I also started shaving steep too. I always rode the cap because it felt natural to me and thought riding the guard is more of a scraping motion than cutting. Boy was I wrong. Been getting better shaves lately. I just shaved with a Schick today that I used to ride that cap but It scraped my face in the past so I stopped using it. But today I rode the guard and lifted the handle till the blade properly engaged. What a darn good and effertless shave I got. I also looked at an old Schick commercial and the man is shaving exactly like I did today. Logically speaking it makes sense. What would be the point of a guard on a razor if it really isn't guarding anything by riding the cap? That thought creeped in on me recently when I started wet shaving again after ditching the beard for a while. It doesn't make sense the guard is there to help you alighn the blade properly and to stretch the skin before the blade engages the hairs. I'm starting to think this riding the cap stuff must have been something new and never a technique intended by the engineers that made these razors. There was an old Gillette tech shaving manual that I saw in the forums that specifically say that the guard is there to stretch the skin to make a better cut. Now how can the razor do that when you ride the cap? Simple it can't. I really need to find that photo. If anyone has it please share!
But honestly that diagram makes complete sense to me. Again what the point of the guard if it really isn't guarding anything by riding the cap? I'm not going to say it doesn't work for a lot of guys but just a few shaves after adopting this technique has gotten me more consistent and better shaves.
. So yeah I essentially learned early on to shave shallow because you definitely have to shave like that with a devette. I actually still have the razor actually with the guard.
