Thread: Shaving Demonstration Video

kudos for the video, but a note for straight razor newbies, that's a wrong razor grip demonstrated. Blade said that it gets the job done, but still, if learning, a propper razor grip is adviced...

Nenad

Originally Posted by superfly

that's a wrong razor grip demonstrated. Blade said that it gets the job done, but still, if learning, a propper razor grip is adviced...

Nenad

I disagree with that. If you use the standard grip with your right hand on the left side cheek, the hand really gets in the way of the razor. Barbers use a different grip for such forehand strokes. Many shavers solve it by using their left hand. Some twist their head to the right far enough so that they can use the same stroke as on their right cheek. Others (including myself) use an alternative grip that keeps the hand (and sometimes also the handle) out of the way. There are many different ways to skin that cat. I wouldn't consider Blade Wielder's solution wrong. I would encourage any one to experiment and find out what works best for him.

Maybe, because Blade Wielder start of with shaving his left cheek in the video, it looks as if the way he holds the razor at that point , is the basic grip. At 4'40" he does his right cheek and uses the basic grip. From a didactic viewpoint it pobably would have been better to start of with that.

I think it takes guts to stand in front of a camera and put your face on the internet like that. I'm sure it helps others.

Anybody have video of shaving their head? I have NO idea of how to do it. I am 100% new to this straight razor business but I would like to learn so I can shave husband. I learn more by watching. I have been reading up on how to straight razor but I think I really need to see it done. I liked watching the demo video however it was just the face. I hope to learn all I need to know my Christmas so I can get a barber chair and the whole nine...I dunno... If anyone has more videos that you think may help me out or any tips I would be greatful.

Shakes

Originally Posted by superfly

kudos for the video, but a note for straight razor newbies, that's a wrong razor grip demonstrated. Blade said that it gets the job done, but still, if learning, a propper razor grip is adviced...

Nenad

I'm going to go ahead and disagree along with Bart.

If I knew that I was able to get the most effective shave by holding the razor between my toes, I'd have no problem doing it (assuming I had the dexterity in my feet to do that)! As I mentioned in the video's YouTube summary (and others have mentioned many times now), the audio is quite poor - but if you turn your speakers up, you'll hear me mention that at times I adopt what others might perceive as an "unconventional" hold on the razor. However, this is by no means "wrong," simply because gripping it on the top and bottom of the shank with one finger on the tang seems to be the most popular way of holding the blade. As Bart mentioned, I do in fact use that grip for the right side of my face, and am perfectly capable of using it for the other side of my face too -- but I choose not to.

There is no "right" or "wrong" way to hold a razor; what's important is simply having a firm grip that's not going to slip out of your fingers, and that you hold it at a proper cutting angle.

Originally Posted by Shakes

Anybody have video of shaving their head? I have NO idea of how to do it. I am 100% new to this straight razor business but I would like to learn so I can shave husband. I learn more by watching. I have been reading up on how to straight razor but I think I really need to see it done. I liked watching the demo video however it was just the face. I hope to learn all I need to know my Christmas so I can get a barber chair and the whole nine...I dunno... If anyone has more videos that you think may help me out or any tips I would be greatful.

Shakes

I think Lynn's DVD covers pretty much everything you need to know to get started using straight razors, but it doesn't include shaving heads. None the less, the DVD is a great reference and will ease the learning curve dramatically, particularly if you are a visual learner. It is available in the BST Forum.

A few of the guys here shave their heads with a straight, so keep posting the questions and I'm sure someone will be able to help. I think an old practice technique is to lather up a balloon and scrape off the lather with your razor. Pop = cut..except with a much bigger mess.

I'd have to agree with BW about the no right or wrong way to hold a razor. BUT...(and maybe this was already brought up, I didn't read all the posts) for someone just starting out, I think it better that they learn the classic technique FIRST, then, once they are comfortable, they can choose do do what they want.


Scott

Just because Blade Wielder managed not to cut his face into ribbons, it doesn't mean that there's no right and wrong way to hold a razor. There is, and it is taught in the barber school and it is written about in barber books. You can drive your car in reverse to the mall, but it is just wrong, isn't it? Do it wrong, and you're straining too much, and asking for trouble. Just like with the car...

cheers,
Nenad

Originally Posted by superfly

There is, and it is taught in the barber school and it is written about in barber books.

I beg to differ again, sir.
As for as I know, they used to teach barbers 5 DIFFERENT grips. And that was to shave someone else than themselves. Shaving oneself is a bit different, because, for starters, you don't stand in front of yourself, while shaving. They teach barbers backhand strokes and forehand strokes. As far as I'm concerned, what BW demonstrated on his video is a good, valid way to do a backhand stroke on the left side of your own face. If you had to do it on another one's face it would be awkward to do it in that fashion, unless you would stand behind that person.
Another way to do it, is to shave your left cheek with a left-handed forehand stroke and your right cheek with a right-handed forehand stroke. But than you wouldn't have used a backhand stroke at all.
My personal backhand stroke is a bit different than what BW does, more based on fig. 29 on page 35 of the 1961 barbering textbook, but the general idea is basicly the same. As a matter of fact, I tried the backhand BW style last night, and it went equally well as what I normally do.
I would recommend to any newbie to adopt the different grips early in their shaving practice, or to learn how to use both hands, whatever they prefer most.

Some like to drive the big lanes to the store, others prefer the scenery route, still others just take the shortest way. I don't think BW is driving backwards here.

Best regards,
Bart.

Originally Posted by Bart

I beg to differ again, sir.
As for as I know, they used to teach barbers 5 DIFFERENT grips. And that was to shave someone else than themselves.

The standard razor grip is also taught for use on one self, by one of the oldest barbershops in the world:
http://www.tayloroldbondst.co.uk/hintstips.html

The two standard grips for shaving one self are the Free hand, and the Back hand. It is also advised that one learns to use both hands for shaving (in Maher n Grosh 1922 razor catalog, for example).

You are mixing driving backwards and driving forwards (scenery, wide lanes). When you drive backwards, you are leaning over the seat you are sitting on, your neck is strained, you have to pay attention on what side you're turning the wheel, your vision is obscured, and so on.

Razor grip, the way it is taught, is a result of years (if not centuries) of development to find the most "natural" (appropriate is maybe a better word) way to hold the razor. After all, the razor geometry and construction evolved together with the evolution of the razor grip, so they are essentially inseparable. I am sure that if the razor was meant for holding the way Blade Wielder is holding it, it would look different.

So, to make my analogy more clear, you can shoot a gun by holding it upside down, and pulling the trigger with your pinkie (but you won't hit the target), you can still hit the baseball bu holding the bat by it's thicker side (as well, no precision), you can perhaps eat your soup with the fork, but that's not the way to do it.

After all, it is not the right way to give a razor to a child (or a monkey, or my friend who has never seen one), see how he holds it, and emulate that. The right way is taught in barber schools, on the SRP, and from father to son.



Nenad

Superfly, you're being a ridiculous shaving nerd right now. "Article 3C of the Barber's Handbook states that a shaver must hold the razor in the standard position at all times, as commanded by master barber and author Moses T.U. Literal!" Pfftttt. And your analogies are getting pretty inventive and all, but you're way off base. The shaving grip I used is not at all like hitting a baseball with the opposite end of a bat, since the ball would likely not fly as far were it used in that fashion. This implies that the grip I used is also less effective. WRONG! It's more like using one's middle finger in place of the traditional index finger when writing with a pencil. Ie. It makes no difference at all if you're used to doing it in that fashion, and it's in no way less safe. I like how you reference shaving books like they're dogmatic. I got a good laugh. Guides such as those are pretty much going to list the standard stroke only to keep things simple, much like a driving handbook is going to instruct the reader to hold the wheel at ten and two and leave it at that. (Man, I'm so much better at comparisons than you!)

If you've ever seen the DE videos from the guy on Badger and Blade, you'll see a variety of different strokes and shaving styles from him. Surprise-surprise: you can change it up a bit with a straight razor too!

I've also mentioned how I make ample use of the "standard stroke" in that video, and that it's nothing at all for me to use it for the left side too. I simply chose not to because, a) While blocking the various shots beforehand, using the left arm obstructed the view, and it was always my intention to do it in one solitary shot rather than have many different angles. In fact, Lynn runs into the exact same problem in his video. The shooting then stops, there's a cut, and the shaving resumes. b) When you're proficient and open-minded enough to shave however you like, it's no big deal to switch it up with the razor as I do. I knew there'd be some joker who'd comment on it, though, so I even mentioned it in the video, first saying that I "sometimes hold the razor somewhat unconventionally" and that a lot of people are going to hold their blades a little differently. And later on, I even differentiated between the two grips myself, noting that when I shave the right side I'm "using the 'standard grip.'"

In three years of shaving I have never cut myself substantially (maybe a speck of blood a couple of times), and I've also had occassion to shave numerous others with my straight razors, and in those instances, as Bart says, it's necessary to change your grip from time to time, since your beloved "one and only" doesn't always work.

So why don't you step up to the plate and make a video for all of us? Show everyone the correct way to shave.

In the meantime, I may even decide to do another shaving video, myself.