I would like to know experiences with different types of razors. Are round points safer than other points like spike or barber notch. If the point is rounded on these will it be the same?
Thanks
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I would like to know experiences with different types of razors. Are round points safer than other points like spike or barber notch. If the point is rounded on these will it be the same?
Thanks
I've managed to cut myself just fine with a round point. I don't see that they're any 'safer', but certainly they are more forgiving of a mistake.
Mick
binder,
I have trimmed my left ear lobe with round points, spikes etc, so I am with MickR :)
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
Don't blame the razor if you cut yourself. It's the guy
you see in the mirror who did it.
Having said that, IMHO, you do have to be a bit more
careful with a spike point...they are less forgiving of
mistakes.
Nope, but a lot of guys will blame spike points for their own mistakes.
The man holding the razor is the determining factor. I'd say slightly less forgiving when your mind wanders.
I think there may be an intimidation factor that leads to a nervous hand with a spike point, in turn leading to nicks.
I have cut myself twice, and neither time was with a spike.
if you are new person then will be start with round point. Can someone round the spike point ? of course usually it is called rounding but in fact it is not rounding. you are just changing the angle bu doing so spike point is gone.
After using straight razor a little and get used to it you don't have to be worry about spike point blade. i know a lot people loves the spike point. it helps them cut hairs with perfect line etc.
hope this helps.
gl
I have two round tips, and I've cut myself with both. I don't as much, now that I've been using them for a few years, but you always have to be diligent and attentive when you are shaving, in either case.
The only difference for me is a spike or Spanish point requires a little more attention. With a round point you still need to know where the blade is but with a spike or spanish you need to pay extra attention to where the tip is because like any bladed tool it can hurt you if your not careful. I've cut myself more with my round points probably cause I feel they require less attention but learned on a spike with no added problems.
You are more likely to 'stab' yourself with the spike of a spike point off either an oblique or a square if they have retained the spike.
That aside, you will cut yourself in equally the same way due to bad technique or lack of attention with any point.
A cut due to a mishap is not the same as a stab from lack of care with the spike. It is important to understand that it is the edge which will cut you per se, and they are all the same regardless.
It is for this reason that I will recommend a round point to a beginner. You only have to worry about the edge therefore, not the spike too.
The round tips are safer. But, blades with tips can be made almost as safe in my opinion. I don't recommend rounding the tip, as in changing the shape of the blade by honing it into a rounder shape. But, by simply blunting the tip, it is almost as safe as a round tip in my opinion.
The real danger from a square(ish) tip is the very tip, which is the first part of the blade edge to cut into your face. Dull that 1/120 of an inch, and it doesn't sink into your face. And, if the very tip doesn't sink into your face, then it acts as a flotation device in essence holding the rest of the tip from digging in. (I'm describing the most typical way we cut ourselves with the tip.)
After honing, with my personal razors, I drag the dip on a low grit hone, (on the side of the hone, because it scratches), 2 or 3 times from different angles to round the tip. The results are not visually noticeable, and can easily be undone in honing. But, the tip is significantly more safe.
To test, holding the blade at a 45 degree angle, I drag the blade across the palm of my hand. If done right, it feels dull and there is no sensation that the tip will cut.
Again, everything above describes only the smallest, smallest part of the tip of the blade.
Safety razors are safe. Straights depend on you. Spikes just need a modification in how you work them on your face and a bit more awareness. For experienced shavers it's no biggie.
IME paying strict attention to where the point is will be an ounce of prevention in nicking yourself with a spike or a more aggressive point. Read my sig line below as well. Saves me every day. :)
After some experience is gained, I don't think one tip can be said to be safer than another. Until that experience is gained I do feel a rounded or blunted tip can prevent digging the tip into the cheek. But that is due to inexperience of the user and not any greater safety attribute of the round point.
I on the other hand would say that a blunted point may be safer then a round point
When the blade is cowered in lather it can be hard to know where the round point meet the edge
As said, the shape is of little relevance. Any razor on any day can deliver a nasty cut. Keep it honed, stropped, use good soap, proper beard prep, and pay attention. That's the best formula to prevent cuts.
While both will cut you if you slide the blade parallell to the edge, with a spike you have to be careful of the tip even if you are not moving parallell. Does that make them significantly more dangerous? I don't think so. Plenty of men shave with spikes without cutting their face up.
I learned to straight shave with a spike point and had no difficulties. The only cuts/nicks I've received (which are few and very minor) have had nothing to do with the spike.
When I was first starting out I cut my strop with a spike end. I now shave with round ends except for that special razor or two I have to use.
I have a small face and narrow neck. I think it wouldn't be such a problem on the cheeks with a square point unless maybe I don't keep the edge flat enough. On the neck I have hollows between the adam's apple and neck. Would the point matter in this area?Quote:
Originally Posted by markevens
The only time I significantly gashed my face was with a square point.
Now I neuter, blunt, or otherwise round off the tip of a square edge.
No gashes since then. Really, no significant cuts since then.
YMMV.
I have a narrow face/neck too. While the main razor I use is a round point, when I'm doing my neck I'm using the middle part of the blade, not the tip. So I don't see how a point would be any harder with my current technique.Quote:
Originally Posted by binder
Round points are the most dangerous razors for me. I can't tell where the edge ends and the useless dangling end starts. Everything else seems fine.
I think they are safer. Out of my four scares, two of them are from the point of one of my razors. Afterwords, I dulled the point and was much happier.
I dont think theres much difference TBH. I've cut myself just fine with pretty much every point out there. Barbers notch, Spanish point, spike point, round point, French point, dreadnought... I've caught myself with all of 'em! :D
Arguably a round point is better for a newbies but there are guys here who started out with one just fine, so I'd say get a decent razor you like the look of (whatever the point) and learn how to use it.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Yes. The true spike point is going to cut you. No doubt about it. Sooner or later, you will lose focus, and that point will dig out a chunk of your face.
You can cut yourself with round points too, but by eliminating that sharp point moving over your face, you eliminate a whole category of cuts. Other kinds of cuts can still happen, but you eliminate one, at least.
I very slightly round off all my spike points. Purists hate to see the "original" razor changed, but I'm a purist who thinks it's better for a razor to be used, and I refuse to stroke a spike over my face when i don't have to.
I don't need the scars. They don't heal cleanly when the spike has dug a chunk out of your cheek or neck, they re-cut easily long after you thought they were healed, and I see no virtue in them.
you guys who are way more handsome than me, you can afford a few scars on your face. But I frighten small animals and children just looking at them. I'm an unhandsome man, and I don't need a German Dueling Fraternity initiation scar to add to the effect.
Just my $.02, and I'm loving straight-shaving!
The gentleman from Kentucky hit the nail on the head IMHO. My daily shaver and favorite straight razor is a round point Henckels Friodur 7/8 for exactly this reason. I have square and Spanish points (with dulled tips) that I like too but the round point eliminates the potential damage caused by my ham-handedness.
The worst cuts I've gotten came from wonderful Doubl Duck spikes. I refuse to dull 'em but I don't really use 'em much anymore.
Nope. Round points are just as likely to cut you. Spike points, imo, are more likely to stab instead of cut.
If you do not pay attention shaving the round point will bite you, but I feel a lot safer shaving with a round point. It is mental, it seems that a square, spanish, french and other point like to bite my face, but the round is more forgiving. It is all in my head. Juan
Actually my favorite is a spike point that has been rounded off ever so slightly, a few strokes on the side of the hone. All the benefits of the spike (whatever they are) without the gouging tendencies.
Stab, cut, whatever! Rounds and Spikes both cut, but spikes can stab and gouge in addition! And that will dig a plug out of your face.
I feel it easier to manoeuvre a round point especially on my neck. Not being flat its handy if a can use the toe of the round point blade to get into the canyons on my neck. Try that with a square point and its gonna catch. You do have to be more careful.
I'm sure the more experienced shavers have found ways around my problem with square points, so its probably not advised for beginners
I have the same problem with hollow in the neck. I don't see how I can use the middle of the blade to shave this area.Quote:
Originally Posted by gimpyalex
I've never shaved with a round point. They just don't look right to my eye. That alone disqualifies them.
As far as the actual point of the edge, I do believe that a spike point is more likely to let the user know he made a mistake.
I don't think one is safer over the other. If a razor is properly sharpened, it can cut you plenty good no matter what kind of a point it has on it. With a spike, you just have to be wary of where the point is while you use the rest of the blade to shave. If I ever get myself with the point, it's usually a earlobe or a slight scratch under my chin when I am paying too much attention to some stubborn whiskers. That said, once you get some time under your belt, you really wont cut yourself very often at all. And if you do, it's no worse than what you can do with a Mach 3 or Fusion safety razor. Practice makes perfect, just take your time every time you shave. All of my cuts were because I got a little over confident and tried to rush through a shave.
The way I get round this is to stretch the skin diagonally (so, eg on the left side, free hand below and to the left of the hollow) creating a flat plane. Obviously, I am dealing with a different neck to yours, so this may not be entirely useful. Round points take out one variable and so are often recommended for new users (and rightly so), once you've got the technique down the variable can be dealt with. My worst experiences with the toe came at the start and were with round points.Quote:
Originally Posted by binder