Thread: Different shaving results from either side of razor.

Been there done that. It was lack of experience for me

It has to be (in my mind, anyway) the difference in technique between the two sides of the face. As Splashone has pointed out, there is only one edge on the razor...or you don't have an "edge". My beard grows differently in direction on the two sides of my face, so I have to alter my strokes. Maybe yours does too. Have you mapped it?

If you switch hands is for sure a Diff in blade angle and a diff in Visual perspective.
Practice, the blade should shave the same on both sides.

It's happened with several razors, and always on the same side of your face. So either you've rolled the edges on several razors, all in the same direction, or it's just the difference in technique between your right hand and your left. Sometimes the easy answer is the right answer.........

I notice this too. There are some variables that have to be figure in. First, I do think the facial hair really is different on different sides of the face. Our faces are absolutely not symmetrical. Second, whether you switch hands or switch the grip of the same hand, there is a difference in technique. Third, if you shave one side first and the other second, there may be some small difference in moisture (this is not likely though, IMO).

The other part is that I do think uneven honing or stropping can have an impact. It will be consistent, if there is any impact, because of our constant use of the dominant hand. I notice in honing, for example, that any razor I hone, in the "push" half of the stroke, the water will consistently flow over the blade sooner, more evenly, and faster, than on the "pull" stroke. Reversing the stone doesn't change it. Obviously, the different stroke is changing the razor's contact with the hone. Then there is stropping. A Honemeister on this site was looking at one of my razors, and commented that he thought I was holding my strop too tight. One side of the bevel wasn't getting the same level of polish as the other. Since then, I notice that in stropping I can tend, on the "Towards me" stroke, not to let the edge stay in good contact with the strop. So now, honing and stropping, I'm more careful about that.

My point is, the two strokes on the hone and strop are not identical, and the symmetry of the two processes might bias you to have one "side" of the bevel less developed or polished than the other.

Would this actually affect the shave? I don't know. As was noted above, there is only one "edge"--but the way that edge cuts is directly a function of how well the two angles intersect at the edge. If one side is less developed, maybe the edge is defective at that point?

At any rate, I suspect in the end this will be about the differences in hair growth on the two sides of the face and the differences in technique and grip required on the two sides.

I've experienced the same. Not a huge difference, but enough to be felt to an experienced straight shaver with slightly sensitive skin.

Could be difference of technique from hand to hand. Could be difference in bevel on each side of the razor. Could be a mixture of both.

Remember, your skin is a soft, flexible, 'springy' surface, not a flat, rigid plate. Your skin contacts more than just the very edge of the blade, it also contacts at least some of the bevel behind it.

If the bevel is a little wider and/or less polished on one side versus the other - it's sensation on your skin will feel a touch different.