Does steel ever touch skin?

[velvetgoldmine]

It occurs to me to wonder if the blade - DE or straight - ever actually makes contact with the skin of the face during a wet shave? Or is there a constant barrier of lather throughout the process?

Sporting friends of mine have suggested that skiers don't ski on snow - that they slide on a film of water; similarly that skaters skate on water - the melted ice, not the ice itself. This would seem slightly analagous.

Any thoughts?

 

[SiBurning]

On average, people remove 85% as much skin as hair by volume when shaving. Seems to me they touch... for some definition of touch.

Don't mean to be flip, but there's a dozen friction-like things going on, and they don't all touch, so in some way it depends how you're looking at it.

 

[Mr5x5]

If you bleed, steel touched skin.

 

[maxman]

I was always under the impression that the blade took off a little skin with the whiskers. Just a small bit off the top.
Obviously if you start to bleed then the blade has made contact with the skin.
I suppose because the angle constantly changes you can take a little more or less skin with your whiskers.

 

[Alraz]

Do you leave lather on your skin as the razor moves?

Al raz.

 

[klm099]

Of course steel touches skin
1. it ain't the foam that cause me to bleed
2. hair on the surface have no nerves, when you apply AS, it is nerves in your raw, recently peeled skin that stings


if skis ride on water; why do I wax them? whats that white powder that flies in the air when I turn sharply, why do I leave tracks in the snow, I don't leave tracks when I use my boat in the Gulf??????

nuff said
ken

 

[DamnFineBob]

Of course steel touches skin
1. it ain't the foam that cause me to bleed
2. hair on the surface have no nerves, when you apply AS, it is nerves in your raw, recently peeled skin that stings

if skis ride on water; why do I wax them? whats that white powder that flies in the air when I turn sharply, why do I leave tracks in the snow, I don't leave tracks when I use my boat in the Gulf??????

nuff said
ken

That, and my skin FEELS like its been exfoliated after a shave. My beard area is actually smoother, fresher, and softer than the rest of my face. I take that as a sure sign that an old layer of skin is gone, and its been replaced with a new, fresh layer.

 

[dpmtherrien]

Yes it does. That's how you get that DFS or the elusive BBS.

 

[ouch]

Since matter is a manifestation of energy, it could be argued that nothing ever touches anything else. Even what we describe as a "direct hit" may be illusory.

In a practical sense, the steel is touching your face. In fact, the entire art of the straight razor shave is how one controls the gliding of the blade against one's skin.

 

[Saltchuck]

On average, people remove 85% as much skin as hair by volume when shaving.

Where did that number come from?

 

[Telecaster52]

Where did that number come from?

somewhere in here probably:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php?title=Science_Of_Shaving

 

[martiniduck]

Sporting friends of mine have suggested that skiers don't ski on snow - that they slide on a film of water; similarly that skaters skate on water - the melted ice, not the ice itself. This would seem slightly analagous.

Any thoughts?

The steel in a guillotine never touches the skin either. There is a thin layer of oil protecting the blade that actually cuts through the neck. So I have heard.

 

[captp]

Technically, no, steel never actually touches skin. Technically, whey you touch someone, skin does not meet skin. It's the electromagnetic forces that actually touch.

Practically, steel does touch skin.

It's a physics thing.

 

[Dalejr]

If you consider that most blades are coated then technically no....

 

[Go West Young Man]

Of course steel touches skin
1. it ain't the foam that cause me to bleed
2. hair on the surface have no nerves, when you apply AS, it is nerves in your raw, recently peeled skin that stings

I think the question was "In a successful shave...." Blood and pain means you're doing it wrong!

if skis ride on water; why do I wax them? whats that white powder that flies in the air when I turn sharply, why do I leave tracks in the snow, I don't leave tracks when I use my boat in the Gulf??????

nuff said
ken

Actually, skis and skates DO work by melting the snow/ice under you for a millisecond. The weight of your body exerts pressure on a small area of snow, causing it to melt. Your ski/skate glides over that micropuddle. In fact, if it gets too cold you CAN'T skate efficiently because the ice doesn't melt fast enough - which is also why you have different waxes based on temperature.

BTW, that white stuff is snow the edges of your ski pushed aside. And you don't leave tracks in the ocean because that's a jackass question

 

[awol]

if skis ride on water; why do I wax them? whats that white powder that flies in the air when I turn sharply, why do I leave tracks in the snow, I don't leave tracks when I use my boat in the Gulf??????

nuff said
ken

Surfboards get waxed... Same concept.

 

[gearchow]

Surfboards get waxed... Same concept.

It's the top of the board that gets waxed so your feet dont slip

-jim

 

[gearchow]

Actually, skis and skates DO work by melting the snow/ice under you for a millisecond. The weight of your body exerts pressure on a small area of snow, causing it to melt. Your ski/skate glides over that micropuddle. In fact, if it gets too cold you CAN'T skate efficiently because the ice doesn't melt fast enough - which is also why you have different waxes based on temperature.

+1 And when the wax isn't there the ice crystals start sticking to the bottom of the board(s) causing issues. Breaking trail in the right snow conditions (fresh, warm snow) with poorly waxed boards can result in huge amounts of snow sticking to the bottom of the boards. it is a real hassle.

-jim

 

[JoshuaNY]

So what you gents are saying is I should put wax on my my face. Do they have any with a Lavender scent?

 

[ouch]

So what you gents are saying is I should put wax on my my face. Do they have any with a Lavender scent?

I think they're saying that if you weigh the same as a duck, you're made out of wood, and therefore.........