Anyone suffering from RAD knows that shaving geeks like us have no balance when it comes to acquiring razors! But what about the razors themselves?
ZigZiglar,in a response to one of my earlier posts, mentioned that he customizes each razor head he owns, with a "customized" handle, where it creates a balance point about two thirds up from the base of the handle.
Intrigued, I took out all my razors and found the balance point. I realized that in getting a good shave I invariably have at least once finger on the balance point. and this varies with every razor I use. I am keeping the razor balanced at the fulcrum as I shave. This gives precision, control and a smooth stroke.
I made sure that before I shaved with my RazoRock Wunderbar slant today, I found the precise balance point and rechecked on each pass, or grip change. Very important for the XTG and ATG passes, I found, because when one is making a sideways, or upward motion balance is especially important. I got a BBS shave, no nicks, cuts, weepers, and very little feedback from the alum block. Very comfortable.
I think this is the reason why people who come from the cartridge razor world, where hardly anything in the way of balance is needed, sometimes struggle initially with DE shaving. They have no sense, initially of the balance point, and so their stroke is all over the place, alternatively cutting, nicking, or irritating themselves as they shave. It can look messy!
They think the answer is a mild razor, or that they have especially sensitive skin, yet as many of us more experienced shavers know, it's almost invariably poor technique. (We all have a learning curve.) Hence the quest for the "one true razor", like a quest for the holy grail.
Some razors are better than others, (some are nasty, brutish and miserable pieces of engineering) but if we've been shaving a while we can all get a pretty decent shave from almost any half way decent razor, though some razors and blades definitely suit us better than others. For example the Wunderbar is a wonderfully precise instrument that holds the blade perfectly in a torqued alignment, producing that stiffness of blade that renders a close shave with almost any blade, as long as the blade is not worn out.
A good razor seems to be a well balanced one, yet I found one (perhaps) exception! My vintage Gillette New Type open comb (circa 1930) is a very smooth shaver yet definitely weighted heavily towards the head. The balance point is very close to the head.
I value others experience here.
Balance is not the only thing but it seems very important.
Just one thing: Please don't send any old waffle about the "weight of the razor doing the work". Drivel. If that were true upward and sideways passes would be inefficient (because now that weight would be working against us) and we could never get BBS shaves (and most experienced DE shavers do) from light Bakelite razors, and of course from straight edge, cutthroat razors.
I believe lightweight razors improve technique, because their very lightness makes one more acutely aware of balance.
What's your experience?
ZigZiglar,in a response to one of my earlier posts, mentioned that he customizes each razor head he owns, with a "customized" handle, where it creates a balance point about two thirds up from the base of the handle.
Intrigued, I took out all my razors and found the balance point. I realized that in getting a good shave I invariably have at least once finger on the balance point. and this varies with every razor I use. I am keeping the razor balanced at the fulcrum as I shave. This gives precision, control and a smooth stroke.
I made sure that before I shaved with my RazoRock Wunderbar slant today, I found the precise balance point and rechecked on each pass, or grip change. Very important for the XTG and ATG passes, I found, because when one is making a sideways, or upward motion balance is especially important. I got a BBS shave, no nicks, cuts, weepers, and very little feedback from the alum block. Very comfortable.
I think this is the reason why people who come from the cartridge razor world, where hardly anything in the way of balance is needed, sometimes struggle initially with DE shaving. They have no sense, initially of the balance point, and so their stroke is all over the place, alternatively cutting, nicking, or irritating themselves as they shave. It can look messy!
They think the answer is a mild razor, or that they have especially sensitive skin, yet as many of us more experienced shavers know, it's almost invariably poor technique. (We all have a learning curve.) Hence the quest for the "one true razor", like a quest for the holy grail.
Some razors are better than others, (some are nasty, brutish and miserable pieces of engineering) but if we've been shaving a while we can all get a pretty decent shave from almost any half way decent razor, though some razors and blades definitely suit us better than others. For example the Wunderbar is a wonderfully precise instrument that holds the blade perfectly in a torqued alignment, producing that stiffness of blade that renders a close shave with almost any blade, as long as the blade is not worn out.
A good razor seems to be a well balanced one, yet I found one (perhaps) exception! My vintage Gillette New Type open comb (circa 1930) is a very smooth shaver yet definitely weighted heavily towards the head. The balance point is very close to the head.
I value others experience here.
Balance is not the only thing but it seems very important.
Just one thing: Please don't send any old waffle about the "weight of the razor doing the work". Drivel. If that were true upward and sideways passes would be inefficient (because now that weight would be working against us) and we could never get BBS shaves (and most experienced DE shavers do) from light Bakelite razors, and of course from straight edge, cutthroat razors.
I believe lightweight razors improve technique, because their very lightness makes one more acutely aware of balance.
What's your experience?
