Thread: Shaving the Face with a Straight, not your face??

Hey guys. So Ever since I've started shaving with a straight razor I've been wondering, do you think its the same in terms of difficulty to shave someone else with it like a barber does or would you say its just as difficult shaving yourself as it is to shave someone else? I don't have any aspirations of a career change or anything, lols, was just wondering ( probably because of the amount of youtube vids I've watched, lol ) what everyone else thought on the topic? When I got to thinking about It I think surely it must be more difficult to shave someone else not having any of the feedback from the razor yourself, i.e dragging or pulling, irritating etc? So what do you guys think?

You're completely right on the feedback part. You'd have to rely completely on the feeling of the tang in your hand to know what is going on at the edge on the other's face. It will tell you if the cut is easy or tugging, but you cannot tell if the edge is smooth or harsh on the skin.

Originally Posted by Laurens

You're completely right on the feedback part. You'd have to rely completely on the feeling of the tang in your hand to know what is going on at the edge on the other's face. It will tell you if the cut is easy or tugging, but you cannot tell if the edge is smooth or harsh on the skin.

That's what I was thinking, but other than any response through the tang you probably wouldn't know. When you watch all the barber shop vids on youtube of guys getting shaves they do definitely make it look really easy, and the glide of the razor looks so effortless, but hey, that's what practice does right, and If your doing it everyday and have done for 20+ years, making it look effortless would be well.... effortless I suppose. It's just when I started thinking about it, how would I know I'm using the correct angle, Is there any razor burn or Irritation, will I end up cutting them due to lack of focus etc, but I suppose to a seasoned pro those worries and Ideas are distant memories of when they were newbs, Like I am now, haha, lols.

I usually wonder the same thing: how did they start out? Since you cannot practise on a client, nor do I suppose another barber would be willing to have his face cut up by a newbe. I think learning to shave your own face and practising with a dull razor on the face of a mentor barber is a way to go.

Oh, besides, I heard of a Japanese barber that does all his honing himself and he can tell how a razor will shave, both sharpness and comfort, from the colour of the bevel. Talk about experience!

Originally Posted by Laurens

I usually wonder the same thing: how did they start out? Since you cannot practise on a client, nor do I suppose another barber would be willing to have his face cut up by a newbe. I think learning to shave your own face and practising with a dull razor on the face of a mentor barber is a way to go.

Yeh, shaving a mentor with a duller razor would be a good idea but would this alone not cause some degree of irritation as the blade is duller and would therefore drag or pull? I read on another post one of the guys was saying the old school barbers would use certain fruits to shave and ofcourse, the age old balloons method of practice, lols. Not sure what the answer is other than to maybe find a willing victim, em...., volunteer and just dive in, take your time and stay focused and try to amass some experience this way. Who knows though, I'm just getting the hang of shaving my own face with a little confidence, I don't think I'll need to worry about shaving any one else's for a very long time, lols.

Originally Posted by Laurens

Oh, besides, I heard of a Japanese barber that does all his honing himself and he can tell how a razor will shave, both sharpness and comfort, from the colour of the bevel. Talk about experience!

Awesome, It must take a lifetime of experience to have that ability. I think I actually saw that guy on Tv once, his name was Mr Miyagi wasn't it? Lols, the shaving jedi, I wonder If he's ever worked on the Admiral Yamamoto? lol. But seriously, that is an awesome talent and must have taken a lifetime to perfect.

Originally Posted by TurbineBlade

Yeh, shaving a mentor with a duller razor would be a good idea but would this alone not cause some degree of irritation as the blade is duller and would therefore drag or pull? ...

I meant a completely dull blade that does not shave at all, just to get a feel for angle, pressure and skin stretching. I don't think a mentor would let himself be shaved with a bad-shaving razor

Originally Posted by TurbineBlade

Awesome, It must take a lifetime of experience to have that ability. I think I actually saw that guy on Tv once, his name was Mr Miyagi wasn't it? Lols, the shaving jedi, I wonder If he's ever worked on the Admiral Yamamoto? lol. But seriously, that is an awesome talent and must have taken a lifetime to perfect.

I wouldn't know his name, but I sure marvel at his skill.

I meant a completely dull blade that does not shave at all, just to get a feel for angle, pressure and skin stretching. I don't think a mentor would let himself be shaved with a bad-shaving razor

Aw, sorry I misunderstood, I understand now though. Yeh that's definitely a good Idea that would allow the barber to critique your shave in a safe manner, sorry for my misunderstanding.

I wouldn't know his name, but I sure marvel at his skill.

Without question, that level of skill is definitely very Impressive, I wouldn't think there will be many people out there who genuinely have this ability.

I agree, you don't get any feedback and I would be very afraid to cut someone.
The one thing, IMO, that would make it easier, is that you can see what you are doing.
You have a perfect view of the blade, the angle and the skin.
So the feeling of the blade on your skin is gone but is replaced by a better view of what you're doing.
At this moment, to me, it seems easier because I have some trouble getting used to shaving my own face and a better view might be usefull, however I'm afraid I would cut someone completely up. And by the time I have enough experience not to cut someone, I'll be used to shaving my own face, so I'll probably miss the feedback.