What's the best way to hold a razor?
WARNING: my engineering-warped mind at work here...over-analyis risk
Some calibration here: I'm not talking about SRs. I've been using a Mach3 for a long time, and I'm making the transition back to an injector (my blade of choice for decades before the Mach3 seduction). So my questions would apply to DE, SE, and injectors...those with the handle more or less perpendicular to the blade.
I noticed, using the Mach3, that I had evolved to a grip where I was holding the razor very near the top of the handle, close to the head. I also had my index finger extended to the center of the device (not the "head" obviously, since the M3's head is "loose"), like pointing.
My current razor is a recently-acquired Schick Type I2. This has a short handle, so I'd expect it to be compatible with my "choked up" grip. NOTE: I quickly learned that applying the index finger to the center of the razor was a big NO-NO, as it applied undesirable pressure to the blade!
So...I've consciously altered my grip to be essentially a thumb-and-index finger grip, so that the razor sort of floats/pivots, reducing the pressure on the blade, as required. The grip is still very near the top of the handle, so I have a better feel, IMHO. Happiness!
But wait... I read on a recent thread where a poster opined that a long handle was better for controlling pressure. This seems counter-intuitive to me, since the grip is further from the action, and the length of the handle would multiply the pressure applied by the grip, such that minor adjustments become major.
See? over-analysis!
I realize that this is probably a true YMMV issue, but I'm curious about the opinion/experience of the collective wisdom of B&B.
Thoughts?
WARNING: my engineering-warped mind at work here...over-analyis risk
Some calibration here: I'm not talking about SRs. I've been using a Mach3 for a long time, and I'm making the transition back to an injector (my blade of choice for decades before the Mach3 seduction). So my questions would apply to DE, SE, and injectors...those with the handle more or less perpendicular to the blade.
I noticed, using the Mach3, that I had evolved to a grip where I was holding the razor very near the top of the handle, close to the head. I also had my index finger extended to the center of the device (not the "head" obviously, since the M3's head is "loose"), like pointing.
My current razor is a recently-acquired Schick Type I2. This has a short handle, so I'd expect it to be compatible with my "choked up" grip. NOTE: I quickly learned that applying the index finger to the center of the razor was a big NO-NO, as it applied undesirable pressure to the blade!
So...I've consciously altered my grip to be essentially a thumb-and-index finger grip, so that the razor sort of floats/pivots, reducing the pressure on the blade, as required. The grip is still very near the top of the handle, so I have a better feel, IMHO. Happiness!
But wait... I read on a recent thread where a poster opined that a long handle was better for controlling pressure. This seems counter-intuitive to me, since the grip is further from the action, and the length of the handle would multiply the pressure applied by the grip, such that minor adjustments become major.
See? over-analysis!
I realize that this is probably a true YMMV issue, but I'm curious about the opinion/experience of the collective wisdom of B&B.
Thoughts?