Thread: Can't see to shave my sideburns

I have a dull razor that I'm practicing with until I get my straights honed. I have watched some videos of people shaving with straights and they always stretch the skin on the side of their face and start with the sideburns. When I try to do this in the mirror, the blade blocks my vision of what I should be shaving. How can I rectify this?

i have the same problem.. the important thing is to look straight ahead into the mirror.. not over the razor so you can see the side of your face..

my remedy has been to hold my razor so the tang points behind me.

My solution is to lead with the point so hand and handle is above eyeheight

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

i have the same problem.. the important thing is to look straight ahead into the mirror.. not over the razor so you can see the side of your face..

my remedy has been to hold my razor so the tang points behind me.

I've had trouble with that too, almost reverting to DEs to get the sideburns done. Thanks!

Hello, breadsticks:

These gentlemen give sound advice. With your continued practice you will resolve this problem.

The general angle for the razor is about 30 degrees and you should maintain that for the cheeks. Experiment with your viewing angle as you stand before the mirror. Improvise and try different positions that are safe.

Regards,

Obie

Shave off the sideburns and you won't have the problem. Just kidding.

I use my finger trailing the blade as a guide. it works for me.

I think visual contact is preferred, but over-rated. I find that paying attention to the tactile feedback from my face is indispensable. Best example so far have been my well sculpted ears, but this all begins at the sideburn. Cutting sideburns straight is the only angle that requires at lead an initial visual orientation - but that doesn't mean that visual contact has to be present for that entire side of the face or even to get the blade very close to the ear. If you can't see the blade as it approaches the ear - stop paying attention to visual and feel the toe end of the blade as it approaches the ear. Whether careful normal strokes or buffing strokes where the edge doesn't leave the skin on the backstroke, you approach the ear until you feel the rise to the ear. Visual or not, it keeps the ears whole, and gives a new and valuable feedback that keeps you aware of what good and bad cutting feels like. By keeping the tactile sensation in mind, you have added early warning when a stroke is starting to go carnivorous.

One of the videos I saw, the guy laid the blade across the side burn in the position he wanted to cut. Then he angled the blade to a shaving angle. Then he kept the blade still and grabbed the skin above the side burn like you would normally do and stretched the skin. This seemed to give him a really good side burn line and a good start to the shave.
YouTube - Cut-throat Razor shave