I've been shaving with a str8, pretty much exclusively, for about 3 years. I had always held the razor in a conventional/traditional fashion... index and middle finger on the shank, ring finger in the tang (with the pinky kind of supporting it on the underside) and the thumb on the underside of the shank.
However, after seeing a youtube video (most of you have probably seen it, but here is a link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Fcmsj3md4, I decided to give his technique, in part, a try.
I did not adopt the three fingers on the spine, I stuck with two. But, if you notice, instead of putting his thumb on the underside of the spine, he actually puts it on the blade, itself. I tried it this morning, and have to say it gave me a whole lot more control of the razor. This is the first time I've tried it, but I think it really increased the quality of my shave (which had been just about perfect prior).
I can also attest that one does not need a big honkin' tattoo on one's shoulder, OR nipple rings to have this technique work.
Give it a try. Amazing that I discovered such a significant change to my shaving technique after three years.
One other thing that I've recently adopted is that on my first pass, instead of going straight N/S on my cheeks, I kind of go in a SE path (down, and toward the outside) with the razor slightly angled so I am shaving in a perpendicular manner, as opposed to slicing. I don't know if my whisker growth changed, or if I just never paid attention, but that is the direction they grow on my cheeks. So, in essence, I am now truly shaving with the grain, where-as, in retrospect, I had kind of been shaving cross-grain on the first pass. This has also helped in the closeness/quality of my shaves... Less to clean-up on the second pass (which is cross-grain on the cheeks).
Drew
However, after seeing a youtube video (most of you have probably seen it, but here is a link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Fcmsj3md4, I decided to give his technique, in part, a try.
I did not adopt the three fingers on the spine, I stuck with two. But, if you notice, instead of putting his thumb on the underside of the spine, he actually puts it on the blade, itself. I tried it this morning, and have to say it gave me a whole lot more control of the razor. This is the first time I've tried it, but I think it really increased the quality of my shave (which had been just about perfect prior).
I can also attest that one does not need a big honkin' tattoo on one's shoulder, OR nipple rings to have this technique work.
Give it a try. Amazing that I discovered such a significant change to my shaving technique after three years.
One other thing that I've recently adopted is that on my first pass, instead of going straight N/S on my cheeks, I kind of go in a SE path (down, and toward the outside) with the razor slightly angled so I am shaving in a perpendicular manner, as opposed to slicing. I don't know if my whisker growth changed, or if I just never paid attention, but that is the direction they grow on my cheeks. So, in essence, I am now truly shaving with the grain, where-as, in retrospect, I had kind of been shaving cross-grain on the first pass. This has also helped in the closeness/quality of my shaves... Less to clean-up on the second pass (which is cross-grain on the cheeks).
Drew
