Thread: Shaving angle with different straight razors

Hello guys! I have a question,
There is a difference in the angle of shaving with full hollow or near wedge straight razor?

Thanks in advance.

Don't know what others will say but I use all my razors at the same angle. The angle may change according to the area of the face I am shaving.

I have one near wedge razor and I say yes there is a different angle. All my hollow razors the angle to my face is closer than this razor. Now I had to hone this blade with 4 layers of tape to get bevel set and finished out. My hollows I only use 1 layer of tape so not much is affected. This is my experience so YMMV.
I would honestly think that if you did not use tape to hone a razor no matter what grind it is then the angle to your face would be the same from one grind to the next or much closer than the experience I share above. Hope this helps

I have found that different grinds, steel type etc require a fine tuning of the razor edge angle to face.

cant' say that i've figured out any difference in the quality of my shaves from razor to razor by changing the angle. possibly wedges can't be held as flat because of more surface to "stick" to one face. so many variables to consider such as lather consistency etc. YMMV

I hold the spine of the razor closer to my face with a full hollow razor, and the furthest from my face with a near wedge, with everything in between. Size can also appear to make a difference. If you hold a 5/8 and an 8/8 at the same angle, the spine on the 8/8 will be farther from the face on the 8/8. I don't think these subtle adjustments are anything someone makes consciously and we instinctively find what works best with each razor.

If there is a difference it's one without distinction. We make fine adjustments throughout the shave for every razor and a wedge is no different.

Well put evnpar and gcbryan. I just know that my wedge does stay farther from my face the other blades I have I have really never payed attention.

When you use a straight you are always adjusting on the fly depending on your facial topography and the razor you are using. There are many factors from razor to razor so I wouldn't make a hard and fast rule the grind by itself requires an adjustment.

TBS is correct and what I was going to state before I posted. I think each razor has no hard fast rule and I think your face can certainly change day to day too. What I mean by this is that if you have ever looked in the mirror some days and stated, "Man my face looks bloated!" Well, may very well be from your diet or as simple as a meal you just ate that may have had a lot of sodium in it! I correct constantly and shave mainly by feel alone and sometimes with my eyes closed so I can do feel alone which I believe to be the most important aspect of straight shaving.

When we adopt hard fast rules of two times the spine width off the face and ingrain these in our muscle memory I think we set ourselves up for a bad experience. Your face will be the best guide as to the angle you need for the day.

Enjoy and don't disregard the fact it is a suggestion or a great place to start, just know it may not work for the day and you will have to adjust like a well tuned sports car braking in a corner and the amount of times the piston actuates the pad of the brake on the rotor hundreds of times a second maybe...LOL! I have also found when you do hit that bad angle, usually the body lets you know quick and most often you stop and re-correct it before a nasty cut ensues.