Thread: 90 degree angle?

Originally Posted by ben.mid

Just to clarify, I took this to mean keeping the blade 30 degrees ( or two spines width) from the face, but slanting the blade as it cut.
The stroke direction remains the same, but the heel is lower than the toe. Hope that makes sense.
I'd like it known that i am not yet crazy enough to shave with a razor at 90 degrees to my face! (Well, maybe when i start the stroke right under my nose)

True, there are two ways of scything: hold the edge horizontal and stroke at an angle, or angle the blade off the horizontal and stroke straight down. Both result in the same type of slicing action, but I think it's easier to avoid slicing skin if you stroke straight down with the blade at an angle, as you described.

Originally Posted by ben.mid

Just to clarify, I took this to mean keeping the blade 30 degrees ( or two spines width) from the face, but slanting the blade as it cut.
The stroke direction remains the same, but the heel is lower than the toe. Hope that makes sense.
I'd like it known that i am not yet crazy enough to shave with a razor at 90 degrees to my face! (Well, maybe when i start the stroke right under my nose)

+1, having the edge and the spine laying on the face is not a technique that I find as effective as having the spine lifted to some extent. The degree varying depending on what is most effective in a specific area. Then again, my beard may not be as tough as some. I think that as we age the diameter of the hair decreases but I'm not sure if I actually read that or imagined it. (Talking a senior citizen here)

To clarify, next picture (I'm in a drawing mood ^^)

I'm holding the blade at a 30 degree angle to the skin. Then pull it slightly from the 90 degree angle of the stroke.
(And who would have thought that vector calculus was useful :P)

Originally Posted by fritz

You and JimmyHAD I think are confusing two different angles: the angle the blade face makes with the skin (about 30 degrees usually) and the angle the blade edge makes with the direction of the stroke (a slight angle either side of 90 degrees is called "scything" and cuts whiskers much easier than "chopping" them with a 90 degree stroke).

Got it, sorry for the confusion!

I see now we've got some stubble in there!
Similar to my method. I feel safer with mine though, but that may just be fooling myself!
I like your drawings very much though!

Thanks, although they are just some quick sketches to get a feel for Adobe Illustrator :P

Originally Posted by ben.mid

Just to clarify, I took this to mean keeping the blade 30 degrees ( or two spines width) from the face, but slanting the blade as it cut.
The stroke direction remains the same, but the heel is lower than the toe. Hope that makes sense.
I'd like it known that i am not yet crazy enough to shave with a razor at 90 degrees to my face! (Well, maybe when i start the stroke right under my nose)

I find this to be safer then "my" method. The danger is pulling your razor back without moving it down in my case :P Which will obviously leave a cut. Your method eliminates that, while keeping the slanted angle.

I use both techniques (moving the razor in the direction of the toe when pulling down and angling the razor and then pulling down) depending on how much room I have and the part of my face I'm shaving. For example, I have a horizontal crease under my chin that is a danger area. If the blade is moving at all sideways, there's a danger of getting stuck moving horizontally in the crease. In that case, I angle the razor so that it hits the crease at an angle, rather than moving sideways.

I'm not sure how important this is but the barber texts always show the transverse component of the shaving stroke to be in a direction towards the toe of the blade. They also always show all honing and stropping action away from the toe. One text says that this honing action intentionally causes the striations creating the sharp edge to aim towards the toe. Now if you look at a saw blade, the cutting stroke is always into the teeth of the blade. A shaving stroke towards the toe mimics this.

EDIT: I took a 2nd look at honing and the directions of the striations. The recommended X-pattern actually makes the striations point AWAY from the toe so the above makes less sense.

Also, I wouldn't call that a scything action since that term can confuse two aspects of a scythe: the arc of the swing and the angle of the blade with respect to its motion -- two different aspects of the action of a scythe. Think of it this way: The arcing action of swinging an ax or hatchet does not result in any slicing action of the blade. The blade still hits the target "head on". So an arcing action in itself does not provide any slicing.

Edit: relating a saw blade to your picture: Even pulling a saw "backwards" cuts better then trying to push the saw into the wood.

Originally Posted by TexasBob

I'm not sure how important this is but the barber texts always show the transverse component of the shaving stroke to be in a direction towards the toe of the blade. They also always show all honing and stropping action away from the toe. One text says that this honing action intentionally causes the striations creating the sharp edge to aim towards the toe. Now if you look at a saw blade, the cutting stroke is always into the teeth of the blade. A shaving stroke towards the toe mimics this.

I took a 2nd look at honing and the directions of the striations. The recommended X-pattern actually makes the striations point AWAY from the toe so the above makes less sense.

Awesome diagrams! Yea, scything. Be safe . . .