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Steep angle and blade gap

Tech? Did you use a shim or something. For me the Tech does not have enough blade exposure for steep shaving. At least that's what I thought so far.
Been a while since I've used it, but I remember getting good results with a neutral to steeper angle. Maybe can't go as steep with the Tech as others but it suits my angular nuances I guess. Reminds me that I need to pull it out and give it a go here soon.
 
I'm going to through a wrench in the works. The DE89 that I love with a Feather blade has a more acute angle of attack. The Henson has a more obtuse angle of attack. However, they both give me a great shave. The Game Changer is somewhere between, closer to the DE89 and does not shave my face as well. Perhaps angle and blade gap are part of the puzzle, but it seems more complicated than that, to me.
 
I can shave North /South comfortably with a steep angle, but trying to go S/N, forget about it. Which means if my razor is optimized for one or the other I'm only nailing it half the shave.
 
@sakaltras It's true, much is missing from most discussions about how effective a razor is. Today I used a razor with a lot of blade exposure (a loaner to me) and discovered half way through that riding the bar was not the optimal angle, which made it much easier for my S/N ATG pass.
 
Henson has a steep angle which is why it’s so easy coming from carts. I have ordered a Yates and part of the decision was that it had a relatively steep angle as I read reviews on this forum.
I think it will be very intuitive for me anyway.
 
Henson has a steep angle which is why it’s so easy coming from carts. I have ordered a Yates and part of the decision was that it had a relatively steep angle as I read reviews on this forum.
I think it will be very intuitive for me anyway.
My concern with the Henson razor was the range of possible angles. as far as I remember correctly the range of angles might be quite narrow. But I like its head design. Reminds me to a Ranger Tech, at least how the blade is positioned to be guard.
 
Tech? Did you use a shim or something. For me the Tech does not have enough blade exposure for steep shaving. At least that's what I thought so far.
You need to work on your technique. :wink2:

I know zip about SE Razors, but I have a large variety of DE "Safety Razors." Safety Razors have guards on them (because they're safety razors) which are intended to smooth/stretch the skin in front of the blade.

Please check out THIS POST.

(BTW, I'm an opinionated git... and YMMV. :001_tt2:)
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
I prefer steep angle shaving and am a card carrying member of SASA (Steep Angle Shaving Alliance).

Two razors that I comfotably and effectively use with a steep angle are the Blackland Razors Vector (#1 AC and #1 Overall razor in my Den) and the Blackland Razors Ti Blackbird (#1 DE razor in my Den).

Almost every one of the razors in the three categories I keep (Big Dogs, Runs With The Big Dogs and Extended, Occasional Use) works efficiently, smoothly and effectively with a steep angle.
 
These topics explode in so many directions at once. Applied geometry may have built the Parthenon to last (or so) for millennia but it seems to have met its match with shaving.

I make micro adjustments and I end up where I end up. My impulse may be favor the cap and I still wind up on the bar. I might consider myself a steep angler by the likelihood to end there, or a shallow angler by my propensity to look there. The designer gives me a good starting point, and I get to figure it out.

It's the results. A single human face with whiskers gets a vote. Razor to razor, blade to blade, the vote can surprise. I have no idea (should have lead with that).
 
Steep angles take some getting used to, but once learned, they are wonderful. My favorite razor, out of all of the many that I have and have tried is the Henson medium Ti22. If I keep the angle, I get a smooth actually comfortable shave that is super close in two passes. I often have to do minor clean up, but mostly I'm done in two.
 
Steep angles take some getting used to, but once learned, they are wonderful. My favorite razor, out of all of the many that I have and have tried is the Henson medium Ti22. If I keep the angle, I get a smooth actually comfortable shave that is super close in two passes. I often have to do minor clean up, but mostly I'm done in two.
Recently I used a HLS Colibri with its 1.5 plate. I have the feeling that steep angle shaving works better with closed combs. I have seen that some argued that the guard has a flattening effect. This seems to be true... No irritation, very mild even with a 1.5mm blade gap.

I know that this is in contrast to my theory. Who cares if it works :cool:
 
Coming from an Ikon 102 Slant, which is a very mild razor with a small gap, I was used to shaving with a pretty shallow angle.

I bought a Rockwell 6S, Blackbird Tradere OC, and a Charcoal Goods Gen 2 Level 2 SB within a few weeks of each other. The Blackbird and Charcoal both made me learn to use a much steeper angle so the blade was cutting rather than scraping. It all clicked when I read that the bar/comb should barely touch the skin.

The angle on the Rockwell depends on which plate I use. I started with R2 at a shallow angle, moved through R3, R4, and finally settled on R5 as my Goldilocks. I find a medium angle works best with that plate.
 

Eben Stone

Staff member
I also get better results with razors designed to shave steep.
Notable ones for me:
-Karve Overlander
-Yates 921-M
-Henson
-Wet Shaving Club Merica razor
-Wet Shaving Club Winning razor

I also prefer using a steep angle....seems more natural to me. I've had razors that work best with shallow angles and I never seem to gell with them and end up getting rid of them. My best performers all work well with steeper angles. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell sometimes without using a razor to know what angle works best. Some you can tell by the design what the natural angle will be, others, not so much.

Some of the razors i have, or have had, that work well with steeper angles are: Blackbird, Windsor, Henson, Yates, Rocca, 3one6, R41GS, Tech, Super Speed, Aristocrat, Lupo 95, Timeless, H&S P076, and Tatara.

I'm going to through a wrench in the works. The DE89 that I love with a Feather blade has a more acute angle of attack. The Henson has a more obtuse angle of attack. However, they both give me a great shave. The Game Changer is somewhere between, closer to the DE89 and does not shave my face as well. Perhaps angle and blade gap are part of the puzzle, but it seems more complicated than that, to me.

Henson has a steep angle which is why it’s so easy coming from carts. I have ordered a Yates and part of the decision was that it had a relatively steep angle as I read reviews on this forum.
I think it will be very intuitive for me anyway.

Steep angles take some getting used to, but once learned, they are wonderful. My favorite razor, out of all of the many that I have and have tried is the Henson medium Ti22. If I keep the angle, I get a smooth actually comfortable shave that is super close in two passes. I often have to do minor clean up, but mostly I'm done in two.

I'm actually surprised to see Henson mentioned here. I love the Henson razor. At first I didn't have much success with a flat angle, so I tried a shallower angle and was able to achieve a fantastic shave. This worked extremely well for me, with both the AL ++ and TI +++, so I never bothered trying a steeper angle.

I'm always willing to try something new and improve my technique. Due to the number of suggestions here, I now want to try the Henson with a shallow angle. Very curious.
 
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I use I guess you would call a steep angle. The handle on my razor is at 45 degrees to my face. I use the ATT Windsor Pro aluminum DE which has a 90 mm gap. Works best for me.
So do you think a wide gap such as 90 mm is better or worst?
 
I use I guess you would call a steep angle. The handle on my razor is at 45 degrees to my face.
That would be a shallow angle. Steep angle is usually handle parallel to face.

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