The sound of shaving?

Yesterday when I was shaving, I felt like I was getting a better handle on the angle and then as I made a pass across my face, I realized I could heard the blade ringing as it sliced off the hairs. Two strokes later and it was back to the scratchy sound that a cartridge makes.
If I had to guess, I'd say that ringing sound is probably what I want to achieve? It seems that I get the scratching sound when my angle is a bit too deep. It also seems that I get razorburn/chapped face when the angle is too deep (which is about 80% of the time, but I'm working on it.) I've realized that until I get the angle down, I'll have to take a day off in between shaves.

I also ventured an ATG pass on the lower part of my neck last night. The grain of my hair there is actually S-N so it was easy enough to get the right angle because it was just a N-S pass. It went well enough. No nicks, but I didn't venture a second ATG pass even though it wasn't completely smooth. I'm still not confident enough to try ATG higher on my neck/chin where the hair grows every which way, and I never had to do an ATG pass on my cheeks even with my M3 to get a good shave there. My upper lip can't even handle an ATG pass with an M3 so I doubt I'll ever even try that.

bside said:

My upper lip can't even handle an ATG pass with an M3 so I doubt I'll ever even try that.

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In my 6+ months here, I don't think I have run across anyone who can successfully do a S-N (ATG) pass on their upper lip. If I tried that, I would be rewarded with an upper lip that is ripped to shreds!!

Mantic demonstrates this in his 10 minute wet shave video (at the 6:40 mark), and it makes me cringe when I see it.

10 Minute Traditional Wet Shave

I remember watching that video and thinking "How in the world can he manage that?" I'm just trying to get a N-S pass as smooth as his and I'll be happy.

If I ever shave my moustache off I will be able to sympathize with you. Maybe I won't shave my moustache off.

The sound you are describing indicates that you have the correct blade angle and that the hairs are prepped correctly. I would suggest you pay very careful attention to blade angle, and move the razor with your entire arm therefore keeping the angle the same. The razor burn is being caused by incorrect angle.

On the second point, i would recommend you start with an across the grain pass XTG and master this before attempting an against the grain pass. This does two things 1) decreases the total amount of stubble 2) forces you to maintain proper angle with a variety of different strokes.

On my upper lip the best i can get is an almost XTG pass. I tried ATG only one time and had to wait a week for it to recover.

Isn't the music made from your shave amazing!

michiganlover said:

In my 6+ months here, I don't think I have run across anyone who can successfully do a S-N (ATG) pass on their upper lip. If I tried that, I would be rewarded with an upper lip that is ripped to shreds!![/URL]

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Actually I do a true S-N ATG pass on my top lip every morning. In prep for it I typically do 1-WTG (N-S), 1-XTG (Philtrum out) and then finish with 1-ATG (S-N). I couldn't do this in the beginning, but once I mastered my angle and pressure I can and do this regularly.

I did ATG on my upper lip last night during my 2nd DE shave. I did alright. I was extremely careful with it though as the contours were a little odd for me to get flattened. I also noticed that I missed a tiny bit right under my nose.

I too, do a S-N pass on my upper lip every day. It's all about using no pressure and making sure the lip is slick enough. And you have to stretch it out a bit otherwise you can feel the stubble when making faces and faceturbating. I do this after I do WTGx2. Maybe if I added a XTG pass here it would help, but I find this to be more dangerous for me as the blade starts running into my nose, or a lip, or a cheek.

for this very reason I stopped listening to the radio when I shave. Now I am listening intently as the straight blade makes music on my face

michiganlover said:

...In my 6+ months here, I don't think I have run across anyone who can successfully do a S-N (ATG) pass on their upper lip...

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<ahem>

I do this as part of my everyday shave routine.

You do have to reduce the whiskers before going S-N. ...And, I only do it with a sharp blade on its first or second shave.

It took me nearly a year to learn how to do it. (faceturbating BBS upperlip, five hours after my shave this morning)

-- John Gehman

Welcome to B&B! Enjoy the shaving music.

I've never heard a "ringing", just what I call the normal, sandpaper sound. However, I will listen more closely.

I can go ATG on my upper lip IF two things happen first. I use a really good, rich later and I get a good WTG first pass. I didn't think it was possible until one time I used bottled water with some baking soda added. Suddenly, my 4-day old blade felt like a brand new super sharp one!

I am with those who can't do atg on the lip. Best I can do is xtg. I do understand the sound thing though. It's very distinct and satisfying.

After my earlier post I thought about this some more and came up with a couple of other things.

My WTG is actually half way between WTG and XTG because of the way my hair grows. I go down from nose to the corner of my lip. Pulling my lip down seems to make the hair stand out and I get a closer cut, also.

When I go ATG, I take really baby-length stokes and re-lather if I feel any resistance at all. I never do more than two passes.

As I said before, for me, a good lather is all important! Experiment and you will find your combination - it's there somewhere! Good luck!!