Thumb on blade????

I was searching around and came upon a site called CityBarber. They had a guide that discussed when getting ready to shave a person would hold the blade at a 30 degree angle to the face,with the thumb ON the blade never on the tang. The guide said that while the hand and the blade would change position during the shave, the thumb should always be on the blade.

I would never recommend this as a safe or even correct way to hold the blade while shaving but I wondered if anyone else had every heard of somthing like this?

I've never heard of that - do you think they mean actually on the blade (like the side) rather than the edge?

James.

Here's the link

http://citybarber.com/site/shave/hts...or-Using-42715

Here is the sentence that grabbed my attention:

The thumb must be placed on the blade itself and not on the tang. The position of the thumb will vary as the different strokes are taken but it must always remain on the blade.

Yeah, I see what you mean. Perhaps it's a way for barbers to get more direct feel about what's going on when they shave someone else?

James.

You really have to beware much of the info relating to straight shaving on the web as much of it is terribly wrong.

All I can say is just try and shave with you thumb on the blade. The thunb stabilizes the razor when its at the bottom of the tang. If you put it on the blade its almost impossible to control. Try it. Not only that but as the blade becomes wet and full of soap your thumb will be sliding around on the blade. Not very safe.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You really have to beware much of the info relating to straight shaving on the web as much of it is terribly wrong.

All I can say is just try and shave with you thumb on the blade. The thunb stabilizes the razor when its at the bottom of the tang. If you put it on the blade its almost impossible to control. Try it. Not only that but as the blade becomes wet and full of soap your thumb will be sliding around on the blade. Not very safe.

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I hope you didn't think I was advocating that we should do it. I did say in my original post that I would never recommend this method as a safe or correct way to hold a blade. I simply was curious. It was something different and I simply wondered if anyone else had heard of it. I suppose, in retrospect, I shouldn't have posted in the first place. I certainly would never want anyone to get hurt because of a comment I posted.

One of my old barber manuals advises student barbers not to place the thumb on the blade as it appears sloppy (checked the manual, says it gives an awkward appearance) to the master barber who might hire said student, and/or to the barber's customer. No advice that doing so would be dangerous or decrease control over the razor.

I have seen a few vintage photos where the barber was shaving a customer with the thumb on the blade.

Because of seeing those photos, I did try that hand position early on in my shaving, but now I try not to just because of the advice in the manual. I keep my thumb on the shank of the razor.

When I used to place my thumb on the blade, I personally never found it in the least bit dangerous. In fact I felt a somewhat increased degree of control over the blade, especially while shaving certain portions of my face (for instance, under the chin). I felt that the extra support of the thumb helped me maintain certain angles with the razor.

I'm not recommending anyone try it, just passing on my experience.


Scott

Being blind, I can't comment on how they hold it in the photos. However, I will say, that occaisionally I will choke up a little tighter on the shank, with the tip of my thumb, not even half, resting on the blade, when I'm going against the growth on my neck, particularly, around my trachea. Not sure why, just something I've caught myself doing sometimes.

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Originally Posted by Toddo

... occaisionally I will choke up a little tighter on the shank, with the tip of my thumb, not even half, resting on the blade, when I'm going against the growth ...

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Me too. I just tried that grip and while I can see how it might be useful for a barber shaving another man, I have difficulty seeing how it would be comfortabl for even a fraction of my shave.

X

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Originally Posted by steve

I hope you didn't think I was advocating that we should do it. I did say in my original post that I would never recommend this method as a safe or correct way to hold a blade. I simply was curious. It was something different and I simply wondered if anyone else had heard of it. I suppose, in retrospect, I shouldn't have posted in the first place. I certainly would never want anyone to get hurt because of a comment I posted.

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Hey Steve, i had run into that article a few days ago myself and wondered the same thing. I'm glad that you started the thread, you help to answer a question I had as well.

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Originally Posted by custommartini

Hey Steve, i had run into that article a few days ago myself and wondered the same thing. I'm glad that you started the thread, you help to answer a question I had as well.

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Thanks Brendon, I'm glad it helped answer a question:

I go by a very simple philosophy: I've never had an original thought, so if I've got a question, someone else must also.

I also agree that there is a lot of junk on the internet and discernment is an absolute must. That's why I'm so grateful for SRP, it's a place of tremendous collective knowledge that we can tap to help us discern junk from good.

It was definately a good thread to start. I think I might have confused the issue by offering an (uninformed) guess. :(

Anyhoo, I went home and tried to hold a razor that way - no go! My hands and fingers were too big (or I was too uncoordinated, or both) to get anything but my thumb tip close to the blade - I just couldn't get any control at all. Needless to say I didn't put the razor anywhere near my face in that condition!

James.

Of course there are two issues here to consider. Just think about the first time you held a straight in your hand. Did the feeling really inspire confidence or were you at least a little nervous putting that blade near you face. Maybe if you started with the thumb on the blade it might become just another 2nd nature thing. I don't know.
Another issue is as has been said shaving another person is very different than shaving yourself and in that case it may make more sense also. I don't know about that either.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks and I'm sticking to what I've been doing arf, arf.

:nj The instructions on my site are accurate. I execute nearly a thousand shaves a year in my shop. And dare say the site is quite credible. If you have questions ask. most likely you'll get an answer not just a response. A straight razor is a tool and can be dangerous if mishandled wil using it, so use care when doing so!
Best Regards
The Barber…

Okay;

This technique seems like it wuld be more effective sahving oters rather than shaving yourself, where I imagine that a variety of different grips will serve most men better. What differences do you experience between shaving yourself and shaving customers?

X

P.S. Finally, a barber on the site. :y

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Originally Posted by The_CityBarber

:nj The instructions on my site are accurate. I execute nearly a thousand shaves a year in my shop. And dare say the site is quite credible. If you have questions ask. most likely you'll get an answer not just a response. A straight razor is a tool and can be dangerous if mishandled wil using it, so use care when doing so!
Best Regards
The Barber…

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Welcome Mr. Barber!!

That site is full of informaton I would love to dispute . . .

unfortunately I tried everything on there and it all works very well.

There is a lot of controversial info on the site, the thumb position is mild compared to some of the other stuff on there. I found the thumb position easy to use but not really any better than an ordinary position. I would assume that someone without experience would find that thumb position somewhat helpful in ensuring good angle and blade depth.

Its the taughtness of the strop and the leather then linen that had me intrigued.

Again, it all works really well and seemed like great advice. But thats just me, what do I know?

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!