Blade Angle - some help for newbies

[tritrek]

This the kind of topic that makes you slap your forehead and say "hell yeah!"... we know this, read this but this pic tutorial is epic. Vote for a sticky!

 

[Teebo]

Great pictures, easy to understand angles

 

[Reed]

This is great! Thank you!

 

[doesnotcompute]

Thread added to the Sticky Wetshaving instructions and tutorials

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=71700

Thanks! I'm really pleased that my few moments taking photos has helped so many people.

 

[shaveBandito]

Excellent way to show blade angle! I certainly learned a lot from the pictures. Thank you.

 

[salazch12]

this is awesome!! thanks you. I've been struggling trying to figure this out.
One question though...

When I go ATG my blade just skips off my stuble and its hard to keep the razor on my face and cut the hair. I've used good prep and done a couple passes (enough passes so anyting other than ATG will not reduce the beard any further). Any ideas?

 

[Fer]

I place my Parker on a flat surface and checked the position of the razor at different angles. I achieved the perfect position (i.e. picture #6) with the safety bar not touching the surface. I guess this varies from razor to razor...and with some the bending of the razor is adjustable. I think that for every new razor that I get I will do the flat surface test to see what angle I need to shoot for to obtain perfection (again i.e. picture #6). Cheers!!!

 

[ChristopherK]

Just a quick suggestion, it is likely just the photographer coming out in me, but use a smaller aperture next time, so that more of the subject (razor is in focus). And also, rotating the images 90 degrees clockwise may make it easier to visually understand the blade angle against the face. Great post!

 

[Eric V]

Thanks for the photos! It will improve my DE shaving, and give me a better idea of how to use my new straight edge.

 

[Luc]

This page is now available in Wiki: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Blade_Angle

 

[salazch12]

Ok, really dumb question but which picture is the correct angle?

 

[Luc]

Ok, really dumb question but which picture is the correct angle?

If you read the first post, it's between 6 and 7... 6 being best.

 

[Montecristo #2]

Good info here

 

[rajagra]

Glad I saw this thread. Made me realise that getting the right blade angle is not the only objective. You also need to decide from which direction you are going to approach that angle / which way you would prefer your errors in blade angle to be.

Today I experimented with shallow blade angles (steep handle angle.) It's a very odd sensation allowing the top cap to rub against your face and controlling how close the blade gets. I found it worked well in places where going ATG is normally harsh.

Somebody said it's not right having the safety bar elevated off the skin as it's not doing its job. But an alternative view is to think of safety bars like the training wheels on a bike - they are doing their job best when they are not making contact.

 

[Skinbubble]

Wow!

A great post for a beginner like me.

Thanks!!

 

[aceinyerface]

That is a wonderful visual of what you are looking for. Well done.

 

[morcoffee]

awesome post.. i'd be lost without information like this so readily available..

 

[Lobwedge]

Great post, thanks for making the effort. A picture indeed paints a thousand words and a visual is really helpful considering the sharp edge we expose ourselves too in this activity.

 

[Samec87]

I have a copy of these photo's next to my mirror. Helped me alot the first couple of weeks.

 

[jjfar]

Just had my first shave on my new/used micromatic. I agree its always about the angle. Luckily ,only one weeper.
Got the hang of this old SE halfway through the scrape.But I'm completely open to advice, pointers, tips etc. So feel free to kibbitz and criticize.
Just remember I'm a former Marine and heavily armed.