Using Both Hands to Shave?

Is it necessary? On most of the straight shaving videos I have watched they use both hands to shave. This is really scary to me as I am left handed and not very coordinated/it feels awkward to shave with my right hand. I have tried it with a DE and Trac II and it doesn't work out. Any one shave with a straight just using one hand? Hopefully some people do.
Last night I bought a Dovo 5/8" Best and SRD Strop on the BST forum and going to try my hand at shaving with a straight. Larry Andreassen (Whippeddog) has been very helpful and I think I have the procedure down. Just need to receive the razor and I can get started. The forum and videos has been very helpful.

It's certainly not required to use both hands. Lots of people shave only with their dominant hand and do just fine. There are some videos out there for single-handed straight razor shaving as well. Take a look at those.

Thanks, that is good to know. Would you be able to tell me where to find these videos?

I had my first straight shave today and actually found it easier to change hands during the shave! This might be because holding a straight didn't feel quite as instinctive as a DE, so that my dominant (left) hand didn't take over.

Seriously it's not hard, it just takes practice.

Even with a cartridge or an electric this still applies, so do yourself a favor and learn to shave ambidextrously. The first time you injure or even sprain your dominant hand and need to shave you'll thank yourself. Plus the angles are just better when you can truly choose which hand to use.

Guess I will have to try it.

houlejames said:

This is really scary to me as I am left handed and not very coordinated/it feels awkward to shave with my right hand. I have tried it with a DE and Trac II and it doesn't work out. Any one shave with a straight just using one hand?

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I have just started straight razor shaving myself (on about shave 15), and I am left handed too. I have tried to shave with my right hand, and it just feels horrible, and dangerous.

For now, I am shaving my entire face left handed.

The main benefit I could see of shaving with both hands, would be that your arm doesn't block your image in the mirror.

Not necessary but well worth the effort. Once you get going, you'll find your non-dominant hand picks it up nearly as quickly as the other. If I could manage it, you can - I am as far from ambidextrous as you can be.

I found that it started working for me faster than I thought. Actually I am better with some passes with my left hand than I am with my right! (I am right handed.)

As long as one handed shaving is working for you though I don't see any reason to stop unless you just wanted to.

professorchaos said:

Not necessary but well worth the effort. Once you get going, you'll find your non-dominant hand picks it up nearly as quickly as the other. If I could manage it, you can - I am as far from ambidextrous as you can be.

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+1

You are learning a completely foreign action with your hands, so it's just as easy to learn it with the non-dominant hand as the dominant.

You'd be surprised at how fast the "dumb" hand picks it up ('cuz it isn't too much dumber than the "smart" hand when it comes to handling a straight).

Using both hands with str8s is more of a mental barrier than physical. Since you're not required to do very fine motor coordination with your fingers while using a straight, it's more arm movement from your shoulder, which you can train the coordination of rather quickly. If you had to perform fine motor skills akin to writing with your str8, that would be a whole different story.

Don't worry about using both handsit isn't necessary.I am a right handed shaver and that's the way its going to stay.If I ever break my hand or the arthritis gets too bad then I'll just make the wife shave me.It'll be safer than using the old purse hanger.

spanx said:

Don't worry about using both handsit isn't necessary.I am a right handed shaver and that's the way its going to stay.If I ever break my hand or the arthritis gets too bad then I'll just make the wife shave me.It'll be safer than using the old purse hanger.

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+100!!

I know it's hard at first, but I would definitely recommend just giving your non-dominant hand a try. It should get easier each time that you shave with both hands.

Good advices up here!

I use both hands, it felt very un-natural at first but now if feel natural to use both!

I'm right-handed, but to shave my right underarm, I'm forced to use my left hand. I just try to be extra-careful and make more effort to really float the razor, not press it into the skin; no bad results yet. Your "weak" side can learn to do a new task just as well as the other side if you give it the chance. I taught my left-handed brother how to play guitar right-handed so he could use mine and not have to buy a new one, and he plays excellently.

Like they said. Seriously, I only DE shave with my right hand but find it pretty easy to use both hands with the straight. Took some practice mind you, but now I find it much easier to get the right angles and direction using both hands.

I'm a lefty and a strictly one-handed shaver. I just don't trust my right hand. Maybe I'll try it someday.

As a seasoned str8-shaving veteran with more than 15 shaves under my belt (wait - I will rephrase that...) - with more than 15 shaves completed to date, 5 of which were very successful, I can tell you that – at least with respect to my own physiokinematic-intellectual challenges – it can be really tough to adequately reach certain areas using only the dominant hand. It’s like bowling: sometimes you just want to learn how to use the other hand.

Here is another post from a man who could easily run with the best in the competition of the worlds most non-ambidextrous person.

But...I tried to shave with my left (very non-dominant) hand early on when I first learned str8 shaving, just becasue I found that I had to contort in a very strange way if I was to use only my right hand & after just a couple of tries it went very well.

Actually I sort of shave better with my left now, probably because I'm still just a tad more careful when using it.