I figure the best point of reference is the blade angle, as that might translate better to straight razor shaving if that strikes your fancy
shallow vs steep angle
- Thread starter Lazarus Long
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I would love to see one of the steep angle disciples shave with a Yaqi Knight Helmet at a steep angle.... a video would be great. Maybe type and cross-match your blood before you try, though.
I'm a steep angle shaver but I also get effortless BBS shaves with a shallow angle. My problem with a shallow angle is that I don't really know how to hold the handle to keep the shallow angle. Each time when I lose the shallow angle either the blade does not have any contact to the skin or it digs it into the skin with a nice cut... So it requires much more attention than a steep angle.
So what doing I wrong? How do you shallow angle shavers hold the handle?
So what doing I wrong? How do you shallow angle shavers hold the handle?
For those that have beard hair that grows flatter (more parallel) to the skin), which angle do you use? My whole face is that way, not just my neck!
Other than my chin and upper lip, most of my stubble lies flat. I remove more stubble per stroke going steeply, but get less weepers per shave going shallow.
Interesting...I feel like I am the exact opposite. What are your favorite razors?
GEM Micromatic Open Comb, Fatip Grande, Ikon X3, RazoRock Hawk V3OC
Works for me.I think the terms "ride the cap" & "ride the bar" makes a clearer definition...
Cheers
Shallow, riding the cap
Steep, riding the base plate
This reminds me of the old Seinfeld routine. You think you know what something means until it is questioned (is it falling off or being on the wagon?)
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Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I've been doing it a while, and mostly find steep angle shaving works a lot better for me. This was not easy for me to learn nor was it simple.
However, I finally figured it out several years ago trying to learn - and this was a difficult task for me for some reason - to shave with injectors. What that injector learning process taught me once I figured it out was to shave by feedback. That means observing what the razor does, but, more than that, it means learning to pay attention to and steer by audible and tactile feedback.
Once I figured that out, I observed that the right angle was steep.
I've shaved with DE razors, AC razors, injectors, and straight razors. I've thought about this issue of angles a lot, and, even better and more to my advantage, discussed it a good little bit with other gentlemen smarter than me in the engineering sense. It still doesn't make any sense at all to me.
Yet it is what it is.
What it is, is whatever works for you works for you.
Mostly I shave at a steep angle and mostly I'm not at all interested in buying or using razors that everyone says need to be used at a shallow angle.
I still sometimes - because I'm basically shaving by feedback - find myself using a shallow angle for certain parts of my face during certain shaves with some razors, maybe most razors, maybe all razors. If it works, it works.
My soul patch would be one of those certain parts of my face.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Chan posted a perfect visualization of shallow vs steep.
It's mostly depending on the razor. For my Chiseled Face Legacy Razor the angle is very shallow. For the Blackbird it is neutral to shallow. But some shave steep with it and it works. For the Timeless Slim, corrections are done at extreme steep angle, but for shaving smoothly larger amounts of beard and stubble I slide into a more shallow angle.
In general I tend to try going steep. It is just not every razor has its best/goldilocks angle there.
There is also one fairly well known razor that is neither steep not shallow but rather locked in: the Henson guides and fixes the shaving angle.
It's best to start as you like it and then let the razor guide you. You will feel/hear it.
It's mostly depending on the razor. For my Chiseled Face Legacy Razor the angle is very shallow. For the Blackbird it is neutral to shallow. But some shave steep with it and it works. For the Timeless Slim, corrections are done at extreme steep angle, but for shaving smoothly larger amounts of beard and stubble I slide into a more shallow angle.
In general I tend to try going steep. It is just not every razor has its best/goldilocks angle there.
There is also one fairly well known razor that is neither steep not shallow but rather locked in: the Henson guides and fixes the shaving angle.
It's best to start as you like it and then let the razor guide you. You will feel/hear it.
I always forget shallow and steep mean. I just put the safety bar against my cheek,
then tilt my wrist up or down and go...If I hear the sound of hair cutting it means
zI got the angle right...if not I will adjust some more.
then tilt my wrist up or down and go...If I hear the sound of hair cutting it means
zI got the angle right...if not I will adjust some more.
I am a relative newbie but I have always approached the razor angle a bit differently than has been described, but I suspect a lot of us do it: I start with the handle parallel with my skin/face and life the handle until I feel the blade engage. That automatically sets me up for a steeper angle. No one told me to do that.... somehow, I just did it that way.
As I've talked to other steep shavers, they seem to follow this routine. We all know by now, there isn't one single way to approach wet shaving. Everything is a variable. Razor selection... blade selection.. soaps/creams and how to turn them into a lather with the right consistency which a variable in itself. Brushes off all kinds. Bowl or face lather? Steep, Shallow... and that can vary depending on your razor.
Since I'm so new to traditional wet shaving and new to B&B, I've done a ton of reading. When you do that, you sort of get a feel for people who've been around for a while and have experimented a lot along the way. You can learn so much from their experiences, both positive and negative.
A suggestion if I might: the journals and diaries sub forum doesn't show up when you hit the "what's new" at the top of the page. You have to view it separately from the "General General Shaving" forum heading... and click on "Journals and Diaries". Some of the very nice people here have chronicled their journey for us. A few journals also show up under "What's New" because they weren't started under the Journals and Diaries. Anyway, if you read through their threads, start to finish, a lot of your questions will be answered. I've learned so much from the people in this community..... things it would have taken me years to figure out on my own, if I could even manage it at all.
As I've talked to other steep shavers, they seem to follow this routine. We all know by now, there isn't one single way to approach wet shaving. Everything is a variable. Razor selection... blade selection.. soaps/creams and how to turn them into a lather with the right consistency which a variable in itself. Brushes off all kinds. Bowl or face lather? Steep, Shallow... and that can vary depending on your razor.
Since I'm so new to traditional wet shaving and new to B&B, I've done a ton of reading. When you do that, you sort of get a feel for people who've been around for a while and have experimented a lot along the way. You can learn so much from their experiences, both positive and negative.
A suggestion if I might: the journals and diaries sub forum doesn't show up when you hit the "what's new" at the top of the page. You have to view it separately from the "General General Shaving" forum heading... and click on "Journals and Diaries". Some of the very nice people here have chronicled their journey for us. A few journals also show up under "What's New" because they weren't started under the Journals and Diaries. Anyway, if you read through their threads, start to finish, a lot of your questions will be answered. I've learned so much from the people in this community..... things it would have taken me years to figure out on my own, if I could even manage it at all.
FarmerTan, I wonder if Billy Martin, Mantle, and Ford discussed this topic in the locker room after a daylight doubleheader at Yankee stadium while getting cleaned up before heading out to their favorite watering hole?
Most of my cuts with a new blade happen when I first place the razor to my face. To play it safe, I start by placing the top cap on my face, without any blade contact. As I begin moving the razor I rotate the razor until I have blade contact. A shallow angle seems safest for a few shaves. After that I don’t have to be quite so careful, and I also can use a steeper angle, as long as I remember not to apply pressure.
Most of my shaves are with straight razors. To get an effective shave I need to stretch my skin. This will lift the hair up, making it easier to cut. I do this with my DE razors as well. The safety bar also stretches the skin to some extent, but mapping your beard and stretching the skin in the right way is really effective.
That's steep.
This is obviously above the pay grade for a maroon like me, but I MUST say: what a bunch of KIDS! And aren't all 3 now playing ball on that Diamond in the Sky?....
I was reminded of my mortality and "kinda" graceful aging yesterday afternoon as I spent a little bit of time with my son. He's around these young guys age in the picture above. Man! How FAST the time flies! I literally feel like it was a week ago that I was that age, not 40 years!
My Dad was SO right: youth is wasted on the young....
so you always stretch in the opposite direction of the grain to get a closer shave?
Yes, but i also do it to limit skin irritation. 90% of my shaves are with straight razors, 7 days a week, more or less. Skin stretching has just become something i practice with my DE shaves as well. In my opining it helps, especially in areas where the hair grows parallel to the skin.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Skin stretching doesn't work well for me if I go beyond facial contortions and cheek puffing.
Yes, I've used straights hundreds of times and would say the same thing (about me) using them, as it relates to skin stretching.
Moderation in all things...
Happy shaves,
Jim
Yes, I've used straights hundreds of times and would say the same thing (about me) using them, as it relates to skin stretching.
Moderation in all things...
Happy shaves,
Jim
