Thread: Shaving Thought Experiment

I have a long commute and when I'm driving I think about weird things. This is what I thought of today and I want your thoughts. Believe it or not the genesis of this idea was Schrodinger's Cat...

Anyway...

So imagine you have two men: Bob and Harry. Both are dedicated wet shavers. Imagine each man has access to the exact same shaving scenario. They each have perfect lathering skills, perfect straight shaving technique, and a perfect razor with the most optimally sharp and smooth edge humanly possible.

Basically, these men exist in a perfect shaving vacuum.

They are identical in every way except one: Bob has a massively thick beard that gets a 5:00 shadow before noon. Harry has a light, wispier beard that takes a few days to really come in.

I know that a sharp razor and excellent technique means a razor will neatly slice hair from your face. But my question is, will a perfect razor and technique slice through each man's beard with the same ease? Will Harry have a simpler time getting all that hair off than Bob? Will Bob have to work harder? Is a great razor and great technique blind to beard type??

What do you think?

No, it will not be the same. Obviously, the thicker and denser the beard the more resistance to a blade. It will also affect other factors such as edge longevity, number of passes to achieve a close shave, and so forth.

I think a stiffer set of whiskers might tend to stand up to the blade more than the wispy whiskers. In your perfect world, that might mean that the stiffer whiskers would be cut better although they would take a higher toll on the sharpness of the blade.

On the negative side, I think getting a good lather in a "perfect shaving vacuum" might be tough.

If they have different faces, and also each have perfect shaving technique, then they cannot have identical shaving scenario. The perfect shaving technique is the technique that is perfect for one's own face. Since the faces are different, the perfect techniques will be different.

I would argue that neither will have to work harder than the other since their perfect technique perfectly handles their individual beard's qualities

Here's another thought experiment though - if they are forced to trade techniques, who will suffer the most?

I think that they will both have a great time shaving no matter the case. Besides they are both alive and dead unless we open the box; though we can theorize them to be dead since the box is a perfect vacuum. It would suck trying to shave before you died, messy.

At least you wouldn't have to worry about stretching your skin in the perfect vacuum.

well for these circumstances I'm assuming that A) the blade doesn't dull because of beard type and B) let's also assume that they have identical faces to remove that variable.

My thought was, if all other variables are EXACTLY the same, what role does hair type play in shaving. All those other details are more or less irrelevant and not designed to be patently realistic.

Originally Posted by U2Bono269

B) let's also assume that they have identical faces to remove that variable.

I guess just to clarify, my point is that perfect technique will be different for different beards. The perfect technique is the combination of a perfect selection from among a widely varied perfect set of perfect tactical and strategic shaving maneuvers and implimentations and a perfect application of that perfect selection for that beard, but it is not the sum total of that perfect set

In other words, the perfect shaver has adjusted his or her technique in such a way that he (or she?) shaves through the beard with perfect ease and comfort regardless of the beard. For example, there are differences in my own beard between cheek whiskers, moustache whiskers, neck whiskers, and jawline whiskers. The individual hairs vary in thickness, stiffness, the angle at which the grow out of the skin, proximity to other hairs, the direction which they grow out of the skin, and even cross-sectional shape. I don't necessarily need to analyze each of these variables in order to most effectively shave them, but by much practice in feel, and trial and error, I can adapt my manipulation of the razor to efficiently meet the demands of whatever whisker is in front of it. Sometimes it is as simple as changing the direction I shave with the razor, but sometimes it means changing stroke length, angle of the blade, firmness of grip, related angle of razor's edge to direction of the stroke, and other hard-to-define subtle differences that come with practice

I hope a barber can jump in and shed light on how he or she actually adjusts to different beard types

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

I guess just to clarify, my point is that perfect technique will be different for different beards. The perfect technique is the combination of a perfect selection from among a widely varied perfect set of perfect tactical and strategic shaving maneuvers and implimentations and a perfect application of that perfect selection for that beard, but it is not the sum total of that perfect set

In other words, the perfect shaver has adjusted his or her technique in such a way that he (or she?) shaves through the beard with perfect ease and comfort regardless of the beard. For example, there are differences in my own beard between cheek whiskers, moustache whiskers, neck whiskers, and jawline whiskers. The individual hairs vary in thickness, stiffness, the angle at which the grow out of the skin, proximity to other hairs, the direction which they grow out of the skin, and even cross-sectional shape. I don't necessarily need to analyze each of these variables in order to most effectively shave them, but by much practice in feel, and trial and error, I can adapt my manipulation of the razor to efficiently meet the demands of whatever whisker is in front of it. Sometimes it is as simple as changing the direction I shave with the razor, but sometimes it means changing stroke length, angle of the blade, firmness of grip, related angle of razor's edge to direction of the stroke, and other hard-to-define subtle differences that come with practice

I hope a barber can jump in and shed light on how he or she actually adjusts to different beard types

That's what I mean. When I said they have perfect technique it was implied that it is relative to the individual shaver. It doesn't matter what the technique is exactly, just that each man has a perfect blade and what would be considered perfect technique for their own face.

The variables of the shave are irrelevent. It is assumed that each man is an optimal shaver with an optimal blade...what that means for each man in terms of the actual details of how they do it doesn't matter at all. Those details aren't meant to be thought about for this.

What you should consider is merely the stiffness, or the size, or the concentration/general thickness of the beard. My own thought is that all other things being equal and optimal, there should be absolutely no difference between a thick/strong hair and a thin/weak one.

Of course, this experiment is completely impossible in physical terms, so keep that in mind. It's 100% hypothetical.

I think, if each has perfected their technique and their razor is proper sharp the whiskers will come off equally in both cases.