Thread: Light Touch; Why does it Work?

Someone explain this please; When I am shaving, have the blade to my face or neck, the skin stretched taught, and use pressure on the blade I don't get as close a shave as if I use a very light touch with the blade. Would one of you Briney (or good with making up BS stories) folks please explain why???
Thanks, Ken.

Ken, it really is quite simple (nudge nudge...wink wink). While the skin may be stretched, it's still elastic and the pressure you apply to the blade causes the skin to ripple right at the edge. This of course would be different for each one of us depending on so many factors that it's almost impossible to predict but it really is the edge pushing in that causes the skin to deform at the edge and thus allowing the hair to retract or lay down slightly. Keeping a light touch allows the blade to skim the surface of the skin without deforming it and thus catching the stubble at the very base. When the blade dulls slightly, we tend to try and compensate by increasing the angle and addling a little pressure, the slightly dull edge may slide every so slightly up the shaft of the stubble before it catches and cuts as well as the deformation of the surface at the cutting edge both add to the end result of not quite as close a shave and sometimes irritated skin because as the skin wraps around the edge, it's also scraping along the edge....

Regards

Kaptain "Theories are a dime a dozen, living to tell about them....... priceless!" Zero

Frankly, I don't believe your premise. With a sharp blade you will shave just as close, if not closer, with pressure. But you will also remove more skin cells. That spells "irritation". The razor will also be more prone to catch your skin and produce nicks.
With a less sharp blade it is more important to attack the whiskers as close to the skin as possible, because such a razor has trouble catching on to hairs that have bended along with the cutting action.
A very precisely angled blade becomes increasingly important when sharpness leaves something to be desired. We would also be inclined to use more pressure, in an (subconscious?) attempt to cut closer to the skin, as Kaptain Zero already pointed out.

But, to rephrase, I don't think that given the same razor, same angle and same stroke direction would shave less close, simply because you 'd change the force pressing the razor to your skin.

Best regards,

Bart.

Hmm, both sound reasonable. I keep thinking about skinning out an animal (apologies to any vegetarians) and using blade pressure to get more of the connective tissue off of the carcas. I guess we'll see who else chimes in.
Thanks, Ken.

Yea but your not skinning a carcass. Anyone who has taken a Bio course and has done dissections especially exposing fine blood vessels and nerves will tell you if you have a sharp blade you let the blade do the work not you. If you apply pressure your more likely to mangle what you are trying to cut and to cut yourself anyway. No different in shaving. You are doing very fine surgery here. With a sharp razor it will work without effort. If its dull and you use pressure you will probably change the pattern of the wiskers and the way they are presented to the edge.

Its simple, straight razors are magic. Everyone knows a magician uses a light touch, so when yo use a light touch with a straight razor, you just magic the hair away. But if you're forcing it, you're not using as much magic, so you're scraping yourself up, and not even cutting as well.

Also, your strop isn't actually for realigning the edge, its actually the equivalent of waving the magic wand around before you tap it on whatever you're doing magic on. You wouldn't get the results if you just smacked the thing against the top hat.

Hope this helps,
Tex

Originally Posted by CaptainTex

Its simple, straight razors are magic. Everyone knows a magician uses a light touch, so when yo use a light touch with a straight razor, you just magic the hair away. But if you're forcing it, you're not using as much magic, so you're scraping yourself up, and not even cutting as well.

Also, your strop isn't actually for realigning the edge, its actually the equivalent of waving the magic wand around before you tap it on whatever you're doing magic on. You wouldn't get the results if you just smacked the thing against the top hat.

Hope this helps,
Tex

I guess magic is as good a way as any to expalin it.

Hey Ken,

A razor's cutting edge is delicate. You can dull it by scraping it against your skin (or at least I can). If you're too heavy-handed, all you'll do is dull your edge & maybe cut yourself. A close shave is obtained by getting a good angle so the blade comes up underneath the hair, not by jamming the blade into your face. Hope that helps.

Today, I'm a victim of a heavy hand. I got far too over confident with wielding the Dovo Special after showing it 'the OX'........shave was going great, almost BBS after 3 passes, problem is I took far too much skin in the process.
Another shave to file under 'experience'