Diagonal passes.

[Wilkinsmooth]

I came across this label on a vintage razor coffin with a couple of good pieces of advice. It reaffirms what most say about having the spine almost flat.



I found the sloping angle advice interesting. I tried the the last couple of shaves and it has made a big difference.

 

[jtface]

The Gillette slide!

 

[APBinNCA]

Not with a straight unless you want gills. The Gillette slide keeps the blade level while moving the razor diagonal as far as I know. Personally, I already do this diagonal cut upwards on my cheeks. With the blade diagonal.

 

[Wilkinsmooth]

No, no sliding motion. Just with the blade at an angle rather than horizontal or vertical. Starting at the top of the cheek but with the heel down towards the top lip and the toe pointing towards your temple.

 

[thp001]

I use a kind of circular stroke like a scythe rotating from the wrist. We're trying to cut the hair, not scrape it. I find edges last longer if you use more scythe/slope/slide strokes than just going straight up and down.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Fulcrum swing.

 

[JPO]

Not with a straight unless you want gills. The Gillette slide keeps the blade level while moving the razor diagonal as far as I know. Personally, I already do this diagonal cut upwards on my cheeks. With the blade diagonal.

I think it is/was quite common among barbers to use a toe leading slight slicing motion. It takes a little practice, but it works really well. You do not need much lateral movement, and the blade needs to be moving when you thouch the skin.

 

[APBinNCA]

I think it is/was quite common among barbers to use a toe leading slight slicing motion. It takes a little practice, but it works really well. You do not need much lateral movement, and the blade needs to be moving when you thouch the skin.

I probably do it, I just overreacted because I can imagine somebody reading this later, without enough experience, going right at it.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

I've been using a sliding/slicing motion while shaving with a straight for many years. It works well but I wouldnt recomend it to some just learning the straight, but as it has been said your edge will last you longer. Even just angling while shaving helps the edge but sliding is even better and it give a great shave. Especially the swirly hair on the neck.

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

Two different strokes.

The easy, safe and effective one is to angle the blade about 45 degrees to the direction of movement. Feels safer when you lead with the heel. I think most straight razor shavers use it, sometimes without knowing.

The toe leading slice is very effective, lateral movement like slicing with a knife, at the same time angling the blade. I spent some time practising it, and when you are careful, with a very light touch and skin stretching it works amazing. One day things went badly wrong and I gave myself a nasty cut, probably the worst cut while shaving. Just under my chin. Wasn't focussed and I probably got the angle wrong. I still use it, but I have learned my lesson!

I will not recommend it for beginners, it's an advanced technique that requires skill and focus.

 

[Wilkinsmooth]

The way I read it, it’s not talking about any sort of slicing motion, or I think it would say that. I think it means rather than shaving N-S with the razor horizontal, slope the razor so you’re shaving 50/50 wtg/atg NW-SE or NE-SW.

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

The way I read it, it’s not talking about any sort of slicing motion, or I think it would say that. I think it means rather than shaving N-S with the razor horizontal, slope the razor so you’re shaving 50/50 wtg/atg NW-SE or NE-SW.

You are right.

In the good old days few men bothered to shave on a regular basis. Fewer bothered to do more than one pass. I think the script refers to a combo WTG/XTG stroke. That may have meant that they will achieve a better result than a pure WTG pass.

This guy is what inspired me to try a sliding stroke:

 

[Titleist]

I think it is/was quite common among barbers to use a toe leading slight slicing motion. It takes a little practice, but it works really well. You do not need much lateral movement, and the blade needs to be moving when you thouch the skin.

Is it just me, or does the barber have his thumb resting on the blade just below the spine on a few strokes? I noticed that his hand that holds the razor isn't always gripping just the shank. I've never tried what I am seeing before but with practice, it could prove useful.

Am I seeing things that aren't really happening? Does his thumb actually rest on the blade at times? Maybe I do this too on certain S to N passes without realizing it. Sometimes I use the "pinch" where the blade is folded backward and I gently grip both part of the scale near the pivot with the shank. But this is got me puzzled. It's too early!

Now I'm sitting here at 5:00 a.m. on a non shave day scratching my chin ...... literally!

Feedback please.

 

[JPO]

Is it just me, or does the barber have his thumb resting on the blade just below the spine on a few strokes? I noticed that his hand that holds the razor isn't always gripping just the shank. I've never tried what I am seeing before but with practice, it could prove useful.

Am I seeing things that aren't really happening? Does his thumb actually rest on the blade at times? Maybe I do this too on certain S to N passes without realizing it. Sometimes I use the "pinch" where the blade is folded backward and I gently grip both part of the scale near the pivot with the shank. But this is got me puzzled. It's too early!

Now I'm sitting here at 5:00 a.m. on a non shave day scratching my chin ...... literally!

Feedback please.

Yes, he is gripping the blade past the shank resting his tumb on the blade.
For most of my grips i grip past the stabilizer, partly on the spine. I usually only grip the shank when i use a backhand stroke. I always felt i had more control when i gripped the razor like you see in the video. This was one of the first videos i saw when i started SR shaving.
I have seen some honing videos from the same barbers. They use coticules for maintaining the razors. When you cut this way you really do not need a laser sharp edge. Some, if not most barbers prefer a more forgiving edge as apposed to a highly refined synthetic edge.

 

[Wilkinsmooth]

For clarity, the post #11 above should say 50/50 wtg/xtg.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Is it just me, or does the barber have his thumb resting on the blade just below the spine on a few strokes? I noticed that his hand that holds the razor isn't always gripping just the shank. I've never tried what I am seeing before but with practice, it could prove useful.

Am I seeing things that aren't really happening? Does his thumb actually rest on the blade at times? Maybe I do this too on certain S to N passes without realizing it. Sometimes I use the "pinch" where the blade is folded backward and I gently grip both part of the scale near the pivot with the shank. But this is got me puzzled. It's too early!

Now I'm sitting here at 5:00 a.m. on a non shave day scratching my chin ...... literally!

Feedback please.

I don't usually hold it that way when I'm shaving myself but I definitely found myself doing it that way without thinking about it when shaving someone else, especially with a big blade.

 

[Possum092]

I've been using a sliding/slicing motion while shaving with a straight for many years. It works well but I wouldnt recomend it to some just learning the straight, but as it has been said your edge will last you longer. Even just angling while shaving helps the edge but sliding is even better and it give a great shave. Especially the swirly hair on the neck.

Same.