Quote Originally Posted by IanS View Post
The reason I disagree with this is that there is no sharpness that will allow cutting without pressure... and as sharpness increases (with no maximum) pressure decreases. If a blade is sharper, it takes less pressure to cut the beard, thus you use less pressure, thus you aren't any more likely to cut the skin.
So why this theory makes you disagree with me? Now imagine that somehow the top few layers of your skin disappear, do you think you will feel the same about shaving? Why do you suppose when people get razor burn they need to skip a shave or few - if the skin wouldn't matter you could just use less pressure and not cause any more irritation.

What I wrote is most certainly correct - I am pretty sure 99.99% of the people lack the skill and precision to move the razor along the skin only, so you rely on the skin not being cut by the edge, while the hair is.
If you think you're that good try shaving at a 95 degree angle, i.e. almost perpendicular to the skin, see how that goes.
The reason for using about 30 degree angle or less is precisely to make it easier to cut the hair and harder to cut the skin, the closer you move the razor to your face the larger the spread between these.