Thread: Barber shop shave today in Coevorden, the Netherlands

Was that a 55 gal drum of pomade in the shop? lol
Cool thread!!!

Originally Posted by onimaru55

From the pics his angle is way too high . That would be my guess as to why it was pulling.
I guess he is more use to a shavette.

Whether a straight razor or shavete wouldn't the angle to the face be the same for a smooth comfortable shave. When i first tried the changeable blade razors in the early 70's it was all about the angle then. I sucked at it then and to tell the truth i sucked at it until i found this forum and watched all the videos . Now this is just my opinion but if the angle is right and the blade is sharp then there should be no pulling.

In the one photo the barber appears to holding the blade by pinching the spine between thumb and fore finger with the thumb of his opposite hand directly behind the blade stretching the skin. Looks like he is working the blade at a 45/50 degree angle like you would scrapping burnt toast.

Bob

I never have used a shavette, but I have read here many times that a shavette is used at a much steeper angle in comparison to a straight. If that is true, then it is likely that the barber was shaving with wrong angle.

Thanks for your feedback on the angle. I hadn't noticed myself. I guess that offers an explanation as to why I found a few burrs on the cutting edge. Under a loupe they didn't look like nicks but rather like the cutting edge had a few folds to one side. Took me a while to hone those out. Lesson learnt: never lend your precious tools.

Originally Posted by Kees

Thanks for your feedback on the angle. I hadn't noticed myself. I guess that offers an explanation as to why I found a few burrs on the cutting edge. Under a loupe they didn't look like nicks but rather like the cutting edge had a few folds to one side. Took me a while to hone those out. Lesson learnt: never lend your precious tools.

Yes, I think that pretty well confirms the angle was a bit unusual for straight razor use. Might explain a bit of irritation too. Still an interesting adventure you had.

Bob

As far as I'm aware, barbers don't hold a razor like we would to shave ourselves. His grip is how I've seen being used by barbers but I have to say that it does seem synonymous with shavette use.
I have never been one for shave prep and commonly shave with none. Lather on dry face and apply the blade, I have never had a problem with my skin or damage to the razors edge. If you had edge damage, what was he wiping the soap off onto?

The days of the Barbershop need to come back in full swing. There's nothing quite like getting a hot shave from a Barber by trade.

Originally Posted by PuFFaH

As far as I'm aware, barbers don't hold a razor like we would to shave ourselves. His grip is how I've seen being used by barbers but I have to say that it does seem synonymous with shavette use.
I have never been one for shave prep and commonly shave with none. Lather on dry face and apply the blade, I have never had a problem with my skin or damage to the razors edge. If you had edge damage, what was he wiping the soap off onto?

Come to think of it I did see a local barber giving a shave using a shavette last year and iirc he was using the same type of angle as in the OPs photo. If you use that kind of angle with a SR you may damage the edge because you are scraping more than cutting.

Yes, I use no prep also. I just wet face, lather and shave for 4 passes. No problems with edge damage either but the blade is only about 1 spine width from my face while shaving. I strop my soap off the blade on a damp sponge so no problem there either.

Bob

Originally Posted by rhensley

Whether a straight razor or shavete wouldn't the angle to the face be the same for a smooth comfortable shave.

The angle the blades are held or the angle of the edge meeting the whiskers ?