First Pass - WTG - Angle Newbie should use?: Getting 2 Different Answers!

Hi,

As you can tell from my post count that I have been Wet Shaving for about 6 months now with various DE, SE, & Injectors ... so I figure I'd attempt a straight!

The one area/question that gets me is on the first pass - WTG.

Some people say to use a low angle and start working on stubble reduction. They say if your angle is steeper, the long stubble will pull the edge into your skin ... producing cuts!

Others say to start the first pass - WTG- at about 30 degrees and chop of the stubble at the base then reduce the angle for the XTG and almost flat for the AGT passes.

My question is: as a newbie wouldn't I be better off with the low angle until I develop the skill/technique to detect when the edge may be getting ready to penetrate skin even though this appears to cut Very Little stubble on one pass ...

.... or am I' being over-cautious and should go steeper and chop 'em off pretty good first pass?*

I'd like to hear everybody's opinion - *I understand the Beard Reduction concept but remember I'm a Newbie with a Str8 and thought I'd ask.

As far as I can tell, 30 degrees is more like the maximum you want. With the spine flat on your face, the angle is usually around 15 degrees or so, so you really don't need to lift the spine that much. It depends on the sharpness of the edge and your technique, but the sharper the edge is the lower your angle can go to cleanly cut the hairs.

I'd say start out like most people do with DEs. Start with the blade flat on your face and slowly lift the spine until you're starting to cut hair. An argument against a higher angle at the beginning is that as you are just learning how to use a straight you might end up applying more pressure than you need to, and you could easily start scraping microscopic layers of skin off. Ouch! (you'll also dull your edge quicker if you have too high of an angle)

Just go slow and practice, and it will all click soon. Good luck!

Agree with tlittle, the angle should be less than 20 degrees (flat when you start then rolling slightly) anything more and I have found you get into the dangerous condition of dragging the razor, carving the thin microlayers and razor rash. The higher the angle the more pressure to cut the hair, and we all know what happens when pressure is applied with a straight....weepers. Slow, no pressure, and lots of lather works best for me, but YMMV. Good luck and keep going.

Thanks i will try too

I think you've misunderstood something somewhere .... there's one optimal shaving angle for every razor, use that all passes regardless of direction.

Go West Young Man said:

I think you've misunderstood something somewhere .... there's one optimal shaving angle for every razor, use that all passes regardless of direction.

Click to expand...

This.

Generally you want to keep the spine as close to your face as you can and still have the edge cut. The steeper the angle the more chance of skin irritation and prematurely blunting the edge. This is the same regardless of the direction.

Thanks Guys! I feel now like I have a better understanding ...

Go West Young Man said:

I think you've misunderstood something somewhere .... there's one optimal shaving angle for every razor, use that all passes regardless of direction.

Click to expand...

Go West Young Man, there is a well know straight razor website showing 30 degrees for WTG, 15 degree for XTG & 5 degrees for ATG; this is in a diagram on their website in their shaving guide. This added to my confusion.

The higher the blade away from your face, the more aggressive the cut, and the more stress on the razors edge, and the more chance for razor burn. You will find some places, like your upper lip, a flatter angle may be harder, but for the most part the lowest angle possible seems the best for me. However, there is no "wrong" angle to use...if you like scraping your face with the edge perpendicular to your skin and you get great shaves more power to you! Just as a newbie it's best to keep things simple in the beginning.

echotron said:

Thanks Guys! I feel now like I have a better understanding ...



Go West Young Man, there is a well know straight razor website showing 30 degrees for WTG, 15 degree for XTG & 5 degrees for ATG; this is in a diagram on their website in their shaving guide. This added to my confusion.

Click to expand...

I agree with Chris. I assume you're referring to StraightRazorPlace. They may have that as a suggestion or general guide, not sure. Or may be one persons method. What I like about here is the "find what works for you and go with it" attitude. But as Chris said, straights are kinda like DEs. Angle used for one may not be the same as others. As said above, once you're proficient you can start dialing up the angle a bit until you find the sweet spot.

Just do what feels natural, don't worry about what so called experts say.

+1. You will find your way.

You wanna know what angle to use and this is the best piece of advise I got years ago from a member and it works in every circumstance in the history of shaving.....


You'll know because your face won't be yelling at you. If 14 is better than 10 but not as good as 20, then who gives a rat's rear end what I think. If you aren't tearing your face apart, then you are doing fine in my book. Keep at it and you'll find your stroke.

I would experiment until I find the angle that work best for the setup you are using.

Al raz.

echotron said:

My question is: as a newbie wouldn't I be better off with the low angle

Click to expand...

echotron said:

.... or am I' being over-cautious and should go steeper and chop 'em off pretty good first pass?*

Click to expand...

echotron said:

I'd like to hear everybody's opinion - *I understand the Beard Reduction concept but remember I'm a Newbie with a Str8 and thought I'd ask.

Click to expand...

~~~shaving with a straight razor is not a race to the finish. Once you develop good technique your shaves with a straight will go faster, but in the meantime, you have to learn how to cut your beard with a straight razor. That said, use low angles. Someone said keep the spine next to your skin. That is how you keep the blade angle low. If you raise the angle too much, you will be rewarded with razor burn DAMHIK


Shaving with a straight razor is totally different from using a safety, except, they both share the beard reduction through multiple passes maxim. One thing you will do with your straight razor that is not needed with a safety, you use your free hand to stretch your skin, and generally you pull the skin opposite and behind the direction the razor cuts. Some areas on your face may be difficult to stretch with your free hand so you can tilt your head (especially for neck areas) or around your mouth, you can use your toungue to stretch your skin (keep your tongue inside your mouth= If you're wondering why you need to stretch your skin shaving with a straight and not with a safety razor (generally speaking), your straight razor needs all of the help you can give it. Stretching the skin lines the beard hair up making it easier for the straight edge to cut it, you're also creating a flatter cutting area for the wider straight edge to do it's thing. And if you have any kind of rippling going on with your skin, stretching smooths out your skin. These theories also lead into reasons why opening the pores of your skin helps the edge to glide over face, making it easier to cut beard hair, and I like to use a hot wet towel to open my skin pores, atop lather so the two accomplish the goal (opening the pores), but hey!, some shave with cold water and tight skin pores...doesn't work for me. My beard shaves off easier with open pores via heat, water and lather

Something else you will want to develop, you'll want to use your straight razor to *slice* the beard hairs off. As n00bs we're taught to move the razor straight ahead and not to move the razor sideways. Moving the razor sideways w/o forward motion will garuntee you a cut, but if you move the razor forward and slightly off to the side simultaneously (a diagonal motion if you will), now you are slicing beard hair instead of chopping it and your razor will cut more efficiently. think about this technique like you might cut a tomatoe with a kinfe. If your knife is sharp you can problably cut the tomatoe with a chopping stroke, especially if the tomatoe is firm and not overly ripe, but if the tomatoe is ripe, you knife will cut more efficiently if you slice while you cut. Your knife blade still moves down but at the same time the knife's edge moves forward. That is a slicing stroke and a good stroke for you to learn how to do with your straight razor. (((BUT))), you must always keep the cutting edge of your razor moving forward while moving it diagonally, otherwise you will slice your skin instead of your beard. And for God's sake, keep the blade angle low

Another way to look at the logic behind keeping the blade angle low...we're taught that the reason it's easy to cut yourself shaving ATG is because your razor's edge will want to follow the hair shaft *into* your skin. That is empirical. What makes it possible to shave ATG is your ability to keep said blade from digging into your skin. Those that can successfully shave ATG know how to do it. it takes a deft touch, and also, maintaining low blade angles

Some of us find it easier to do 2 WTG passes before venturing on to XTG and ATG passes using a straight razor. my first pass on both sides of my face start out WTG, moving the blade north to south starting at the top, but by the time I hit my jaw line, now I'm shaving XTG, and I always shave my jawline 1st pass XTG. Works for me but it might not for someone else, so beard mapping just like you first learned shaving with a safety razor, still comes into play using a straight razor

Okay, hope you find some of what I threw out here useful. And as always, others may have better and different ideas


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.