Thread: Razor Angle Question.

I was reading through the wiki and saw the part in advanced techniques about razor angle.
Why does the angle of the razor need to change so much for the different passes?
The stroke is basically the same right?
is it due to the grain of the hair?

I guess this could explain why most of the nic's i have had have been XTG.

Bart will have a more detailled explanation, but do keep in mind that that's an advanced technique. Not necessarily for the very brave, but it takes a bit of time to learn. But then again, so does shaving at a consistent 30° angle. The 5° angle for the ATG pass works extremely well for me in combination with blade buffing, too.

ATG requires a 5 degree angle?

This is new to me. I keep the angle around 30 degrees regardless if I'm going with, across, or against the grain. Seems to work fine for me.

But then again, I rarely notice what angle I'm using, but I doubt that I've ever used a 5 degree angle.

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Bart will have a more detailled explanation, but do keep in mind that that's an advanced technique. Not necessarily for the very brave, but it takes a bit of time to learn. But then again, so does shaving at a consistent 30° angle. The 5° angle for the ATG pass works extremely well for me in combination with blade buffing, too.

I havent not tried ATG. But on XTG i have been trying to use the same angle as WTG.

i find i leave the angle the same for WTG and XTG but i feel better if i use about a 10 degree angle for ATG. i don't always do ATG though so my practice isn't great. i think this is something that is going to be different for everyone as i am guessing that the grain and angle of eveyones beards won't be the same.

i have to admit though i have never had an angle problem when doing XTG. could it be that the XTG you are doing is closer to ATG then WTG?

Can I be awkward and point out that a 5 degree angle is impossible, because at 7.5 degrees the spine will hit the skin?

Aside from that I wonder where the standard 30 degree position came from. Is it really any better than using 20 or 15 degrees? I know that the steeper the angle the more tendency there is for the blade to dig in, so the shave can be closer. But most of the time aren't we aiming to skim over the face with as little force as possible? Allowing the blade to dig in by itself doesn't seem too desirable to me.

I find I do just fine without going to such an extreme as 30 degrees. I probably do go out that far at times or even worse, but in general I try to keep the spine closer to the skin. It works for me, but should I make an effort to go steeper? Just thinking out loud really.

I change the angle for different areas of my face .But this was discovered by trial & error. Ialso use about a 40 degree angle for some parts of my neck when I go across the grain .But most of the time I am just guided by instinct & I dont rush the shave.Paul

The idea is, as the drawing shows, that the optimal angle of attack depends on the direction of the whiskers. Theoretically and idealy, the edge should hit the hair shaft almost perpendicular. To be more precise, the outer hair shaft is formed by tightly packed scales in an overlapping structure similar to roof shingles. To penetrate this structure a slight angle is needed. For that very reason, the ATG-direction cuts closest, because it is also the "against the structure"-direction.

My drawing is pretty extreme, for clarity. But still, I personally have whiskers on my neck that grow almost parallel with the skin. During my ATG pass, I practically completely flat out the razor. At the same time, such hair growth condition calls for a pretty steep angle WTG, otherwise the razor will start to skate over the whiskers.
I'm convinced that the majority of irritation-problems during the ATG pass are caused by too steep shaving angles. That and insufficient keenness. (I realize that I'm not making new friends with that statement).

The idea of that Wiki article is to offer a few pointers to improve the closeness of the shave. Things should always be translated to your particular situation, but I believe my shaving angles drawing offers a direction to seek more closeness, if that's desirable.

Hope this helps,
Bart.