Sight and Sound Input

Okay, I'm posting outside the Beginner's Forum, but I wanted to get some feedback on one aspect of shaving.

Like many things we do, we rely on sight, touch, feel, memory, practice, luck, and finally sound to accomplish many tasks in our lives. Wet shaving is no different. And as I move into my fourth week of shaving with a straight razor, I recognizing and learning those inputs to a successful shave. The one input that I want to talk about is sound. I have read a lot about sound input during shaving; how hollows and extra hollows provide more sound feedback than wedges. But what if you don't get that feedback?

I lost the majority of my hearing in my right ear to Meniere's disease years ago. My last bout with vertigo was eight years ago and I deal with tinnitus on a daily basis. I dealt with the disease and have moved on; but occasionally, I'm reminded of my loss of hearing. As I'm learning shaving, I'm reminded of how we use hearing for a simple task of shaving.

When I shave, whether with a full hollow or a wedge, I deal with different aural inputs. When I shave on the left, I get both audio and tactile feedback from the blade. The hollows provide that scraping sound which we associate with removing hair. Obviously, the aural feedback decreases when you use a wedge, but it is still there. However, when I shave on the right side, I get no aural feedback. It's strange. I see the blade moving, I feel resistance, but I don't hear anything. And when I use a wedge, it's just different. The lack of resistance and the heaviness of the blade aid the "slickness" of the shave. The blade just glides over the skin, not a sound, no tactile feedback. It's scary sometimes.

I was just curious about how many other shavers are deaf in one or both ears, and how they compensate for the lack of sound in their shaving routine.

I will say up front that I am not hearing impaired, but I get what you are saying. With hollows you get sound input. With wedges, you don't. I personally find the noise of a hollow somewhat troublesome and enjoy my wedge shaves because of the lack of it. It's a matter of taste and preference.

Not sure if I'd say I rely on the sound as much as feel. For me, the sound is just a way to assure new shavers that they're doing it right. The sound of a knife scraping against toast probably seems bad to someone whose never used a straight, but that's entirely normal.

I would imagine that aural cues would be more useful to a blind shaver than a partially deaf one, but since I'm neither it is only speculation on my part. :shrug:

Hmm shaving with a blindfold... now THATs an idea for a contest!!!! Each entrant would need to post a video to youtube. Winner would get a sciptic pencil or alum block!! Hah!

Sorry to hijack your thread...

You would be surprised on much you rely on audio cues, in everything you do. I have been partially deaf for over 12 years and have learned to compensate for my hearing loss. But it's more than just hearing voices or specific sounds, and sometimes it's hard to explain. If I asked you to plug one ear, it wouldn't be the same as deafness. Your mind compensates and you still hear through vibrations on your skull; it just happens to be muted.

When you move your hand around your face, it redirects sound; your mind picks up on the sound variances and is used to verify your hand position. It may seem questionable, but when you lose one of your senses, you begin to learn how your body compensates for the loss.

Regarding being blind-folded, you could probably do it if you didn't think about too much. You have muscle memory, you know relative positioning, and you would rely on touch and sound. It sounds scary, but I'm sure it could be done. I have shaved many, many times with a Mach razor and no mirror. I'm sure a straight razor could be used with lots of practice.