Thread: Angle Question

Some follow up on this. I am getting better shaves now. Less razor burn but still need to choose between BBS and comfort, although not so much as before.

What's changed?

• Paying more attention to angles and pressure. Tip: Don't actually try to apply less pressure. Instead hold the razor lightly -- you just can't apply pressure that way.
• New strop (RupRazor). I do believe this has improved my stropping.
• Used a barber's hone (swatty) and spent some time with a 4-sided pasting strop (Tony Miller)
• Use only MWF and Cella -- Tabac on hold for now. I'll give Tabac another go after I have settled in at this new "skill level" for a while.

What's not changed?

• The basic prep (shower 1st)
• The razor (Dovo Black Star)
• Stretching the skin. Still not too good at this since things are too slippery!

Originally Posted by TexasBob

• Stretching the skin. Still not too good at this since things are too slippery!

I've had some trouble with this as well, and I have a couple suggestions that may help.

First of all, remember that your face can move. A lot. I can stretch my neck pretty darn well just by leaning my head back and sticking out my chin, and I can stretch my cheeks 'almost' enough by just opening my mouth as wide as possible.

For the places that need manual stretching, remember that you can stretch from pretty far away. I wear glasses, and when I stretch my cheeks up, I do so with my fingers above the temple of my glasses.

+1 with VeeDubb65. I get a lot of good stretches by moving my head up or my jaw from side to side. Blowing out your cheeks is another good method.

As far as slippery skin, I keep my fingers dry. Besides helping with stretching, a dry str8 and dry fingers keep the razor from slipping. I shave a patch on my face to get a grip for stretching. The skin is usually fairly dry after the razor passes over it. If my cheek or neck is still slippery, I take a towel and dry off a spot for my fingers to get traction.

Hope this helps.

I stretch my sideburn area and shave right next to my ear first. That way when I am stretching my fingers are actually pulling on my sideburn and not the slippery lather. I also shave with a towel on, around the waist, that way when I am stretching I can just wipe my finger tips on the towel to get a better grip on my cheeks and such.