Straight shaving, one hand or two??

[andyml73]

Hi,

I've done two straight razor shaves now, with good results on the easy bits. Poor results around the chin.

Question though, looking at some of the videos on YouTube, it appears I should be shaving with my left hand for the right side of my face, right handed for the left side of my face??

So far I've only been shaving right handed. Is two-handing shaving the way to go with a straight????

thanks

 

[DogHair]

A lot of people just use one hand. It's really whatever works best for you. I'm not sure about the right hand - left side, left hand - right side thing. I don't think that would work for me. I use both hands with my right hand shaving the right side of my face. Same with left.

 

[Barcochris]

I have just used one hand... I do not have the same coordination in my left that I do in my right.. so far it has worked for me..

 

[shm]

I have just used one hand... I do not have the same coordination in my left that I do in my right.. so far it has worked for me..

Same here - just I'm left handed, and I do not have the motoring skills to handle a razor with my right hand.

There are a couple of videos with one handed shaves on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZrA5UNsdY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4ak1lJgY4

 

[andyml73]

Ah, OK. Thanks for those clips and the comments.

I think the one's I've seen were by Jocky. He changes hands but doesn't state when / why.

I think I might perservere with my one-handed (right) approach for now, left handed could be dangerous .

cheers

 

[Zenas]

No matter what implement I happen to be shaving with, I shave my entire face with my left hand.

 

[dpmtherrien]

I think you have to do what works best for you. If you can get at all area's of your face and neck with just one hand, then that's great. When I started straight shaving I tried to do everything with my right hand, with so so results.

I started using different grips and angles, and things got a little better. Now I'm working into bringing my left hand into use, and believe it or not, its even better. It just takes a bit of getting used to using the "other" hand.

The more use do something, the easier it gets. Just work at using your non dominate hand, and you'll surprise yourself, you'll actually get good at it.

 

[Gogo]

I started shaving with two hands and will continue to do so. Some angles are just easier for me with the ability to use two hands. Even though I'm comfortable with both hands, if I use a safety razor, I only use my right hand. Do whatever works for you because straight shaving takes a while to get used to regardless. You'll work it out either way, one or two handed.

 

[LetheAren]

Ideally, I'd think that being ambidextrous would be a great help. There are definitely angles that I could get better if I switched hands. As it is, I'm not nearly comfortable enough with my offhand to try more than once. And that once has already passed with painful results

 

[luvmysuper]

Do what works best for you.

I do have to point out that I use both hands, and it is a LOT easier than you would think.

Using a straight in the beginning is awkward, no matter what hand you use, so it is not that much MORE awkward to use the non-dominant hand than it is the dominant one.

After a few tries, you'll find that you're doing as well with one hand as the other.

 

[davecmu]

I use both feet, no matter what I'm shaving with. It's a lot easier than standing on my head, where lather tends to run up my nose...

 

[Ru4scuba?]

I use both feet, no matter what I'm shaving with. It's a lot easier than standing on my head, where lather tends to run up my nose...

 

[galopede]

I used both hands from the start with straight shaving. I just couldn't get the razor at the correct angle without using the left hand (I'm a righty).

One hint I read somewhere and tried was to start by cleaning your teeth with the wrong hand. Harder than it sounds but it works. Doesn't remove your cheek either!

Gareth

 

[mdunn]

i use my right hand for 70%, and my left for 30% - there are some bits that are MUCH easier with ole leftie, though I prefer using rightie here

 

[dmachine]

For my DE, I only use one hand. With a straight, I am going to try to learn to use both hands. We'll see how that works out.

 

[The Knize]

I shave with a straight with just one hand and I think I do fine. Sometimes I think I would have been better off training myself from the beginning to use both hands, but it seems like the beneifts would be fairly marginal.

For me it is not not the large open spaces parts of my face that present any difficulty anyway. It is the mustache and chin areas and I do not think one hand or the other is going to handle them better!