Last two shaves I used an Old Type with a Feather. I used the steep angle method. I think it works great with an Old Type.
So, what is the steep angle?
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- #42
I only use the steep angle with the R41 and my 39C.
Other than those two, the steep angle isn't good for me.
Other than those two, the steep angle isn't good for me.
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- #46
I suppose that is a good thing, means that you mastered both angles and you're getting good results with both.
Yup ... only a very limited group of razors work for me, using a steep angle.
R41, Old Type, Merkur Progress ... and ... I think that's it.
Thanks for posting this Edgar. I read it about 6 weeks ago and it has changed the way I shave, for the better. I guess because of the YMMV "rule", I am a steep shaver. It just seems to agree with my face. I have been trying this with a shimmed Old Type and a RR Little Bastone. Both provide an irritation free DFS with just a couple of passes.
My SC and LC New are fine using a shallow angle(steep just doesn't work) but they don't have the feel and efficiency of a more aggressive razor using a steep angle.
Great sticky for something that almost seems too obvious but was super helpful to me.
PS. It has also fired up a new case of RAD. The 2013 R41 is on route and I'm fighting a terrible urge to acquire a FaTip. They really aren't that expensive on the BST and someone probably has one just laying around...
My SC and LC New are fine using a shallow angle(steep just doesn't work) but they don't have the feel and efficiency of a more aggressive razor using a steep angle.
Great sticky for something that almost seems too obvious but was super helpful to me.
PS. It has also fired up a new case of RAD. The 2013 R41 is on route and I'm fighting a terrible urge to acquire a FaTip. They really aren't that expensive on the BST and someone probably has one just laying around...
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- #48
Thanks Jimmy, I'm glad it was helpful.
Yes, it may seem too obvious, but sometimes people don't realize that they should consider the blade angle, not handle angle for example, and that was confusing some members. So they would call shallow to the steep angle and vice versa.
Yup, my experience has been the same, the NEWs are shallow angle shavers, no way around that. On the other hand, steep angle shaves with the Old Type are brilliant!
Definitely you should get the R41, if you like the shimmed Old Type, you will love the R41 (although it is noticeably more aggressive).
When you do, join us at the Zoo!
The Fatip is a great modern razor - one of the few made of brass instead of zamak. They really aren't that expensive at Shaving.ie either:
http://www.shaving.ie/search.php?search_query=fatip&x=0&y=0
Cheers, George
A steep angle works great with my "ATT" R1 and with the RR Salnts (both Aluminium and DLC - although the DLC needs a slightly shallower angle than the V1 Aluminium).
On the other hand with my Weber PH an extreme shallow angle works best...
Maybe there should be a list on the Wiki?
On the other hand with my Weber PH an extreme shallow angle works best...
Maybe there should be a list on the Wiki?
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At how many degrees is it considered steep? 75 degrees? Measured from the back of the blade to the skin?
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- #52
Shawn, probably 75° is a good guess, considering that the standard angle is ± 30°.
It depends on the razor too. IME no razor will go as steep as the R41 for example, others work better with a very shallow angle, less than the "standard" 30°.
As you know, measuring these angles accurately would be a difficult task. This was meant to show the difference between shallow and steep, in a very simple way, as there was a lot of confusion. Apparently now we're all on the same page.
Are you experimenting with something?
I was looking at Jinx18's photo of his LA BBS-1 and measuring its angle with some software. It looks like about 40 degrees ... which I guess is steeper than most, but not "steep".
The software is the opensource GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). It takes some getting used to, but you can zoom in on a photo such as this and draw the tangent and then measure the angle pretty precisely.
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- #54
Yup ... doesn't seem to have enough blade exposure to come even close to a R41 steep angle. It has a big gap, but without drawing any lines, just by looking at the picture, the exposure seems small, I might be wrong though.
Might be wrong again, but IIRC Craig said it works better with a very shallow angle which kinda confirms that the exposure is not nearly enough to allow steep angles.
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- #55
I've been experimenting with this software and it's indeed cool, but the 75 degrees angle wasn't a very good guess ... 
But all the measurements confirm what we've been saying. The BBS-1 Doesn't have enough blade exposure to allow steep angles and in fact it seems like its effective shaving angle range is limited, allowing shallow angles only, the cutting angle is 35,52 degrees according to my measurement:
Now the R41, with the stock cap and even using the shallowest angle possible, the cutting angle is 38,23 degrees:
Using the steepest angle allowed by the blade exposure, this angle increases to 50.75 degrees:
The 3D printed Spitfire cap increases the blade exposure even more, which allows an even steeper angle, at 55.99 degrees:
And finally an example of a razor that will only allow shallow angles, and its cutting angle is 26.96 degrees. Gillette English Goodwill. In general all NEWs prefer a very shallow angle, and in fact you have no choice.
Thank you Shawn, this is something I should have done long ago.
But all the measurements confirm what we've been saying. The BBS-1 Doesn't have enough blade exposure to allow steep angles and in fact it seems like its effective shaving angle range is limited, allowing shallow angles only, the cutting angle is 35,52 degrees according to my measurement:
Now the R41, with the stock cap and even using the shallowest angle possible, the cutting angle is 38,23 degrees:
Using the steepest angle allowed by the blade exposure, this angle increases to 50.75 degrees:
The 3D printed Spitfire cap increases the blade exposure even more, which allows an even steeper angle, at 55.99 degrees:
And finally an example of a razor that will only allow shallow angles, and its cutting angle is 26.96 degrees. Gillette English Goodwill. In general all NEWs prefer a very shallow angle, and in fact you have no choice.
Thank you Shawn, this is something I should have done long ago.
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This is interesting, Edgar. I'll try it with my Progress on 5 today.
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- #57
Yup, the steep angle works with the Progress too, Aaron. It's the angle I use with my Progress, with great results!
These three photos explain things better than thousands of words.
Thanks so much for doing these! Clearly ... we need more razor photos!
Cheers!
Shawn
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