Holding a Razor

[ackvil]

I have gotten a few PMs and e-mails asking about how to hold a razor and how it changes with the different passes.

My usual advice is to hold the razor as lightly as you can without it falling from your hand. Let the weight of the razor do the work for you. I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor with another finger resting on the tip of the handle. This results in holding the razor very lightly with no pressure on the razor.

Here are some illustrations of how this is done. Or you can do it this way:

For some shorter handle razors such as the Gillette New or SE razors, a close grip can be used. Like this:

When doing XTG or ATG passes this is how I hold my razor. Or for a close grip:

There are other ways to hold your razor - but these are the grips that have worked best for me.

Hope this helps.

If anyone has some more suggestions, please post.

 

[Greyfox]

Good post.

 

[Eric V]

Excellent photos and explanations, Jim! Bravo!

 

[ridgerunner]

Good pics and accompanying description. Particularly liked the comment about holding the razor as lightly as possible without losing the grip on the razor = no pressure. I find it easier to have a lighter "hold" on the razor the heavier the razor - YMMV.

 

[Marco]

Kudos to Jim for this truly wonderful tutorial. Very well done, my friend!

 

[dpmtherrien]

Very nice, thanks for the post.

 

[DC_MPA]

I never thought about holding my razor close to the head like the last picture shows. I rather like that - must try that tomorrow! Thanks!!

 

[tjm199]

Thank you so much for the pictures. A description is fine, but a picture is more clear! I'm getting the hang of it and my wife is loving my smoother cheeks. I don't have it down yet. It took me four or five tries today to get my throat and cheeks just right, but with a much better batch of lather and a better blade, I'm bound to get it.

 

[Luc]

In the Interactive Guide to DE Razor Shaving, there's also those pages

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Safety_Razor_Grips
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Balance_Point_Method

 

[ackvil]

In the Interactive Guide to DE Razor Shaving, there's also those pages

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Safety_Razor_Grips
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Balance_Point_Method

Good pages. Just wish they would come using the search function.

 

[mandoman]

that will help

 

[Luc]

Good pages. Just wish they would come using the search function.

Normally they should unless someone exclude Wiki from the search. If using the google search, they are in. It's a matter of when it was last updated. Google will generally show the most recent update first and go to an older one. Those pages in Wiki do not change very often so they end up at the end of the list. Works the same with the search engine.

 

[ackvil]

Normally they should unless someone exclude Wiki from the search. If using the google search, they are in. It's a matter of when it was last updated. Google will generally show the most recent update first and go to an older one. Those pages in Wiki do not change very often so they end up at the end of the list. Works the same with the search engine.

I went to the internal search engine and typed "hold razor" and this is what shows up: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/search.php?searchid=804586

So after the individuals who asked about this I did the search and unless I wanted to go through 100 posts, could not find anything.

Similarly, this is what I found on a regular Google search: http://www.google.com/search?source...096l0l797473l12l10l0l1l1l0l250l1218l3.5.1l9l0

 

[_JP_]

If it screams, you're holding it too tight.

I find that I use a grip that allows my middle and trailing fingers to curl somewhat around the handle. For me, the secret to a light touch has been to not press the razor against my face. And that took some awareness and effort over time to train myself to do so.

 

[DC_MPA]

I just held my razor with my WTG, XTG, ATG shaves and I was extremely happy with the results! For me, holding the razor with my thumb and index finger made made for the best shave I've ever had. Thank you for the pictures, it opened my eyes and drastically changed my technique.

 

[Luc]

I went to the internal search engine and typed "hold razor" and this is what shows up: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/search.php?searchid=804586

So after the individuals who asked about this I did the search and unless I wanted to go through 100 posts, could not find anything.

Similarly, this is what I found on a regular Google search: http://www.google.com/search?source...096l0l797473l12l10l0l1l1l0l250l1218l3.5.1l9l0

I get a not too bad result with the google search: http://www.google.com.au/#sclient=p...gc.r_pw.&fp=17b02d0b9e304c42&biw=1280&bih=656

On the B&B search engine, it's another story... I think there were talks on tweaking the search engine to get better results. As you know, many things are being worked on at the moment and I do not know where the search engine stands in the list...

 

[Go West Young Man]

I hold my razors in a similar way, except everything is shifted down one finger - balance the bottom on my pinky finger, put my index right up against the head and the middle two fingers resting on the handle.

 

[Luc]

Wiki page updated with Jim's post

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Safety_Razor_Grips

 

[williabe]

Jim P,

Thank you very much for this excellent post with pics. I'm 12 shaves in, and the finger at the base of the DE razor really helps me achieve a very light touch on the razor, delivering a GREAT shave.

Bill

 

[PMT]

Great post bro!