30 degrees vs 45 degrees, Feather AS-D2 question

I finally received my AS-D2, and while I like it, I can definitely tell it is milder than the Merkur 34C I had. Not a lot, but noticeable.

I watched some videos over the weekend and the question I have is this...

Many people say the angle the AS-D2 shaves well at is different than most razors. Most they recommend a 30 degree angle but for the AS-D2 they recommend 45 degrees.

Which angle are we measuring? The blade to the face, right? Or are people talking about the handle in relation to the face.

In either case, changing from 30 degree to 45 degrees means raising the handle higher and more perpendicular to the face, right? Not lowering it down and becoming closer to parallel with the face?

You will simply have to start at perpendicular and lower the handle until the razor shaves comfortably keeping in mind that the handle "angle" will have to be constantly adjusted for each part of your face. These blade angle suggestions are approximate and vary from razor to razor, blade to blade, face to face and face zone to face zone. Most razors have a fairly wide angle range over which they will work, too steep and you get irritation, too shallow and you won't get a good shave. You just have to find your comfort zone with each razor you use, sooner than you think it will all become automatic. I think we sometimes tend to overthink this shaving process.

Thanks, and I understand that. I got a good shave, I'm not asking "how do I shave" by any means, there is PLENTY of material on this forum about that

I'm specifically wondering though what is meant by 30 to 45 degrees? Is the handle lifted, or lowered, to achieve that angle? That's really all, I just want to know what is working for the people who use the razor, a higher or a lower angle.

They usually are referring to blade angle relative to the face. What this means is that as the handle moves closer to the face, the resulting blade angle is increased. Therefore, a 30 degree blade angle will have the handle further from the face than a 45 degree blade angle.

Grantypoo said:

Thanks, and I understand that. I got a good shave, I'm not asking "how do I shave" by any means, there is PLENTY of material on this forum about that

I'm specifically wondering though what is meant by 30 to 45 degrees? Is the handle lifted, or lowered, to achieve that angle? That's really all, I just want to know what is working for the people who use the razor, a higher or a lower angle.

Click to expand...

It's the technique ib in which you hold the razor, on a slant approach as you do a shave pass.

I believe is the handle that is 45 degrees from face.

That's how i shave with my feather.

Grantypoo said:

I'm specifically wondering though what is meant by 30 to 45 degrees? Is the handle lifted, or lowered, to achieve that angle? That's really all, I just want to know what is working for the people who use the razor, a higher or a lower angle.

Click to expand...

When we talk about angle, it's the blade angle that matters, not the handle.

If you use a 30° angle, the handle will be lifted, if you start lowering the handle the angle increases and results in a steeper angle (45° for example).

Example here, the 30° would be the shallow angle, and the 45° is the steep angle.

dgreen92807 said:

They usually are referring to blade angle relative to the face. What this means is that as the handle moves closer to the face, the resulting blade angle is increased. Therefore, a 30 degree blade angle will have the handle further from the face than a 45 degree blade angle.

Click to expand...

+1

+2. For what is worth. I use a shallower angle with the ASD2. With the angle being top cap to blade to skin, which means the handle is further from the face and closer to parallel to the floor.

Thanks guys.

MrSmith, I'm surprised at that. I've been using the ASD2 every day this week, admiteddly I'm a noob, but I've been having the handle closer to my face, and getting better shaves. I still havent found the sweet spot for it though, I am doing WTD, XTG and ATG and still having a few spots, normally around my jawline, where I obviously dont quite have the right angle and I have some small stubble left over.

I should try holding it farther away from my face and see if that goes away.

That is kind of the problem I'm having... I try different angles as I shave, but they all remove hair and visually look perfect. However, something is definitely wrong as I have some parts of my face BSS and others are just what I would term DFS, at least for me. It's all great, but some is just better than others and I can feel no hair no matter which angle I used there.

Anyway, I'm just learning still. I should probably pick an angle and stick with it a whole shave, then see how it feels afterwards. Next time, try a slightly different angle and see how it ends up.