Thread: Ambidextrious?

I watched a number of videos on people straight shaving... It seems a good amount of people use both hands to shave with? IE - when on the left side of face, they use the left hand to manipulate the razor, when on the right side of face, they use the right hand to manipulate the razor. I am still trying to get the hang of things and using both hands to handle the razor isn't the most "intuitive" for me.

Is using both hands to use the razor the most common method?

Can't say whether it is the most common method, but I simply could not shave with only one hand. It took me a few days only to learn switching hands, and except for buffing my left hand (which is my weak hand) actually works better - no idea, why.

Approximately two thirds of men will use both hands while straight shaving. I guess that makes it most common. I am not one of the majority, but encourage all new shavers to be.

X

Learning the "off" hand feels weird for a while. But, the good news is, you can then shave with the same hand techniques on each side of the face: if something proves to work well on the right side with the right hand, then it will probably work well on the left side with the left hand.

This topic comes up every now and then. I should say that I have tried using my left hand, with mixed results, but I never really worked on my technique to master it yet. Maybe one day. My advice is to do whatever is comfortable for YOU and not worry so much about how you're "supposed" to do it, especially when holding a 3" razor to your face!

I am lucky. A left handed person who has a stronger right hand. I write, eat, and shoot left handed but golf, throw a ball, play guitar right handed. Now I shave mostly with my left, it for me seams to be the easier hand. I do use the right but not a whole lot, but when I do it is comfortable for me. I really think if I would try I could do my face all with one hand. I don't think it matters if you can use both. If you are after a great shave and can get it done with just one hand more power to ya. In the end it comes down to what works best for you.

When I started shaving with a straight in 1980, I was totally self-taught and used my right hand only. It never occurred to me to try and shave with my left hand. One of the nice things about a forum like this is that you are exposed to new ideas. Typically, I resist them but some ideas keep gnawing at me. I have made several inconclusive attempts to use both hands and have recently made a lot of progress. It is now more natural for me to shave with opposite hands, left side of the face with the right hand, right side with the left but not 100% symmetrically, i.e., I still do more with my right, such as the "center of my face", mustache chin and center of the neck. I estimate that the "weirdness" goes away after about 10 shaves.

Originally Posted by Chimensch

When I started shaving with a straight in 1980, I was totally self-taught and used my right hand only. It never occurred to me to try and shave with my left hand. One of the nice things about a forum like this is that you are exposed to new ideas. Typically, I resist them but some ideas keep gnawing at me. I have made several inconclusive attempts to use both hands and have recently made a lot of progress. It is now more natural for me to shave with opposite hands, left side of the face with the right hand, right side with the left but not 100% symmetrically, i.e., I still do more with my right, such as the "center of my face", mustache chin and center of the neck. I estimate that the "weirdness" goes away after about 10 shaves.

This is my experience also. The only difference being I started around 92 or 93 and I still use only my right hand and have no plans on trying my left anytime soon.

I've been str8 shaving about 2 mos. I decided to give the off-hand a go when I started. It was very awkward at first, but now I cannot imagine not using both hands. Try using your off-hand WTG on your cheek only at first. As your confidence builds, add the neck WTG, then cheek XTG, finally ATG. That's how I did it, in stages and it worked for me.

Another thing that helps when learning to shave with your "off" hand is doing other stuff with it as much as possible. I remember someone mentioning that in a similar discussion when I first started, and was having difficulties using my left hand. So I started brushing my teeth left-handed which was awkward as heck at first. But I soon noticed that I was getting better at both much more quickly.

Just my $.02