Thread: "Pulling" Explained

I think this an excellent post. Some things, though, I would nuance slightly as I think it leaves room for misunderstanding.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

... The sensation you feel from "pulling" or that bizarre catchy-ness you feel when you first start straight shaving comes from pressure applied against the skin. It has nothing what-so-ever to do with sharpness....

Undoubtedly, a dull blade can cause pulling. I think the above should state that it might not have anything to do with sharpness.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

... A hydrated whisker, shaved alone, will be removed with no effort at all....

This makes a good point by overstating. But, it can lead to misunderstanding I believe. Even thought this might seem nitpicky, because of my next comment, this is a very important point to understand. Restated...

One hydrated whisker will be removed easily, although it does require a slight amount of forward movement of the blade to cut. Even though very slight, there is some resistance against the blade by the one whisker.

It is a mechanical fact that it takes pressure to shave thru a whisker. Even though it takes very little pressure to shave one whisker, it takes more pressure to shave two whiskers. And, even more to shave 300 whiskers. And, this additional force is often interpreted as pulling.

And, here is where I am not nuancing as much as offering an alternative interpretation. When the blade is close to the skin while shaving long whiskers with the WTG pass, the blade travels thru the whisker at close to 90 degrees. But, when the blade is above the skin, even a slight amount, the blade tends to push into the whisker and push it over somewhat before slicing the whisker. This means that the whisker is cut at an increasing diagonal angle the higher the blade is above the whisker. This then requires more forward pressure to shave thru the whisker. Which means that there is more of what is often termed pulling when the blade shaves above the skin.

While I agree with the technique of shaving with the blade slightly above the skin with the initial WTG pass, and I frequently place the blade flat on my face to achieve the elevation slightly above my skin, it is my opinion that this tactic actually increases pulling.

The bottom line for me is that I believe no matter how good your technique, with the initial WTG pass, there will be pulling.

My final comment is that there are significant differences in shaving strategy depending on where you are in your shave. The initial WTG pass with long whiskers strategy should be greatly different than when finishing up whiskers that have already been shaved to skin level. And, so, I could probably agree with everything said in the initial post for some portion of a shave. Possibly, the nuancing needs to be simply to specify to which part of the shave the statement applied.

Larry and Nelson,

Excellent points and clarifications. I especially agree that with an intitial WTG pass there will be pulling.

You know, I was watching curling on the telly the other day at the gym, and I suddenly connected what a friend told me about rock throwing with straight shaving.

It's really, really easy to throw a curling rock on ice. Push it, and it will slide. What's really hard, is to throw lightly enough. If you throw too hard, your rock will just hit the end of the ice, and you won't hit bullseye. My friend told me that an experience curler has many levels of throwing strength, so that he's able to modulate six or seven gradations of strength between too strong and too weak. And trust me, the line between too strong and too weak is already very, very thin.

It's the same thing with a straight. Since my DOVO came back from the sharpening, I noticed that I needed a lighter touch with stropping, a lighter touch with shaving, but that it's still necessary to have sufficient pressure.

Like the curler, you need to be able to vary precisely minute amounts of pressure. It's high-precision floating point operations, if you prefer a math metaphor.

Thank you for the post. Looking at it this way helped me get my best shave yet last night. That and a hot towel between passes seems to do the trick.

I've been thinking about the first post since I read it. I've been thinking about _why_ excess pressure is so bad.

When I started shaving with a straight or DE razor, I had problems with razor burn. They have almost completely disappeared. I don't care about after-shave balms as much as I used to, because I don't _need_ them very often. I don't think my face has gotten tougher; I think my technique has improved.

I suspect that good lather acts as a _genuine lubricant_ between the edge of the razor and the skin. That kind of lubrication works at the microscopic level:

. . . the lubricant is a liquid film, and the film prevents the two surfaces (skin and razor)
. . . from actually touching each other.

If one presses too hard on the razor, the film breaks down, and the razor _does_ contact the skin. That's what "razor burn" is -- as well as cutting hair, you're scraping skin!

You need _some_ pressure to cut hair. The two elements of a gentle shave are:

. . . using _only as much pressure as needed_, and

. . . making as thick and "lubricious" a lather as you can.

If you do that, razor burn just disappears, because the razor never touches your skin.

It's not a fantasy, or a mode of thought, or an impossible goal -- it's what really happens in a good shave!

Charles

I could have used this information a couple of days ago, especially the part about not bumping the mirror with the handle -- ouch! Great post.

I even keep the brush in the cup and re-apply a bit of lather and/or lather-water in areas that I am just about to re-do. I'll explain (besided being very new) I'm shaving back along my jaw line toward my ear, and I want to go down just a bit and I've just rinsed and wiped my razor, I will apply just a dab over where I had just shaved and let the razor start in that area where there is lube/soap and continue on. DON'T be afraid of re-lathering at some point (for newbies) even though it's there, it can somtimes need freshining up with maybe just a bit of hot water, the brush and the lather that is on your face to get it good and wet again. If we were just looking for lubricating our face we all be putting K-Y Jelly on instead of lather.. LOL

I also have a razor that I had to cut a large piece out of the heel since it had a large nick in the blade there. The front part of the razor, the Mulcuto, has a nice edge,but it's less wide than a normal straight, and a little bit wider than my disposables.


It shaves and feels different, and it may be because it has less surface area when it cuts as well. Not sure. But I know when I shave with it, ther feeling is different.

Also, the last time I shaved, I did like I practice and once I started on an area, I just went. Seems momentum is good and I really don't like going "chink, chink, chink, chink" taking little swipes of shaving cuts down my face. But, that is just me.

This is a great post. Pressure is not helpful or necessary if your edge is tuned to your face/needs.

I would add, though, that if your straight pulls no matter what you do, it just might not be shave ready. Also, some people's "shave ready" has not been the same as my shave ready (and perhaps vice versa, I don't know), so there is that factor to consider as well.

After reading this thread I really focused on keeping the blade away from my face and I had the best shave so far. Thank you so much for explaining this.

Mason

Larry, Nelson, and now Sham (through a very nice PM) have explained many of the problems with this post.

But, I'm pleased it has created some conversation. One great point that Sham brought to my attention is that non-shave ready blades will pull. That is very true.

This post was directed only at "shave-ready" blades. Particularly those honed by the likes of Lynn or Glen (SixGun). Blades that are particularly well honed.

Another good point that Sham (Hi Bud GL) brought up is that if you have the right angle you can shave with pressure and get no pulling. I agree with that comment as well. I don't really have the credentials to agree or disagree with Sham, just adding my thoughts.

And, probably the most important point that should be added to this thread is that I don't really, truely, literally, mean that you should shave with a straight razor without the blade touching the skin at all. This post was more about getting beginners to understand that really sharp blades, when angled incorrectly and with pressure applied, often feel the same and behave like dull blades.

If any of you have been waving the straight razor 2-3 inches away from your face and been unsuccessful in your shaving endeavors I humbly apologize!