Thread: Shaving Demonstration Video

Saw the vid. I have to say that your grip seems to work for you but I would never recommend others to try that and I hope this is not a promotion of it. I see no benefit in wielding a razor over the face in that fashion when standard grips achieve all that is required.
This points to and uncomfortable learning phase when you started out IMO. I see no need for it to benefit camera perspective either. I am sure your style will progress as I'm sure others and mine did.

PuFF

p.s. Steep angle too at times too I noticed.

How would it interfere with the camera? Because had I been using my left arm to shave the left side just as everyone says a shaver must, that's right in front of the shot and would have blocked it.

Your argument makes no sense, by the way. If someone doesn't adopt a common way of doing something, but slightly alters it instead, then they're not abandoning a standard (since it was never familiar to their muscle memory to begin with), but creating one of their own. I never had any problems when I was learning at all; I simply found using my right hand more comfortable for the left side of the face. And as I've said numerous times already, the "standard" stroke is very familiar to me. I make use of it and even explain this in the video, calling the first grip "somewhat unconventional," at one point. So why am I still reading nitpicking little responses from guys with less posts, less time on this board, etc?

You're the second person to say you wouldn't recommend such a style. Well, I wouldn't recommend that you be recommending to anyone either, if you can't accept the idea that someone can successfully do something without copying "the book" 100%.

In fact, instead of just saying "it's wrong," why don't you explain exactly why one should favor one grip over another. Is it because the grip I used is likely to cause the shaver to drop the razor? Gee, because I never have. Is it because I cut myself in the video? Because I don't (and never have). No, the fact is, there's no evidence you can put forward, since what you'd need is a baseline to first tell you what a "standard" shave looks like. The problem is, there's nothing standard about peoples' routines the world over, because from video to video, people to things differently. The barbering videos? All have different styles.

Oh, and the angle was steep? Was I digging in to my skin or irritating it in any way? (No, I wasn't.) Then it wasn't too steep.

Originally Posted by Blade Wielder

So why am I still reading nitpicking little responses from guys with less posts, less time on this board, etc?

You might consider this advice as well...........

Have fun.

Lynn

Originally Posted by Lynn

Have fun.

Lynn

Oh, I'm having fun, Lynn.

Originally Posted by Blade Wielder

So why am I still reading nitpicking little responses from guys with less posts, less time on this board, etc?

i have been enjoying this thread for a few days now. keep waiting for it to be closed though. haha. good video, hold razor however works for you. i held it weird until i found what worked for me, and it is not always conventional. and nice to have a face for the name.

but this comment kinda picked at a nerve. not good or bad, just a twinge, and i know it was not directed at me. but with the wording in bold, i am a part of that. was this just emotion coming out from other posts? i have way fewer post than you, and have not been a member as long, but you have no idea how long i have been lurking, how long i have been straight shaving, nothing about me. this is kind of a stab at any true newbies or anyone who does not have lots of post count. some members reply to a lot of threads, but i try not to unless one really peaks my interest. i reply to mostly good, some bad, and this one just weird. i don't take it personal, but i easily could, and again, i am not who this was directed at.

good video, and hopefully this response does not bother you. just pointing out something from an outside perspective.

btw, your shirt is in the mail.

vgod

Shirt's in the mail? Woo hoo!

No, your response doesn't bother me at all. I realize post counts and time spent on a message board mean nothing. I just find it amusing to count "web seniority" as a point in my favor, is all. Don't take it seriously.

Originally Posted by PuFFaH

I see no benefit in wielding a razor over the face in that fashion when standard grips achieve all that is required.

The grip I used achieved all that was required.

I don't care that it's not written in a book and that people like you can't think outside the box. I'm shaving hairs and that's all that matters. Think of it as a post-modern style I invented because I trust my right hand a whole lot more than I trust my left and leave it at that.

Originally Posted by Blade Wielder

people like you can't think outside the box

And I thought straight razor shaving in this day and age was a little unusual!

Sorry for how you took my coments on your video. I was giving my perspective on what I saw and not an attack on your ability. Was I supposed to just say "great vid" instead of giving feedback? You did post : No one's got a video to share with the community? It might help a novice shaver out there.
That prompted me to say that I would not recommend it for newbies to emulate/copy.
I remember when I started straight shaving, like you I found the opposite side hard to shave with the left hand so I used a similar grip to you. I trained myself to use my left hand and I've not looked back. This is why I surmised that you may have had the same difficulty feeling comfortable using the opposite hand and stayed at that stage.

: Sorry for any offense caused, please Don't make a video and post it for others to see if others can't make their personal opinions known about it.

PuFF

What I meant was that if we received a number of shaving videos it would help out a novice audience. An attempt to encourage contribution. I've been shaving for several years now and am not in that category.

The reason I'm annoyed by comments about the grip I used in the video is because the way you hold the razor is of little importance as long as you're removing the hairs from your face (and not doing damage to yourself or the razor). This is the goal of shaving, after all. If I had been struggling to grab hold of the thing, or switched it from hand to hand in a frustrated fashion as I made attempts to shave, then sure, it would be acceptable to say, "You might want to try this and see if it works for you." However, there's mention in the video of my preference for that stroke for some parts of the left side, and then footage of me shaving the way most do on the other side of the face. For most shaves I'm using the so-called standard stroke most of the time. I change it up constantly, though. Somtimes I use the standard stroke for the whole shave, other times it's a variety of different grips. Whatever I decide is most comfortable that day.

It's absurd for somone to tell another that they're holding a razor "wrong" because their method differs from what they saw in a book or something. Going by what you said about the standard grip doing the job, it therefore makes no sense to say a novice shouldn't look at a method that works just as well for me and causes no negative results.

Novice shavers: as long as you're not cutting yourself or dropping your razor every ten seconds, if you're removing the hairs from your face, you're doing it correctly - no matter what grip your using. I use the standard grip and it's comfortable for some areas, especially the neck and chin, but because it's more of a pushing action in some areas, for the left side of the face I prefer to use my dominant hand and expertly drive the blade about with the precision of a writing utensil.