These things I know: A Slant gives a great shave. A straight bar gives a great shave. Employing the Gillette Slide gives a great shave. Cutting or slicing; pushing or scythe-ing, getting down to that micro level doesn't matter to me, my face is smooth and stubble free. It's your shave. Enjoy it your way.
The Gillette slide is a great technique. I find myself using it regularly and getting comfortable results.
I figure a slant works well like a guillotine, which for me is one of the most impressive cutting tools in the world.
All the posts I have read about slant razors and how to use a regular DE like a slant, no one has mentioned the fact that the twist put on the blade when clamped in a slant bar stiffens the blade a fare bit. I think this also changes the way it shaves as well not just the slanted blade. Also the variation in blade gap along its length.
Totally agree! The twist makes the blade rigid, which eliminates any chatter and positions the blade at a more effective cutting angle. Love slants!
