Steep Angle Shavers Alliance

[Raven Koenes]

I'm in!

I second Cal, welcome to SASA!

 

[loot]

I'm in. Definitely in...although you may decide to tighten the membership requirements before I'm done. [emoji16]

I've always internally thought the advice to ride the cap barely eclipsed the no pressure rule as the least helpful in all of DE shaving. I think these funky skin stretching routines people work themselves into fits over are rubbish too. I'll likely continue to closet my angst outside of this thread. Whatever works for others, I'm good with but some of those guys can be rather militant.

I followed some of those instructions when I was first learning DE shaving, with great frustration. After a few weeks of awkwardly hacking my face to bits, I decided to quit relying on written instructions from other faces and apply the tool in hand on MY face.

Steep angle shaving is natural to me with any razor and produces incredible results.

I too gravitate towards more aggressive razors (a shimmed ikon tech is crazy talk) and that's about all I've kept. I'm told it's because my technique is bad. Seems like an odd accusation to make but hey, what do I know?

As to the bar stretching the skin ahead of the blade as apposed to behind the blade...that seems rather logical too now that it's been pointed out. That, along with some head movement and good face/neck muscle control may further explain why I don't need a left hand ahead of, behind, or anywhere near the head of my razor to shave.

I've got some reading to do in the thread yet. I'm sure there are other great tidbits I intend to uncover. I can continue to do so silently, if necessary.


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[loot]

They call it a guard for a reason! [emoji106]

Duh. It's right there too. They didn't try to hide it either...but until I read it here, the light never came on.

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[Cal]

I'm in.

Welcome to the SASA, loot.

 

[Trenchdigger]

Welcome Loot!

I can't and won't disagree with anything you say. Choose the best tool and technique for your face!

I've had similar experiences that vastly diverge from conventional "wisdom".

 

[bearded1]

Preach, Brother! It's your face. Your putting a razor edge on it. It ought to be on your own terms.

 

[Raven Koenes]

Welcome to SASA loot!

 

[loot]

Thanks for the welcome, men.

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[loot]

I've really enjoyed reading your posts, @Esox , and it sounds as if you're getting there. You've had some great advice too. Just as the best shaving angle will vary among razors, I think the same applies to the optimum thickness for lather from different soaps. Personally, I tend to favour a slightly thicker lather than some, but that will vary depending on soap. MWF, for me, performs at its best when I look like the man on the Arko stick, with half an inch of thick lather on my face. Any thinner than that and its performance degrades significantly, it loses slickness and my razor starts to skip. Palmolive, on the other hand, performs extremely well even when the lather is pretty thin. Whatever works best for you.

That's a bit of a digression - the point I wanted to make was on preparation. Lots of folk seem to be able to get away with a splash of warm water, but I'm not one of them. As you have a coarse beard, like me, you may find you benefit from spending more time softening it prior to the shave. Lots of hot - not warm - water is the key here. Hot water breaks down the outer hydrophobic layer on the whisker, allowing more water to penetrate and cause it to expand from the inside, by up to 30%. So your whiskers are softer, more surface area is presented to the blade, and the resultant shave is likely to be more comfortable and last longer, because hydrated whiskers will shrink back to their original state after some time, so they're not re-growing as quickly.

Sorry if you know all this already and I'm teaching granny to suck eggs: it's a bit of a hobby horse of mine, seeing as we spend a lot of time discussing blades, razors, soaps, technique, but IMHO sometimes don't pay enough attention to the fundamentals of preparation.

Anyway, good luck and keep us posted!

Kudos, sir. You just explained why I only shave after a hot shower and thorough face wash. Add the fact that as a young man, i was handed a disposable BIC and told to clean up before a wrestling match. I learned about prep early.

Great post, worth a revisit.

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[loot]

Try shaving one side of your face by riding the cap and the other side of your face by riding the guard. After your first WTG pass than rinse off the water and compare the end results. And most importantly see how your skin feels during the shave.

One day I was hyper-focused and "in the zone" and what I did was just an "instincts shave" where I just concentrated on the feeling and let my subconscious mind be in the drivers seat to adjust the angle on its own and see what felt natural. Probably the best angle lies somewhere in between the 2 extremes of riding the cap or riding the guard. But what I noticed for myself is that I was gravitating very heavily in my "natural angle" to riding the guard (With the handle almost parallel to my face rather than being chicken-winged far out). What I found was that for me a shallow angle is un-natural and feels "forced".

I like the most aggression and most efficiency that I can get away with and still be comfortable. I want the fewest amount of passes to get the job done. I want the closest shave I can get without sacrificing comfort and I want to avoid ANY weepers, nicks, razor burn and so forth. So for me the most direct path to those results is a steep angle.

A riding the cap method is often taught to newbies and back when I was riding the cap I was getting the MOST irritation. Let us know how you get on but in general the best angle is probably the one that your hand gravitates to on its won without any "conscious intervention".

"No pressure" is an idiom we teach to newbies because newcomers will almost always have a heavy hand and be using too much pressure because they are coming from multi blade cartridges which require such methods. But we do need to apply more pressure and it is natural to do so. I find that when the blade is brand new or within the first 3 shaves it needs very little pressure because of how sharp it is. But when we get into shave 4 and above or when using a mild razor or using an adjustable on the mild settings that a little more pressure is required.

Another great post.

So far, it seems we all gravitate to the most efficient razors on the planet. Are there any SASA guys running milder razors?

Also, this post triggered another thought on blade feel. If there is sufficient blade feel, I can tune out all the angle and pressure thoughts and let the blade feedback and audible sound determine angle/pressure. I need that tactile response across the full width of the blade. Blade feel = Blade Control.

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[loot]

That’s great news. A steep angle and some pressure always give me my best shaves. I totally understand why we do not give this advice to newcomers, but everyone should at least give it a try when they’re confident with their basic technique.

Good post...but, I've been told by a fairly loud voice that I mask my poor technique with efficient razor. Seems contradictory to this post. Hmmm

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[loot]

Last 2 shaves I have shimmed my favorite Ikon Tech and can tell a slight improvement. No skipping around the adam's apple, where I usually get a little bit. Very pleased!

Another one of the IT shimmers. Seems scary. Seems totally unnecessary. Seems fun.

I've not shimmed a razor, but I'm game. I'll see if I can figure it out.

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[Hannah's Dad]

I’m in. Early in my journey, I was a daily R41 user, and I used it with a very steep angle with much success. Then vintage RAD hit me hard, and I resorted to a shallower approach, in candor because that’s what the herd preached. Silly me. The answer was there all along - steep. And thanks to @loot for encouraging me to test both the Blackbird and the Wolfman 1.25 with a very steep angle and a very sharp blade, I’ve reached epiphany.

 

[Cal]

I’m in.

Welcome to the SASA Dan.

 

[Cal]

Another one of the IT shimmers. Seems scary. Seems totally unnecessary. Seems fun.

I've not shimmed a razor, but I'm game. I'll see if I can figure it out.

There are lots of reasons for shimming, loot. Check out this ShaveWiki page which contains the diagram below:

I shim my iKon Tech and R41 simply to increase the blade rigidity. I originally learned this trick from Anthony @rabidus, the Rigid Blade King.

Being one of the many suffering from TWS (Tough Whisker Syndrome), ATG passes with these "excessive clamp distance" razors meant too much blade skipping and chattering for my liking. Just a single (wide) shim sorted that problem out immediately. And of course that combined with steep angle shaving is win win win (for me at least).

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Welcome to the SASA Dan.

Thanks, Cal.

 

[loot]

I’m in.

Welcome, sir.

 

[loot]

There are lots of reasons for shimming, loot. Check out this ShaveWiki page which contains the diagram below:

I shim my iKon Tech and R41 simply to increase the blade rigidity. I originally learned this trick from Anthony @rabidus, the Rigid Blade King.

Being one of the many suffering from TWS (Tough Whisker Syndrome), ATG passes with these "excessive clamp distance" razors meant too much blade skipping and chattering for my liking. Just a single (wide) shim sorted that problem out immediately. And of course that combined with steep angle shaving is win win win (for me at least).

Far too cerebral for me to digest. I'm simple...so, I'll take the Shim column with all the red +'s for the win, Alex!

Where are the instructions for modifying the blades? Do you just cut them with scissors?

I gotta shave in a bit...I'd love to throw a shim in a Wolfman with a GIANT gap!

 

[Cal]

Where are the instructions for modifying the blades? Do you just cut them with scissors?

There are endless ways of making shims. Personally, I draw lines 1mm in from the blade edges and cut those 1mm strips off with tin snips or scissors. That leaves you with a 20mm wide shim (standard DE blades being 22mm wide).

CAUTION
This is a dangerous business. The incredibly sharp 1mm shards will fly "anywhere." Work in an open space where you can easily see, rescue, and dispose of the shards safely. Wear eye protection.

 

[loot]

There are endless ways of making shims. Personally, I draw lines 1mm in from the blade edges and cut those 1mm strips off with tin snips or scissors. That leaves you with a 20mm wide shim (standard DE blades being 22mm wide).
View attachment 999444
CAUTION
This is a dangerous business. The incredibly sharp 1mm shards will fly "anywhere." Work in an open space where you can easily see, rescue, and dispose of the shards safely. Wear eye protection.

Thank you.

So, are the cut edges sharp with burrs that are going to scratch my baseplates? If so, I'ma pass. It's one thing to shim an inexpensive razor and not care about marring of mating surfaces...unfortunately, I don't have anything I want scratched. Hmmm