10 weeks in - two observations: blade angle & beard prep

Hi all,

I've been getting smoother at honing, shaving, stropping and preparing for the shave... thought it was time to post.:soapbox:

Ok, first the beard prep: I have found that a good hot shower is critical to soften the chin bristle, and that conditioner can help as well. But I have been reading about hot vs cold water for shaving, and about pre-shave oils, so here's my bit. I have found that if I use some of my home-made aftershave oil (almond/castor oil and rum-based scent mix) after my shave but before I soap up for the shave, it seems to keep the moisture in my beard. It also seems to help with the glide. I've been finding that if my face dries out just so much with the soap on, the blade can cut me just at the moment I touch it to my face because it sticks rather than gliding. Using the oil this way seems to help.

On the hot/cold issue, I like to shave hot, rinse hot, and then rinse cold to tone up the face, and then quickly dry and apply the aftershave oil. It's a recipe that works for me.

On the blade angle issue, I noticed something about hollow razors that's different compared to near-wedges (apart from the obvious). On my Wade & Butcher Irish/French point (sounds fancy, but is flea-bitten... my fave so far!), the angle I use matters somewhat, but the blade is pretty forgiving. Its brutality is taken out on the hair, not on my face. What a heavy beast! But when I go back to a full hollow, especially a light, thin blade, the razor seems to tell me which angle is best! If it's too perpendicular, the scraping sound changes in timber and I sense that the blade is popping over the hair rather than cutting it (which it is), causing excessive vibration and a bad shave. Too shallow and I feel like the blade is under torsion stress (twisting force, as the flat part is pushed/twisted too much into my face). The shave isn't as nice this way, and can cause irritation.

The key thing is that I feel like a very thin blade makes you imagine how to 'load' the blade such that there is no torsion force (no twist from being too shallow) and no 'twanging' against the bristle (too perpendicular to the face), but instead put even, straight pressure along the direction of the blade, where its strength is greatest and it will be most efficient at cutting the hairs. That might be over-thinking things, but I'm getting good shaves, even on one-day stubble (which I find the worst to shave). Then, I can focus on direction (WTG etc) and keep an eye out for the vicious square points with vendettas against earlobes.

Cheers,
Atchbo