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How much blade feel? How about pressure?

First off, thanks to Jim for starting this thread and to the more experienced shavers for their replies. I'm still climbing the straight razor mountain but for me, very light pressure is more important than blade feel. Sometime I hear the razor more than I feel it. And when I can neither feel nor hear the blade, it usually means something is wrong with my technique. At least with light pressure my skin remains intact, which leaves me with options. Time permitting, I can try to diagnose what's wrong with my technique and fix it (bad lather, wrong angle, suboptimal grip, etc.). Otherwise I can punt, touch up with a safety razor, and think about how to make things better next time. But even with safety razors, more pressure invariably means more problems, like cuts and razor burn.
 
First off, thanks to Jim for starting this thread and to the more experienced shavers for their replies. I'm still climbing the straight razor mountain but for me, very light pressure is more important than blade feel. Sometime I hear the razor more than I feel it. And when I can neither feel nor hear the blade, it usually means something is wrong with my technique. At least with light pressure my skin remains intact, which leaves me with options. Time permitting, I can try to diagnose what's wrong with my technique and fix it (bad lather, wrong angle, suboptimal grip, etc.). Otherwise I can punt, touch up with a safety razor, and think about how to make things better next time. But even with safety razors, more pressure invariably means more problems, like cuts and razor burn.
Quite right.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
This quickly became one of my favorite aspects of straight razor shaving, I really enjoyed my fat boy adjustable and would often alter it in between and during my passes. Then I picked up a straight razor and learned that angle can ultimately be viewed as infinitely adjustable. Flat against the face makes for a very comfortable pass that still quite efficiently removes hair, a little more angle seems to more closely shave. I often will slightly increase angle each pass to increase closeness, its the only thing that has ever made my neck comfortably BBS.
I don’t really watch the angle any more. It has become a matter of feel as the angle changes as I move the blade around my face. The blade and face seem to be communicating with little or no intervention of the brain. A great improvement in my case.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
There is sort of a balance between shave angle and pressure to the skin, and that sense of balance will come with experience. The main thing is early on, the goal is not a close shave. It is surviving the shave unscathed. The easiest way to get badly scathed is to try too hard for that first BBS before you have that sense of razor balance.
 
There is sort of a balance between shave angle and pressure to the skin, and that sense of balance will come with experience. The main thing is early on, the goal is not a close shave. It is surviving the shave unscathed. The easiest way to get badly scathed is to try too hard for that first BBS before you have that sense of razor balance.
This is a good point.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
There is sort of a balance between shave angle and pressure to the skin, and that sense of balance will come with experience. The main thing is early on, the goal is not a close shave. It is surviving the shave unscathed. The easiest way to get badly scathed is to try too hard for that first BBS before you have that sense of razor balance.

I think this is spot on.
 
There is sort of a balance between shave angle and pressure to the skin, and that sense of balance will come with experience. The main thing is early on, the goal is not a close shave. It is surviving the shave unscathed. The easiest way to get badly scathed is to try too hard for that first BBS before you have that sense of razor balance.

After 8 straight razor only shaves, I am fully realizing all of this. I check the grain all day long after getting a DFS, to see what I need to work on.


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