Thread: What gives less pull?

It depends on what you call "pulling" or "tugging". Coming from any other kind of shaving implement, you will notice more resistance simply because there is a larger surface area trying to get through your stubble with a 3" long straight edge. Of course that is going to feel as though it is pulling compared to say a DE.

However, I'd call that the "natural resistance" of a straight razor and you cease to notice it after a period of time. It is not the same thing as a razor that is pulling, which has been admirably dealt with above.

All I will add is that you should not forget that you have various (3) dimensions of angles to work with when it comes to straights. The typical angle people talk about is the angle made between the razor's edge and the skin, and that is the one that people recommend be around 30 degrees or so - people call this one the shave angle. However, there is also the angle in the vertical plane (eg heel higher than toe; parallel to floor; toe higher than heel...) and the angle made by only allowing certain sections of the blade to touch your face (eg, the toe half of the blade on your face; the last 1cm of heel on your face). You might, for the sake of argument, call the former the angle of direction and the latter the angle of attachment (0 degrees means the edge is completely attached to the face, increasingly +ve angles mean increasingly less of the toe half of the edge are hitting the face, and vice versa for increasingly -ve angles of attachment).

Manipulating any of these angles can and will effect your shave and in particular the shave angle and the angle of attachment will influence the amount of resistance felt when shaving. Of course, all three angles can be simultaneously adjusted and this is what, IMO, makes straight razor shaving the most flexible, and therefore potentially the best, shave available of any shaving implement. It is also the reason why straights have the steepest learning curve of any shaving implement, but is also the most rewarding when you finally crack it.

James.

Thanks for all the information. And I thought about the rolling the edge. but I don't think I've stropped it enough to roll it, but what do I know.

All it takes is one particularly bad lap on a strop to roll an edge. That's not saying you have done that, I'm just saying that rolling an edge is about quality, not quantity

If you have someone you can send it to, or who can check it out locally, I'd suggest you do so. The risk you run if in fact the edge is dulling is that you will use too much pressure and end up cutting yourself.

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

All it takes is one particularly bad lap on a strop to roll an edge. That's not saying you have done that, I'm just saying that rolling an edge is about quality, not quantity

If you have someone you can send it to, or who can check it out locally, I'd suggest you do so. The risk you run if in fact the edge is dulling is that you will use too much pressure and end up cutting yourself.

James.

Thanks I guess the next time I go home, if I haven't had better results, I'll have him take a look.

Stropping is likely the culprit only if the "pulling" developed overtime and the razor didn't pull on the first use.

When I finally got my hands on a properly honed razor, I was amazed that the sensation was most like the feeling of wiping lather off my face. No sense of the whiskers giving up just seeing them rollup in the lather as the blade moved across them. I don't have a heavy beard tho so YMMV.

It just keeps getting better.

I have a tough beard, especially around mustache & chin area
in my case, I get no tugging from the less hollowed razor or wedges

but shaving with wedges not my favorite
until when I start using TI, I can shave with full hollow with much2 less tugging