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slant technique vs traditional DE technique

I have been shaving with traditional DE razors for years. I am considering a slant, but am wondering how different the technique needs to be. Once I get used to slant technique, is it easy to switch back and forth between the slant and traditional razors , or are you better off sticking with one or the other? Thanks
 
It's not really any different, except for things like lining up the sideburns. The whole idea of the slant is to more or less automatically give you that slicing action you can get by moving the standard razor using some fancy tricks.
 
So here's a funny story about that...

When I first got into shaving my head with DEs, I used a slant. About 2 years in, I dropped it by accident and it broke so I switched back for another couple years to a regular DE. I looked around and finally found another slant I liked so I pulled the trigger and bought it. I was so stoked when I received it that I immediately went to the bathroom to use it. My first shave with it, I nearly shaved off a slightly raised mole I have on the top of my head that I would purposely work around with the slant but since I had been using the regular DE for a bit, I had forgotten I needed to be careful there... Pretty sure it bled for 2 days... Needless to say, into the closet the slant went where it still resides today (almost 3 years now)

Moral of the story... like others have said, you can probably switch back and forth but it is like any other razor that requires a conscious effort in knowing what your are using...
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
My first BBS was with a Razorock 37 German slant and I think slants are a little more efficient and I went to a 2 pass with pick ups to avoid over shaving with my slants. But now I can use most razors with a 2 pass and pickups to get a DFS,BBS range .
In theory it should work better but how do you do it scientifically test to confirm this (Snow plow angle or Guillotine slicing effect). Gillette never built a slant razor and could of easily made a slant because they had the brain power and tooling to make a nice slant but King Gillette thought it was just a gimmick and so he had pamphlets made describing how to do the same maneuver with a regular Gillette razor (aka> Gillette slide). It is easier to just use a slant then the Gillette slide IMO.
Gillette slide (2).jpg

Have some great shaves!
 

Iridian

Cool and slimy
The thing about slant razors is that they do the slanted angle when you shave with them as if they would be normal razors. No special technique required.

Now what makes slants efficient isn't so much the slant: the blades are in many slants do heavily twisted, torsioned that they are stiffer, which gives a better shave.

The Razorock Wunderbar and their BBS razors look somewhat similar. One could think of the Wunderbar as a double twisted BBS.

When it comes to efficiency and shaving result, not even the BBS AS plate can match it. At the same time it's shaving much smoother.

There is one thing you shouldn't do when starting to shave with a slant. I recommend to just pull down straight and not look in the mirror, I felt myself trying to make the blade "even", but thankfully got blade feedback that told me not to before I got injured.

If you want to try a slant and don't want to pay the premium for the Wunderbar, the Fatip Lo Storto would be my recommendation. I am not sure if the Merkur slants work out as nicely.
 
I've only used one slant razor and that's the Fatip OC slant or as we call it - the FOCS. I didn't notice anything strange and I really like how it shaves, despite the fact that for whatever reason some blades tend to get stuck on the top cap, but rather than that I find it a bit better compared to the rest of the Fatips that i've used.
 
I've only used one slant razor and that's the Fatip OC slant or as we call it - the FOCS. I didn't notice anything strange and I really like how it shaves, despite the fact that for whatever reason some blades tend to get stuck on the top cap, but rather than that I find it a bit better compared to the rest of the Fatips that i've used.
I have that plus a vintage Hoffritz. No special technique is required for using a slant . . . and I believe my slans plane me off closer with less drama than my other razors.
 
I have that plus a vintage Hoffritz. No special technique is required for using a slant . . . and I believe my slans plane me off closer with less drama than my other razors.

I'm no slant expert, but you might be right. I know a lot of people who have also used many razors, but after they've used a slant or two, they are convinced that the slants work better for them. Despite the imperfections of the FOCS, I like it a lot, but since it's my first and only slant I can't really say if most of them are just as good or not.
 
I have been shaving with traditional DE razors for years. I am considering a slant, but am wondering how different the technique needs to be. Once I get used to slant technique, is it easy to switch back and forth between the slant and traditional razors , or are you better off sticking with one or the other? Thanks
No difference in technique. Same pressure, same stroke. The slant does all the magic, supposedly slicing through the hair at an angle give it less drag. I like slants but don't feel a definite improvement over regular DE razors unless my beard is over few couple days old.
 
I don't notice a huge difference in a slant over a standard razor.

As to efficiency I rate the Merkur 34 as a 5 on a scale of 10. I rate its slant sibling the Merkur 37 as a 6 on a scale of 10.

Translation: A slight improvement in efficiency, but nothing dramatic.
 
I used my vintage Hoffritz today, charged with a Personna Lab Blue with 1 shave on it, now 2. Outstanding shave, and about the closest I can recall coming to BBS without irritation or nicks. The difference in result between this slant or the FOCS, and, say, my Merkur Progress is tiny. But I notice it.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
One thing about slants is that most of them have a slightly wider "shave window" than comparable DEs. It's been some years now since I shaved with a plain DE but I use a number of slants, SE Gem and AC, shavettes, etc.

I usually approach a fresh razor gingerly, and "tune" around a little reminding myself of the shave angle that razor prefers. Then it's off to the races.

O.H.
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
Concur. Same technique, no difference at all. As has been said, you need to pay close attention at the start of the sideburns to not end up looking like Mr. Spock, but otherwise identical.
 

Lefonque

Even more clueless than you
I use the same technique with a slant to no slant. I frequently swap between the different style razors.
 
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