Thread: Is ambidextrous straight shaving worth it?

Originally Posted by pmburk

It's quite helpful. I am left-handed and I switch to my right hand for the right side passes.

Somewhere in this forum is a video of a gentleman shaving, he would have the razor in his right hand to shave his left side, then switch the razor to his left hand to shave the right side. I affirm he's really good and with the way he shaves, he can angle the razor to cut the sideways grain flow of his beard.

Do you mean this one?

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...ing-video.html

Yes Sir!! Thank you for posting it!

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Do you mean this one?

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...ing-video.html

I tried right hand only at first, due to awkwardness with my non-dominant hand. However, I've since started using both hands. GeoFatBoy of Shave Nation advocates using both hands in his videos, which prompted me to practice until I got it. It's much easier for me to get a better reduction below the jaw line when I don't have to resort to contorted, cross-handed passes. Just the way it works out for me. Like bigspendur says, whatever works best for you.

Cheers!

I don't have any problem shaving with either hand. I am "kinda" ambidextrous, but for me, it was out of necessity. I've had two stokes: the first one was ischemic and the second, hemorrhagic. I had the first at 34 and the second at 36. So fearing that I would eventually end up maybe losing the ability to do anything at all on my right side, I taught myself to use my left hand for just about anything. Now, going on 10 years since the first stroke, I can even write with both hands. The reason for the strokes was because of damage done to my arteries when I was undergoing cancer treatment when I was 21. I've even had a by-pass and a heart valve replaced. The result of the valve replacement has me on a high dose of coumadin for life. It has resulted in my shaving very carefully. Not that I worry about bleeding to death, but when I even 'nick' myself lightly, I will slowly bleed for hours. I must admit, it's pretty neat being able to use both hands with equal effectiveness. However, after I had the first stroke the docs. put me in a rehab place to bring me up to speed. On the walls of the rehab were pics. painted by people that lost their ability to paint with their dominant hand, and instead were now painting with their other hand. And I mean these were real paintings. How neat was that!

From the beginning of my straight razor shaving life I thought it would be important to be fluid in using both hands. Even in the early years when it was uncomfortable to do so, I kept at it. I'm thankful that I hung in there, cause now I'm able to be smooth moving and catch everything, and have more angles to attack with, in my arsenal.

Originally Posted by Tarkus

From the beginning of my straight razor shaving life I thought it would be important to be fluid in using both hands. Even in the early years when it was uncomfortable to do so, I kept at it. I'm thankful that I hung in there, cause now I'm able to be smooth moving and catch everything, and have more angles to attack with, in my arsenal.

Good for you. But like bigspendur says, whatever works best for you. I mean, if we were all orthodox in our approaches in life, there would be no Jimi Hendrix or the other self taught guitarist, Clapton. I think if there's any place where individualism and creativity reigns king it's here.

Originally Posted by cflaageriv

I mean, if we were all orthodox in our approaches in life, there would be no Jimi Hendrix or the other self taught guitarist, Clapton. I think if there's any place where individualism and creativity reigns king it's here.

Point well taken cflaageriv

I don't know whether it actually matters or not. I think the only thing that matters is being able to master the skill with motions that are comfortable for you. I know that the first couple shaves my left hand seemed like it was jumping all over the place. Thought I'd slice my adam's apple off or something. However, it progressed surprisingly rapidly.

Now, I can't imagine making some of the passes that I'm doing without two hands. But there's the difference. I'd have to learn different motions to accomodate using one hand only, so I can't really make a good comparison. It's all about how you learn, and being able to make the razor work for your particular skill set and comfort level. If you're happy with your shaves, there's no reason to change things up (and basically start your learning curve over with that other hand!)