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OK, so I've got a nice and sharp razor, and I have a good lather, but my shave...
Not so great. I think my angle is wrong...but I don't know if it's too acute or obtuse. The razor doesn't seem to glide smoothly through the whiskers--it catches and skips. On my tougher whiskers, around my "goatee" area, it stops completely and I have to use some pressure to cut. This leads to razor burn, of course.
So, how do I adjust my angle correctly?
The general rule of thumb for going WTG is to hold the spine 2 razor widths above the skin when the edge is touching your face. This is approximately 30 degrees. But, this all depends on your particular beard, so I'm afraid a lot of it is just trial and error.
I used to (and still admittedly do a bit) have a lot of trouble with my chin area. Just try going very slowly at a fairly steep angle, and pressing VERY lightly (we want as little pressure as possible). Gently ease the angle so the spine moves away from your face, all while trying to press as littly as possible. This will give you a better idea which angle cuts the hair better around your chin. It's a really touch area, as the angle needs to be changed often. Just take it REALLY slow. This goes for all areas of your face also.
Also, I've gotten pretty good at flexing my chin area skin without using my hands....I'm sure I make all sorts of funny faces in the mirror, but whatever works!
Working what angle works for your beard is a lot of trial and error, so just keep at it.
There is also the possibility that your razor is not quite sharp enough. You mentioned it was sharp, how was it honed? (I'm not doubting you, just trying to eliminate all the possibilities). If it was by one of our honemeisters it'll just take one variable out of the equation :D
Dave
In addition to the angle, I've found that a tentative stroke can cause the razor to catch. When I'm trying out a different approach to an area of my face, and I'm not too sure of myself in making the stroke, the razor will often catch and skip and otherwise not cut. This even happens to my sharpest edges. Once I get a stroke "down" and can make it with confidence, it goes more smoothly. Just a thought.
Jordan
I think it's best to start the razor completely flat against the skin when trying to find what angle works. So as you experiment, you just keep moving the angle higher until it stops improving. That's the angle you want in that direction at that spot. This way you won't have to guess should I go higher or lower?
I've found a pretty high angle works great for me on my chin. Be mindful of how much effort is required to pass the razor through the hair though. a stronger cutting angle doesn't seem to need as much effort behind it to get the job done
Thanks for your advice guys...I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I'm going to hold back on the upper/lower lip area for a while I think, and sharpen my technique on my cheeks/sideburns right now. Fingers crossed!
This is what I was going to say, but hoglahoo said it perfectly. Occasionally you can use a high angle and ‘scoop’ out some whiskers, but not often and it has to be in just the right circumstance. Otherwise, flat against the skin all but eliminates accidents, and you can quickly and easily adjust to the sweet spot in microseconds. Just remember that sweet spot will be different all over your face so you need this very flexible method of operation.Quote:
Originally Posted by hoglahoo
Two good posts in a row, all right. It's just tuff ain't it. Don't give up on sharpening, unless the edge is crumbling, keep trying a few extra strokes each day.
On my chin tip I hold a fairly steep angle, and just scrape them off. No amount of dainty finesses will get 'em
but the ones underneath that I have to scrub from every angle.
PDS is good for me. I can never get BBS in all directions
Oh I forgot to mention that the way i do my chin is probably wrong, it might be tearing up my edges. .. not sure.
angle effects edge life, pros?
That's a common comment about the chin area stopping a razor or at least resulting in resistance.
My chin area is very different from any other area of my face. The whiskers grow in higher concentration and are visibly thicker; and on the right side of my chin, the whiskers grow so flat against the skin and toward my right ear that it amazes me they don't naturally grow into the skin. With all of those challenges, no razor, even a Feather AC with a brand new Pro Super blade wipes off my chin whiskers. For me there is always more resistance whereas my cheeks and neck have little to no resistance.
I find that I have to do four things to navigate my chin:
1) Stretch the skin very well.
2) Apply a very generous amount of lather to create a good glide bed.
3) I use very short strokes and therefore reapply the lather.
4) I actually keep the blade quite flat against my face. Remember that section on the right side of my chin where the whiskers lie flat? After an initial XTG (which is shaving straight down in that area) I go ATG with a very light touch, short strokes, a bunch of lather and the blade virtually flat against my face. This gets me close and irritation free shaving in that area.
Chris L
I usually say start with a 45 degree angle and then adjust closer to the face from there till you hit the "sweet spot", but since that annoys some members (chrisL;)) I'll refrain from saying it!:D
By the way, for those who have trouble visualizing 45 degrees, its half way between perpendicular and flat against the face!
Bear in mind, the sweet spot will be slightly different at different points on your face and from one beard type and growth to another beard type and growth!
Yeah Mark, If I did 45 degrees, I'd have enough prosciutto to make a sandwich with the kind of face I've got!:eek:
Chris L
For some reason, there is a very natural tendency around the chin area to flatten out the angle. Don't know why, but have seen a bunch of people have trouble here. So if doing the trimming being discussed the angle discussion is good and I agree with 30 degrees or less. Really have to watch it though.
Have fun,
Lynn
I've noticed the flattening out too around my chin and I think for me at least it's because I feel the increased resistance and I feel like if I increase the angle, or maintain it, the razor is going to cut straight into my chin. So I try directing the blade at a 90 degree tangent to my skin hoping that will cut the hair.
I have seen some people use a slightly diagonal stroke, so that the razor edge also slice the whiskers a bit like a carving knife does. I haven't tried shaving with a straight yet (but I will do as soon as I get off work today), so I can't really give more advice, but I think the idea is to move the razor ever so slightly sideways while at the same time moving it down, just enough to get the edge to slice the whiskers, but not so much that you cut yourself. I also have the feeling that the sideways movement per whisker is less than 0,5 mm
For me, a bit of angular motion (scything) works wonders.
the old shaving instructions that came with razors often suggested this and described this motion as leading with either the toe or the heel of the razorQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuggi
Well guys, I really want to thank you for all your suggestions. I tried to be much more careful with the angle, and watching the adjustment more closely, and was able to get a MUCH better shave! I still have some issues with the area around my mouth, but it was overall a much better experience.
For one thing, I didn't question my sanity for using a big knife on my face when I was finished!
Baby steps...:D
This is very important for me when shaving the chin area. Not really sliding the blade across the skin, but either angling the edge (think guillotine blade) or moving the blade in a toe leading manner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuggi
Jordan
I had the same issue, on my WTG stroke downward, the blade would just hang, I then got a razor honed by Don, and the same thing occured, so knowing it was not the razor, if found that..
stretching is everything, i know we read it, but it really made a big difference once I got better at it
also i found that starting the stroke in the air (as opposed to on the skin) really worked well, once I found the right angle, I would begin my stroke, and once the blade touched my skin the whiskers didnt have a prayer.
keep experimenting with angles that work for your particular face, for me it is about 25 degrees WTG,but about 20 degrees XTG, but it took a while to figure this out, but lack of razor burn indicated that I was moving in the right direction
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuggi
Interesting....it sounds REALLY dangerous, but I guess I'll try anything once!!!:D
Maybe, but many use it quite often. something like this:Quote:
Originally Posted by JimR
http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...ting_angle.jpg
hmm, wish that image was clearer. Anyway I do something like this with most of my strokes. toe leading throughout
:rant:Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuggi
This is an acquired skill, not suggested to go home and do it on your first straight shave! It is VERY EASY to slice yourself up doing this. It definitely has it’s place in my opinion, but not starting out!
Get the basics down first!
The slicing motion actually works for the chin for me, but the warnings are indeed valid...I've cut myself quite a few times trying that! As opposed to holding the razor parallel to the ground and moving the entire razor at an angle relative to the ground, I've also tried holding the razor at an angle to the ground, and just moved it downward. They both have the slicing effect, just a different approach I suppose. It's just a little tricky getting around the bends, as the toe will get the chin before the heel!
I used the picture from hoglahoo's post (I hope you don't mind!), and rotated the first picture to illustrate what I mean by angling the razor relative to the ground and slicing downwards. It's really fuzzy....sorry
Hope that makes sense!
Dave
How many BIC disposable razor users does it take to straight shave a person’s face?
Two. One to hold the straight razor, another to drag the shave-e diagonally across the blade. :roflmao
That's handy because it illustrates that angling the blade is functionally equivalent to using an angled motion.Quote:
Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave
However ... when I think of it as an angled motion, my brain seems to interpret it as moving at 90 degrees to the blade combined with a slicing motion, and as a result the direction can be inconsistent, which is risky.
If I think of it as angling the blade and moving in a straight line, everything is OK.
Lots of good advice above but to me your chin is telling you that your blade is not sharp enough.
bj
This is the exact same technique I use to obtain a BBS shave on my chin and upper lip. As in DE shaving, I call it a blade buffing method. It works very well for me with no nicks, cuts, or amputations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris L
this also works well for me it seems to help the blade cut with less resistance resulting in a smoother shaveQuote:
Originally Posted by hoglahoo
Ok, so the angle goes in my shave tonight. Thanks again for all the advice everyone!