Thread: Technique, technique, technique

JMS, I'm interested in your statement that "the blade glided though my whiskers as if they weren't there." I read similar statements from time to time (like a velvet windshield wiper," "like a knife throgh butter," etc.) I don't dispute those statements, but I'd like to know how it's done, and I'd like to be able to do it myself. I have been on a (futile) quest for the perfect shave for as long as I have been shaving (47 years). I've been shaved by a lot of barbers, I have shaved with most every new razor and razor blade that has hit the market, and, of course with straight razors. I have had straight razors honed by various honemiesters, including a razor honed on a coticule. I can hone pretty well myself. I have never had a shave where the blade glided through my whiskers as if they weren't there. Mostly I hone my own razors, and they pass all the regular tests. I can shave with a variety of strokes; I've shaved using only water; I can get a BBS shave with one pass, but always I can feel the razor as it cuts my whiskers. I'd like to shave or be shaved with a razor that cuts so well I can't feel it cutting, and if ever I can, I'd sure as heck like to be able to get my own razors to cut like that. I know what it feels like to have my razor glide over my face as if my whiskers weren't there, because that is the feeling I get if I shave over a portion of my face that is already BBS smooth, but I just can't duplicate the feeling when my razor has whiskers to cut. If I take these various statements literally, they can only mean that shaving a BBS face feels the same as shaving a face with a growth of whiskers. I'd like to experience that.

Hey fdennis! You can call me Mark.
An effortless shave requires skill, experience and patience. If you are always jumping from one method to the next you will never be rewarded. In other words the very act of searching for "the holy grail" of shaves will stand in your way. Stick with one method of shaving and learn the best way of employing that method through practice and perseverance,
I have discovered that just changing the angle of my straight slightly or changing the cant of my blade i will dramatically change the end result of my shave. I have always said that with a relatively dull blade one can get a great shave on technique alone if he is experienced but put a sharp razor in a newbies hand and he is likely to complain endlessly about how dull that razor is...

I also think it worth mentioning that not every razor will give you a velvet squeegy shave. You need a good blade as well as good technique. And I do not mean the most expensive razor you can find. For example, I get velvet squeegies off an old Bengall I paid about 10 dollars for.

A lot of things have to come together to get a good shave - good blade, well-honed, and good technique.

Yea, verily I sayeth unto you, these three remain: blade, hone, and technique. But the greatest of these is technique.

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I also think it worth mentioning that not every razor will give you a velvet squeegy shave. You need a good blade as well as good technique. And I do not mean the most expensive razor you can find. For example, I get velvet squeegies off an old Bengall I paid about 10 dollars for.

A lot of things have to come together to get a good shave - good blade, well-honed, and good technique.

Yea, verily I sayeth unto you, these three remain: blade, hone, and technique. But the greatest of these is technique.

James.

Well said my Aussie friend!!

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Yea, verily I sayeth unto you, these three remain: blade, hone, and technique. But the greatest of these is technique.

James.

That reminds me ya bastard, You never came around to show me your blade honing technique! Lucky I'm a forgiving sort of bloke...


Mick

Oh bugger! Sorry Mick. Look out for a PM in the next day or so.

James.

I guess I've always thought that you need four things to get a really good shave.

1) A shave ready razor
2) Good stropping
3) Good lather and face prep
4) Good shaving technique

I do agree with Jimbo though. You could have the first three elements, but if number 4 is lacking then your face will feel it..!

It is possible to compensate for a slight deficiency in any the first three steps (for example a razor that is dulling slightly, not having stropped the razor or a poor lather) if you have good shaving technique. Its not possible to compensate for poor shaving technique by honing or stropping more, or by applying more lather.

Originally Posted by Stubear

Its not possible to compensate for poor shaving technique by honing or stropping more, or by applying more lather.

This is a great line Stu, and I think it makes a very clear point for new fellas reading this. Nothing else you do will compensate for poor technique.

This also feeds into the threads where people think that since they aren't having success with a Norton 8k, they need to buy a japanese natural stone to fix their problem. It matters a great deal more how you hold your razor and present it to your face, than what finishing stone a honemeister uses to put the last touches on an edge.

Isn't that the goal? To be proficient with a razor to give the most efficient, smooth shave we can while indulging in a little luxury?
Great post. I hope to achieve this level of shaving zen.

Learning? Practice? Sounds like tedium to me. Spending money is ever so much more fun.