Blade angle

How do you determine the blade angle against your face??


Joe

Lay it flat on your face, slowly rotate the spine out until you hear cutting.

Good question. Thanks for the answer too.


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Thank you.
I had a Dovo years ago and gave it away. Thinking I may have to reinvest.

Keep it almost flat against you're face. Just barely lift the spine off your skin, at most by the width of the spine.

Too steep will ruin your edge quickly, feel crappy while shaving, and increase the likelihood of cuts.

^ great advice above!
i've learned this the 'hard' way!

Seraphim said:

Keep it almost flat against you're face. Just barely lift the spine off your skin, at most by the width of the spine.

Too steep will ruin your edge quickly, feel crappy while shaving, and increase the likelihood of cuts.

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Will it kill the edge that quickly?

bberg100 said:

Lay it flat on your face, slowly rotate the spine out until you hear cutting.

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That's great for a hollow razor, but on a wedge, to 1/4 wedge you not going to hear anything.

Question: since steep angles are detrimental to the edge, how should I shave under the nose when going WTG? All videos and threads I've seen show or describe a steep "scraping" motion to get the moustache, but that is both only uncomfortable when I do it, but it seems to be a bad case of edge-killing angle (from what Seraphim says).

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The "coupe de maitre'" (shaving under the nose) is done in a scooping motion. The blade starts out steep, but flattens out as it goes. It's unavoidable, unless you remove your nose.


And, in my early experience, yes, a single three pass shave with a steep angle can severely degrade your edge in a single shave. A low angle shave will prolong your edge for a VERY long time.

I used to do extensive microscope investigations of before and after, etc etc. so I had empirical data, not just concepts about what was happening: scraping versus shaving.

the scoop motion is simply place the blade as high as you feel comfortable to your nostril, ride the spine down your nose as you go.

or simply skip WTG and do an ATG under/around your nose if you can put up with it.

Seraphim said:

The "coupe de maitre'" (shaving under the nose) is done in a scooping motion. The blade starts out steep, but flattens out as it goes. It's unavoidable, unless you remove your nose.


And, in my early experience, yes, a single three pass shave with a steep angle can severely degrade your edge in a single shave. A low angle shave will prolong your edge for a VERY long time.

I used to do extensive microscope investigations of before and after, etc etc. so I had empirical data, not just concepts about what was happening: scraping versus shaving.

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Thanks, Seraphim. I don't doubt your findings at all, and apologize if it seemed that way.

It's interesting to know that a single bad shave can kill an edge! Something to watch out for!

I'll keep practicing the scoop motion, or just try a xtg or atg pass instead. But before I get there, I need to get better on my wtg on the cheeks and neck!

Thanks again,

Hi

As Craig and others said, almost no angle and no pressure.

Do not feel crisped and let the blade remove the lather not the whiskers. Better an extra pass than too much pressure.

Under the nose : I go from my lip to my nose moving my head not my razor, since the 1st pass. Slowly !

Flat always. Zero pressure always.

Best luck

I tried this and it has transformed my shave! Yes, just enough angle to cut. At low angles, it might feel, through the razor, as though it's not cutting, but your ears will tell you that it is.

Funny, before ever using a straight razor, I had a very solid impression that the razor was held at a very steep angle. It just seemed that the whiskers must be scraped off. Where did I get that impression? The only place I had ever seen it done was on TV ... perhaps those actors performing the shaves were using dulled razors, and were wiping shaving cream from freshly shaven faces ... maybe it wasn't necessary for them to learn how to use a straight in order to "perform" with one! Maybe it was just a trick of camera angle that made it look like that.

Many people have that same distinct impression that I had, and it can be a little tough to shake. Television, once again, proves to be a great place to misinform. Badger and Blade ... the opposite!!

You know, reading this thread has made the light bulb come on for me. I have been having alot of problems with sub par shave from my straights versus my shavette(what I learned on). I have realized that I have become used to having a steeper angle of attack, which is necessary for the shavette , and have not adapted my technique to the straight razor. I'll try it out to verify when I get back home. Thanks for inadvertently turning on the light bulb for me.

BigJoe said:

Thank you.
I had a Dovo years ago and gave it away. Thinking I may have to reinvest.

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There are Dovos that should be cherished. There are also Dovos that should be destroyed with extreme glee and malice, or at least given to one's worst enemy.

A good angle to begin with is to start with the razor flat against the face, and rotate the spine outward until the gap between the spine and skin is equal to the spine's thickness. If you have to rotate the spine out more than that to get it to shave, your edge might not be sharp enough. Or maybe you are not stretching good, or getting a good prep. Rolling the spine further out results in scraping rather than true shaving, and should be avoided.

Oh, and another trick for under the nose is to use the "piggy face" technique. Pull the tip of your nose up and in to make the skin flatter.

Slash McCoy said:

Oh, and another trick for under the nose is to use the "piggy face" technique. Pull the tip of your nose up and in to make the skin flatter.

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Good suggestion! I'll give that a try next time. Thanks!

pantoporos aporos said:

Question: since steep angles are detrimental to the edge, how should I shave under the nose when going WTG? All videos and threads I've seen show or describe a steep "scraping" motion to get the moustache, but that is both only uncomfortable when I do it, but it seems to be a bad case of edge-killing angle (from what Seraphim says).

Click to expand...

Why not just grow a mustache? Or better yet, a handlebar?