"The No Pressure Mantra Is Misleading. Some Pressure Is Beneficial For A longer Lasting And More Efficient Result." Discuss.

[dotKomo]

"No pressure" is sometimes a useful way to think about things to remain gentle, careful, and mindful, but taking it literally is incorrect. In practice, pressure is necessary and excessive pressure is a common pitfall.

Yes. This came strikingly apparent to me following recent shoulder surgery on my right (shaving) arm. While my left hand is quite adept at fine motor skills, my shaves suffered as I was using too much pressure. Being more mindful has helped with that.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Got to have pressure with a well-designed razor. The safety bar (or comb) pushes down the skin, gives a little stretch, then the blade comes along and nips the whisker. Kinda like a wave. Another good reason not to ride the cap too much.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. Pressure. Beats the heck out of the "letting the weight of the razor" do it, eh? Haha.

I think Nemo has it right. The blade guard and cap have other jobs but one is the keep the blade a consistent distance from the skin.
Pressure? Yes, some pressure is required to make the razor work. Obviously, the blade needs to contact your face, but the comb/bar and cap is there to make sure the blade contacts the face just enough to be effective.

I think one item that doesn't get much discussion is a secondary purpose of the blade/cap.
We are taking a sharp/rigid and straight blade and attempting to move it across a soft/curved and maybe bumpy surface. The razor head ensures the skin is also straight and stretched slightly as it moves across the guard/blade/cap. You need some pressure too make the system work.

How much pressure? There are too many variables to say. The learning what we or a razor needs is part of the enjoyment.

I think a good rule of thumb is to figure the minimum amount of pressure your hand needs to check the result of your shave. That is the amount of pressure to use with your razor. The correct pressure is what you need. You will know it when you get it right.

Thanks for the idea Alum.

Dirty

 

[sternej]

I find that when a perfect neutral angle is achieved between blade and bar, the pressure needed becomes equal, so the hand instinctively compensates for ultra light to heavy razors. The negative pressure I understand to be holding back the full weight of a heavy razor.

 

[Quaznoid]

Judiciously applied pressure is essential to a good shave. How much pressure to use when and where is the essence of perfecting technique

 

[spacemonkey42]

I define pressure as forward energy of the stroke, not pressing down, although a little of that is beneficial.

I define pressure as the force into your face - perpendicular to and pushing into your skin. There is also a force across the plane of your face, but I don't think that is normally called pressure.

 

[Alum Ladd]

I define pressure as the force into your face - perpendicular to and pushing into your skin. There is also a force across the plane of your face, but I don't think that is normally called pressure.

Do we have a definition for that in one word that could be generally agreed upon?

 

[helicopter]

Do we have a definition for that in one word that could be generally agreed upon?

I agree with @spacemonkey42 it is force applied perpendicular to the area of skin. There are other forces at play, too, but they are not pressure.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Do we have a definition for that in one word that could be generally agreed upon?

All of these are forces, we could draw some nice force diagrams.

Pressure = force into your face.

The other force could be called a transverse force or a tangential force. I like tangential, because it would always be the force across the surface, regardless of the angle of that surface.

 

[Alum Ladd]

I agree with @spacemonkey42 it is force applied perpendicular to the area of skin. There are other forces at play, too, but they are not pressure.

Indeed. But the present usage of the term 'pressure' appears to be an all-incompassing term attempting to describe the phenomenon in three dimensions.

But do we have a descriptor which defines this horizontal force in a single word? 'Mashing' would suffice as a vivid term for vertical pressure.

It may be useful to undertake a thought experiment to agree on one, which would be useful in further guiding new users by clarifying our terms when explaining some basics.

 

[Alum Ladd]

The other force could be called a transverse force or a tangential force. I like tangential, because it would always be the force across the surface, regardless of the angle of that surface.

Horizontal force 'Touching force'

Vertical force 'Mashing force'

 

[spacemonkey42]

Indeed. But the present usage of the term 'pressure' appears to be an all-incompassing term attempting to describe the phenomenon in three dimensions.

But do we have a descriptor which defines this horizontal force in a single word? 'Mashing' would suffice as a vivid term for vertical pressure.

It may be useful to undertake a thought experiment to agree on one, which would be useful in further guiding new users by clarifying our terms when explaining some basics.

I completely agree we should be clear in our terms. I do think pressure only means the force into one's face, at least that is the only way I've understood and used it.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Horizontal force 'Touching force' : That direction which attempts to cut growth closest to the skin surface.

Vertical force 'Mashing force' : That direction which inadvertently directs the blade edge into the skin surface itself.

 

[helicopter]

The angle of the blade and handle don't dictate the angle of the force. We are mostly talking about pressure. The only important exception is transverse force, which is the slidey force and not the one pushing towards the face. Basically if it is going into your slick face, and it isn't a slidey force, then it is pressure.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Horizontal or vertical imply a cardinal direction, which doesn't work given all the various curves of one's face/chin/neck.

Pressure (force into your skin) and tangential force (force across your skin) are orthogonal and change with the shape of one's face.

 

[Alum Ladd]

The angle of the blade and handle don't dictate the angle of the force. We are mostly talking about pressure. The only important exception is transverse force, which is the slidey force and not the one pushing towards the face. Basically if it is going into your slick face, and it isn't a slidey force, then it is pressure.

Then Touching pressure and Mashing pressure.

 

[gpjoe]

Some pressure is good.

I believe it is sound advice for new shavers, but development of individual technique in DE, SE or SR platforms can make the adage quickly counter-productive as the user progresses in experience and familiarity with beard type, skin sensitivity and mapping, and an increasingly indifferent shave result becomes a factor if the no pressure rule is blindly adhered to, retarding the new shavers individual route to improving results.

Judicious pressure used with experience, especially at the XTG pass makes a significant difference to the duration of post shave result.

I define pressure as forward energy of the stroke, not pressing down, although a little of that is beneficial.

This takes significant 'dialling in' as to ones' individual technique, razor used and blade deployed.

I recently shaved with a US RT and a second use GSB using no pressure at all. A good shave, but the visible shave duration was suprisingly short, at some ten hours.

About six hours ago I used the same blade, the same Arko! and the same brush in a 48' Super Speed with some pressure at certain stages of the shave and the results point to a longer lasting post shave duration. In other words, visibility of stubble and the need to shave again has been retarded by maybe eight hours longer.

I needed to shave again after twenty four hours with the RT shave. Using some pressure with the SS means that shave will last thirty six hours or slightly more, to my standards.

My face is oddly somewhat smoother and the effect that some term as FIS seems minimal.

Views on this please.

Agreed, in fact as I shaved today I thought:

"Wow, if I pressed this hard when I first started (over 2 years ago), my face would have run red."

Of course, I was using my new Overlander, which seems to forgive bad technique...so it still depends on the razor and blade to some extent.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Horizontal or vertical imply a cardinal direction, which doesn't work given all the various curves of one's face/chin/neck.

Pressure (force into your skin) and tangential force (force across your skin) are orthogonal and change with the shape of one's face.

You mean technique, or the very intimate state of familiarity with one's facial contours, our skin state at a moment in time, our emotional moods and all the unquantifiable aspects of our human condition encompassed in that often illogically chosen moment when we decide we need, we must have a shave, meeting some brutally scientific concepts of geometry and force which equally has to be understood and mastered, at least at a rudimentary level.

The joy and mystery of wet shaving encompassed in a form of art, psychology and science.

All human experience amply represented!

An enjoyable thread Gentlemen.

 

[Hercule]

I find managing pressure much easier and controllable (and safer) than managing a heavier handle.

 

[nemo]

Do we have a definition for that in one word that could be generally agreed upon?

I call it pulling.

 

[Lane101]

Some pressure is good.

I believe it is sound advice for new shavers, but development of individual technique in DE, SE or SR platforms can make the adage quickly counter-productive as the user progresses in experience and familiarity with beard type, skin sensitivity and mapping, and an increasingly indifferent shave result becomes a factor if the no pressure rule is blindly adhered to, retarding the new shavers individual route to improving results.

Judicious pressure used with experience, especially at the XTG pass makes a significant difference to the duration of post shave result.

I define pressure as forward energy of the stroke, not pressing down, although a little of that is beneficial.

This takes significant 'dialling in' as to ones' individual technique, razor used and blade deployed.

I recently shaved with a US RT and a second use GSB using no pressure at all. A good shave, but the visible shave duration was suprisingly short, at some ten hours.

About six hours ago I used the same blade, the same Arko! and the same brush in a 48' Super Speed with some pressure at certain stages of the shave and the results point to a longer lasting post shave duration. In other words, visibility of stubble and the need to shave again has been retarded by maybe eight hours longer.

I needed to shave again after twenty four hours with the RT shave. Using some pressure with the SS means that shave will last thirty six hours or slightly more, to my standards.

My face is oddly somewhat smoother and the effect that some term as FIS seems minimal.

Views on this please.

Yes some pressure is needed either from the weight of the razor or one's shaving technique.

You are right that this needs to be dialed in as I've found that the amount of pressure can vary based on the aggressiveness of the razor. With my very mild King C. Gillette DE razor it's the application of some additional pressure, as part of my technique, that allows me to realize excellent BBS shaves. The razor architecture and blade exposure/geometry seems almost designed to require some light pressure to work well with an overall design that minimizes the chance of any weepers.

For my more moderate Weishi I apply a much lighter pressure or even nothing additional beyond the weight of the razor while shaving the different regions of my face.