Thread: angle guide

It won't work.

The angle _at the edge_ is what you have to control. An "angle guide" mounted on the spine would control that, if your face were flat. But your face is curved, in several different directions.

You have to learn to control the angle by using feedback from how the razor feels on your face as it's cutting. "30 degrees" isn't a good rule. A good rule is something like:

. . . If the razor is gliding without cutting hair, the spine needs to be raised;

. . . If the razor is scraping hair, rather than cutting hair, the spine needs to be lowered.

At least, that's how I do it . . .

Charles

Feather makes a model called 'Pleana' that does that (though not 30 degrees). The 'shim' that sets the angle is close to the edge, not on the spine, and that's for a good reason as your face has variable curvature.
But these never felt like a real straight razor to me.

Try keeping the spine of the razor off your face by one and a bit spine thickness. Alter as necessary to find your ideal angle, but it won't be much from that I wouldn't imagine. Too much and you will cut yourself, too little will achieve nothing.


Mick

Agreeing with others, I will also throw this in. Each and every straight razor is different, and 30* is only a reference number to give you some idea of where you should be. Some of my razors shave better at more, and some at less of an angle. It really is all about the feel. Keep at it, you will get it right.

One of the basic shaving advantages of using the straight razor is having the freedom to use a very wide range of shaving angles to custom fit your shave. I don't attribute my best shaves to having successfully kept my shaving angle to a narrow window, but rather to finely tuned subconscious management of many different angles which let the razor efficiently meet the demands in front of it.

Unless you have a special need, I don't recommend implementing a physical restriction to the razor. I think I have seen some vintage advertisements of contraptions that were to be used on straight razors that promised to do this very thing, but I never tried any personally

The 30 degree angle is just a starting reference for beginners. They have to have somewhere to begin with. As your experience increases, you will find yourself using many different angles in different areas of your face.

Is a spine width about 30 degrees? Actually if that is correct then perhaps I am already cutting at 30 degrees. It seems slight but any higher then about a spine width i will cut myself while trying cross grain on my bad hand side. I think I need a different grip entirely for cross grain as while doing it i cannot really see my face behind my hand in the mirror. Even cutting with grain is difficult to see my face behind my hand but cross is impossible.

Mate, just keep it real simple for the early stages and go WTG only until you start getting comfortable. I use spine width as a guide without worrying about what exact degree it is. Each of my razors is a little different, but the spine guide works for all of them as a starting point. I make minor adjustments right from the first movement of the blade, 'til within a few fractions of an inch into the stroke, I am at the right angle for that razor to work efficiently.
You do need to change grips here and there, but there will nearly always be a blind spot somewhere along the way. I actually don't mind having a blind spot during the shave. It helps build confidence in yourself to the point where you just start closing your eyes and not worrying about using the mirror...Or maybe that's just me. Everyone's different. Mirrors are good for checking how it turned out at the end though, so don't consider throwing it away .


Mick

Originally Posted by groovyd

Is a spine width about 30 degrees? Actually if that is correct then perhaps I am already cutting at 30 degrees. It seems slight but any higher then about a spine width i will cut myself while trying cross grain on my bad hand side. I think I need a different grip entirely for cross grain as while doing it i cannot really see my face behind my hand in the mirror. Even cutting with grain is difficult to see my face behind my hand but cross is impossible.

Don't worry about exact angles. My guess is that two spine widths, the spine itself then raising the blade another spine width, is roughly 30 degrees. The key, though, is to stay at or under 30 degrees, because above that angle is danger. You'll find videos in which the shaver is clearly way over 30 degrees, but the guys doing that are experienced and are using darn near zero pressure. You can make a lot of mistakes and get away with them with minimal pressure. But if you get over 30 degrees and are using pressure, you and your face will be the first to know.

Your great sense of humor gives you away as a true aussie... next time i'm in the dunnie scratchin off my face i'll take mind of your masterly advice, close my eyes, and use the force. reckon i'll owe you a slab of **** then mate Cheers!