Adjustable razor settings.......

[PeteG1027]

Hello All,, I have a Merkur #180 coming soon from amazon, In the meantime I want to use the Gillette Slim that I found and cleaned up at my parent's house. Obviously, the Slim is an adjustable Razor(1-9).. Can anyone tell me what setting to use, to get a real close shave. Does it depend on the size of your beard? I mean, 2 day's growth= #2,, 3 day's= #3, etc.. I'm assuming the longer the beard, the higher the setting, so the hair can get pushed under the blade, so to speak. Thanks Everyone...

[Eric V]

Hi Pete...

When shaving, think of each pass WTG, XTG, XTG, as being a process in beard reduction. The best close shaves (no irritation, no nicks) come from a refined technic more than an aggressive razor or aggressive setting.

If you work on refining your prep and refining your technic (angle, no pressure), your desired close shave will find you.

Are you getting a blade sampler? Different blades suit different styles of shaving. By style, I mean your prep and the way you use the razor.

Have fun on this journey. It is a blast!

In a nutshell, to answer your question, I'd say the more aggressive razor or settings are not particularly for more growth.

[Go West Young Man]

Each setting exposes more of the blade, so the balance between cutting close to and irritating the skin changes. What setting world for you is a trial and error thing.

[Gray Wolf]

This is a good example of why we often say "YMMV". When I was a youngster, the razor set on 3 was good for me. Now, I like it set on 5 with Shark Super Chrome blades, and I think I'll try it on 7 for my next shave.

[Codfish]

Hi Pete...

When shaving, think of each pass WTG, XTG, XTG, as being a process in beard reduction. The best close shaves (no irritation, no nicks) come from a refined technic more than an aggressive razor or aggressive setting.

If you work on refining your prep and refining your technic (angle, no pressure), your desired close shave will find you.

Are you getting a blade sampler? Different blades suit different styles of shaving. By style, I mean your prep and the way you use the razor.

Have fun on this journey. It is a blast!

In a nutshell, to answer your question, I'd say the more aggressive razor or settings are not particularly for more growth.

+1 I think Eric is right on the button here.


...Can anyone tell me what setting to use, to get a real close shave.

That is hard to answer, since you are the only person who can find the answer for you. I found, through experience, that higher settings worked best for me. When I was new, higher settings (4 and above) caused irritation. It took me several months to develop a solid technique before I knew which setting was best for me (9).

The setting that work for you will come with experience. The setting has less to do with beard age than skin sensitivity/skill level and desired outcome, IMO.

Your Merkur 180 is probably equivalent to a setting of "3" on your Slim. You might start there, and adjust up or down after a few shaves to see what works best for you. Early on, I recommend a "set it and forget it" approach. By that I mean to stay with the same setting for the entire shave.

The Slim and the 180 are great shavers, and you just need some time and experience to develop your technique so you can get the best out of them. Be patient, and don't forget the importance of prep, lather, no pressure, blade angle and aftercare in the process.

Best of luck!

Codfish

[Drubbing]

Can anyone tell me what setting to use, to get a real close shave.

If only it were that simple. To begin with, find the setting that gives you the most comfortable shave, although that's unlikely to be the closest. The closest shaves come with practice.

Technique, not tools, rules.

[mftoms59]

I'd recommend basing it on your Whisker Type; Wirery, soft, dense, fair and if you have soft, sensitive skin or more rugged tough. I initially set mine @4 and after learning the characteristics of the Razor, adjusted from that point and settled on 6 for a Super Adjustable.

[freefallman]

Some people suggest starting off on the lower numbers and slowing clicking up. Maybe it helps with the learning curve, maybe not. I'd suggest that you start at five and click up or down based on your needs and irritation. For me the lower adjustments were very hard to work with and as long as you have a light touch the higher settings are fine.

[Slash McCoy]

It's all about you. If you are new to DE shaving, I suggest setting it on 2 or 3 and leaving it there for a few weeks, or until you get your technique down pat and your favorite blade chosen. It is a variable that you can quite happily dispense with in the beginning, and there are too many others that you will have to juggle as you learn, so just leave that one for now.

Some shavers find the setting that they like, and just leave it there, no matter what. Some set it for the brand of blade currently in the razor. Some set it according to which pass of a multipass shave you are on, with a final ATG pass at a low setting. I suppose maybe there are some who set it according to the amount of growth, but I am thinking that it is more common to just find your favorite setting, and stick with your choice of blade, and leave them both that way. The adjustment is not really there to twiddle with, but to customize the razor for your face, your shaving style and your preference. Constant twiddling is not normally required.

[dalew]

I tend to get razor burn at the lower settings. Set it at 4 and move up as your technique improves.

[grump]

Achieving the closest BBS shave will take some practice.

Mapping and becoming familiar with your hair growth will get you there a bit faster.

Set the slim at 3 or 4 and leave it, practice your technique and passes.

Remember beard reduction through a number of passes, not beard elimination in in one.

Have fun and enjoy your shaves.

[furball]

First, no matter what setting you are using, NO PRESSURE! Let the razor's weight and angle be all the pressure you have; do not press the razor to your skin. If you find yourself pressing the razor at lower settings, you are using bad technique and the lower setting is helping you get away with it.

In my Slim and Mergress, I've gotten good results by using the highest setting with a Feather, and much lower settings for blades that aren't as sharp. Here's the reason: my "normal" technique (wrong as it is) is to often use more than one swipe over the same patch of skin. That is, even during my WTG pass, I'll do a N-S swipe 2, 3 or even four times. Each swipe is attacking my skin as well as my beard.

With the razor full open (high setting) with the Feather, not only am I super conscious of my technique, but ONE long swipe does the job for that stretch of skin for that pass. Thus, I'm shaving "less" but much closer, and getting less irritation and a smoother shave overall.

With blades that are less sharp, the high setting causes too much drag. So I use a much lower setting (2 on the Mergress, 3 or 4 on the Slim.) This results in a smooth shave, but I have to do more strokes and brush ups to get a close shave.

There are threads here that rate blades by sharpness that will help you if you decide to use your adjustable this way.

I agree with others here that you should stick with one setting til you get your technique really squared away.

But I'll add this caveat: If you've been having success with a blade at one setting of your razor, then find that when you switch to a different blade you're getting drag or poor cutting, adjust til you find a good setting for THAT blade. The second time through my sampler pack blades, I found I got better results than the first time through by finding the best setting for each particular blade.

[PeteG1027]

Thanks to everyone who posted. I appreciate all the opinion's and Good advice. After posting, I realized that it's a trial and error type thing. Obviousely all face's are different, and how many day's between shaves would matter, as well as beard type. But I did pick up alot of info from the post's. I've found members on this site to be more than happy to help out a Newb. It really is a Great site with Good people..Thanks Again All...