I'm one of those who gets the best shaving results when shaving with a steep angle. Some razors allow this, some not. Well known razors that can be used with a steep angle are Old Type, R41 and Rotbart (No 15). However, when comparing the results of consecutive shaves I realized that the Old Type gives much more reliable shaves with less irritation. My Rotbart gives me on some days really great results without any irritation, but one some days my face looks like a tomato. I believe the reason is my unability to keep the shaving angle. I would expect that my muscle memory needs more training but at the moment I'm likely changing the shaving angle during one shave. But this should happen with both razors, Old Type and Rotbart. So, why does one gives nevertheless better shaving results than the other?
My theory is that it depend on the blade gap. The Old Type has not a real blade gap whereas the Rotbart has a large one. I have tried to illustrate the effect of the blade gap to steep angle shaving when someone like me cannot keep the steep angle at the certain level:
This is a very simplified picture showing an Old Type as it is without a blade gap on the left and an Old Type with a blade gap (to keep things simple). The top row shows both Old Types with and without blade gap how a typical riding-the-guard shave should look like. The bottom row shows both when the shaving angle becomes 10 degrees shallower.
Bottom left:
Bottom right:
I believe that with a varying shaving angle the effective blade exposure changes. Thus the shallower the angle the more contact between skin and blade. The blade gap increases this effect which I have tried to show in the last two pictures. The more contact (thus more pressure) between skin and blade, the more irritation. At least to my theory.
So, what do you thing? If this is true, it will cure my RAD
Best wishes for the new year,
Sami
PS: Sorry for my English...
My theory is that it depend on the blade gap. The Old Type has not a real blade gap whereas the Rotbart has a large one. I have tried to illustrate the effect of the blade gap to steep angle shaving when someone like me cannot keep the steep angle at the certain level:
This is a very simplified picture showing an Old Type as it is without a blade gap on the left and an Old Type with a blade gap (to keep things simple). The top row shows both Old Types with and without blade gap how a typical riding-the-guard shave should look like. The bottom row shows both when the shaving angle becomes 10 degrees shallower.
Bottom left:
Bottom right:
I believe that with a varying shaving angle the effective blade exposure changes. Thus the shallower the angle the more contact between skin and blade. The blade gap increases this effect which I have tried to show in the last two pictures. The more contact (thus more pressure) between skin and blade, the more irritation. At least to my theory.
So, what do you thing? If this is true, it will cure my RAD
Best wishes for the new year,
Sami
PS: Sorry for my English...
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