Thought this might help other beginners

I started straight shaving after Christmas, and joined this forum shortly after. I read quite a bit to start off, I know a bunch of noobs asking the same questions day in and day out can get old. One thing I saw a lot was people seem to have more issues shaving with their off hand (which makes sense). I saw the suggestions of practicing with a butter knife come up time and again in order to get used to the motion, but so far I haven't needed this and I wondered why. In fact, my off hand is more steady with the razor than my dominant hand. I thought about it, and I think it comes down to dexterity in the hand.

Tying this back to the butter knife, I realized that since I learned how to handle my utensils properly with both hands at an early age between breaking limbs playing sports and parents that enforced etiquette (and wanting to shovel food into my mouth faster), I have a fair amount of dexterity in both hands. My thought for noobs like myself was that you could build dexterity and the small control and stabilizer muscles in your off hand by swapping your knife and your fork 3 times a day. That would give you more time practicing manipulating small instruments, and if you coupled that with the butter knife shaving practice, the slope of the learning curve could be increased.

Just a thought I had on a Saturday night, might be old news but I hadn't seen it mentioned.

I'm right handed, but I've always used my left to hold eating utensils. Maybe that is why I easily learned to shave with both hands.

In addition to the above recomendation of using your non dominant hand to eat with, use it to brush your teeth. Use it to hold your drinking vessel too.

It only took a little adapting for me to use both hands shaving with a straight razor as I was used to using both hands from martial arts training and playing drums in a band.

After breaking my right hand (dominant) twice and being forced to use my off hand sucks! Now using it for shaving has not bothered me but there are other things I did not enjoy doing with my left and I will leave it at that :shrug:

Interesting to see how others have become capable of using their support hand.
Ej sorry to hear about the brakes

I was raised more by my grandparents and being left handed I was "persuaded " to use my right by them. They always said the left was the wrong hand to use. I am very grateful for them doing it though. As I am very capable to do most things with either hand

This is really good. Never thought about it like this. I am a "noob" and still only shaving the cheek area with a SR, and I finish the rest of my face with a DE. Interesting concept, and I definitely think you're on to something. There needs to be an experiment done on this theory because it seems pretty solid.

I can shave with my left but I'm dominantly right handed. I'm not as fast but it can be done. I play sports left handed. Baseball, golf, hockey, and fishing is done with the left.

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Seems like a perfectly reasonable theory to me. Anyone having trouble using their non dom hand should at least give it a try. Nothing to lose... except maybe an ear! :rofl2:

I started using my left hand on day two straight razor shaving. I just figured it is a brand new skill I might as well go for it straight away. That worked for me and I am equally proficient shaving with either hand now.

I also found that lathering with my left hand helped as the hand is in the same place as it would be with my razor. I would rather get soap in my ear than lose the ear.

I think that the theory is sound though.

For me it was less an issue of dexterity/strength. I'm a mechanic by trade, sometimes you've got to flip hands simply because your left arm will slip into that tiny blindspot and turn the bolt better.

Where my real issue was looking back, was spatial relation because I'm right eye dominant as well. So when I turn right, and I'm looking at my left cheek with my left eye, trying to carefully guide the razor with my left hand and trying to maintain blade angle sometimes it just got trippy. Guiding it to my cheek I would come in too fast, or just lose any and all concept of how close the blade was to touch down. Then I'd spend a few seconds staring at it and trying to figure out who was what when and where.

And then there's wrote training that bit me. When I want a bolt to come off, that's a counter clockwise turn. My hands 'know' this motion regardless of their orientation. My subconscious made connections while shaving with my right hand - lift spine, turn counter clockwise, lower spine, turn clockwise. Flip to my left hand and my brain says 'lift spine' but fingers lower spine instead (still turning clockwise), I'm staring at my fingers trying to figure out why they just did that while simultaneously pondering if I should keep shaving or wipe off the pink lather and find the styptic pencil...

Keep shaving, forgive lefty his trespasses and slowly rebuild trust while keeping a close eye on that SOB.

I play guitar, my left hand quickly picked up on shaving. I shave right-handed, lather up again and then shave left-handed. It's my two pass method.
Practicing with a butter knife is good advice.

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Originally Posted by Marshal

For me it was less an issue of dexterity/strength. I'm a mechanic by trade, sometimes you've got to flip hands simply because your left arm will slip into that tiny blindspot and turn the bolt better.

Where my real issue was looking back, was spatial relation because I'm right eye dominant as well. So when I turn right, and I'm looking at my left cheek with my left eye, trying to carefully guide the razor with my left hand and trying to maintain blade angle sometimes it just got trippy. Guiding it to my cheek I would come in too fast, or just lose any and all concept of how close the blade was to touch down. Then I'd spend a few seconds staring at it and trying to figure out who was what when and where.

And then there's wrote training that bit me. When I want a bolt to come off, that's a counter clockwise turn. My hands 'know' this motion regardless of their orientation. My subconscious made connections while shaving with my right hand - lift spine, turn counter clockwise, lower spine, turn clockwise. Flip to my left hand and my brain says 'lift spine' but fingers lower spine instead (still turning clockwise), I'm staring at my fingers trying to figure out why they just did that while simultaneously pondering if I should keep shaving or wipe off the pink lather and find the styptic pencil...

Keep shaving, forgive lefty his trespasses and slowly rebuild trust while keeping a close eye on that SOB.

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I like this idea of left and right eye dominance.

To TheSatch which are you?

I am left eye dominate but dominate right handed.

I think that this in most cases does not create a problem unless you are under stress. I shoot a lot of archery and a person can practice with out an issue but if they get in a situation of stress such as a tournement or hunting then it can become a big problem because your dominate eye wants to take over. Closing your dominate eye works to an extent but then you loose many other benifits of 2 eyed vision.

I have never found shaving to be stressful in that I am going to cut my throat but many do.....

In response to turning a nut "upside down with my less dominate hand around a corner. I have found if I close my eyes and visualize it I have good results.

I can't see it anyway so what are the use of my eyes!:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 32t

I like this idea of left and right eye dominance.

To TheSatch which are you?

I am left eye dominate but dominate right handed.

I think that this in most cases does not create a problem unless you are under stress. I shoot a lot of archery and a person can practice with out an issue but if they get in a situation of stress such as a tournement or hunting then it can become a big problem because your dominate eye wants to take over. Closing your dominate eye works to an extent but then you loose many other benifits of 2 eyed vision.

I have never found shaving to be stressful in that I am going to cut my throat but many do.....

In response to turning a nut "upside down with my less dominate hand around a corner. I have found if I close my eyes and visualize it I have good results.

I can't see it anyway so what are the use of my eyes!:D

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I am right handed but left eye dominant as well.

I shoot right handed, both firearms and archery because I didn't know about eye dominance when I learned. I am now experimenting with shooting firearms left handed, but as you know, that's an entirely different animal with a bow, and I can't dump money on a new one right now.

I have found in shooting (both disciplines) that I can force my brain to recognize the sight picture from my right eye, but it takes practice, and if I don't shoot for a while, it's more difficult when I go back.

As far as turning my head and trying to see what I'm doing while shaving, I have noticed I am much better if I can focus with both eyes on what I am doing. By making sure I use slow, controlled movements, I am comfortable trusting my hands to use the blade to feel exactly where I am on my face. I know where I want to start and stop the blade, so I make sure what I can see is in focus, and trust my hands for the small amount of time the blade is hidden under my jaw line.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheSatch

I am right handed but left eye dominant as well.

I shoot right handed, both firearms and archery because I didn't know about eye dominance when I learned. I am now experimenting with shooting firearms left handed, but as you know, that's an entirely different animal with a bow, and I can't dump money on a new one right now.

I have found in shooting (both disciplines) that I can force my brain to recognize the sight picture from my right eye, but it takes practice, and if I don't shoot for a while, it's more difficult when I go back.

As far as turning my head and trying to see what I'm doing while shaving, I have noticed I am much better if I can focus with both eyes on what I am doing. By making sure I use slow, controlled movements, I am comfortable trusting my hands to use the blade to feel exactly where I am on my face. I know where I want to start and stop the blade, so I make sure what I can see is in focus, and trust my hands for the small amount of time the blade is hidden under my jaw line.

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I didn't know about my left eye dominance until my children started shooting. 1 right and 2 left. One righty and 2 lefties dominate hands.
Long story but only righties on my wife's and my side. Old ways....

Going back to your original post about dominant hands and shaving my thoughts are about practicing with no fear about the butter knife doing any damage to your face or strop.

And then going to the "real thing" and then having that fear of cutting either one.

My random thoughts on a Wednesday night.

Mostly I turn this way or that to stretch skin and see where the hair is. Shaping sideburns etc. Most of the southpaw shave was fine, but turning my head right so I could get a better view of the hair coming down from the sideburns along the back of the jawline is what used to get me. Also helps avoiding ear nibbles, though as I've gotten a better concept of blind spatial recognition with my left hand I find this a little less necessary and don't turn quite as far as I once did.

But in the beginning when it was turn far right, close right eye since all I saw was nose bridge anyway (in retrospect this may have been detrimental), then take a stab at it (almost literally) it was more problematic.

I learned about eye dominance when I learned to shoot left handed. Interestingly enough, I'm more accurate shooting lefty. Probably because it takes quite a lot of concentration to force the brain pan to focus on the sight picture out of the left eye. Especially with both eyes open.

I'm not sure the mind tricks were triggered by fear. My first shave the worst I got was razor burn, so after that I was pretty plucky about it. I think it was just the brain pan tripping over visual input from the 'wrong eye' while guiding the 'wrong hand' so close to my face. Stimulus overload, too much 'new stuff' going on at once?

I think the theory is a good one. The trick is how it is used. I am noob at straight razor but have DE shaved for 30 plus years, I also practice martial arts and many different hobbies that you use both hands. Just MHO

Casts are the same reason why I can do almost everything with my left hand too. Four separate times have I had a cast from the elbow down and once from the shoulder down. I was kinda accident prone when I was younger. Good thing I grew out of that stage before I found an addiction to straight razors.