Aaahhh that sound. There's no better musical score than that to start up a new day!
The Noise of Straight Razor Shaving
- Thread starter CryptoDave
- Start date
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
It is not the sound of the whisker popping. It is the sound of the microscopically flexed razor snapping back to its normal state as the hair gives way, often with some resonance from the blade. Most extra full hollow razors have a definite note or frequency when you ping them. Hold the open razor lightly and snap your fingernail off the nose, or tap it on the spine near the nose with a metal object such as another razor's spine. It may sound dull and lifeless, especially a heavier grind. Or it may sing like a tuning fork.
The sharper the edge and the easier it slices through whiskers, the less it will flex and the quieter the sound. A very grabby edge will of course make more noise.
The sharper the edge and the easier it slices through whiskers, the less it will flex and the quieter the sound. A very grabby edge will of course make more noise.
Haha I think we are splitting hairs here. Maybe its the hairs themselves snapping as well as I can make a similar sound running a blunt finger across my chin. Maybe the released tension of the cut hair is conducted through the thin steel and amplified to the air like a speaker. I find this all very entertaining.
I can't speak for anyone else's shaving experience, but when I'm shaving with a full hollow, they don't sound like scrapers running over sandpaper. I actually do pay very close attention to the audible feedback and how it's reproduced in camera, post editing and on which device. A full hollow that I've honed and shaved with will most definitely make a different sound than one of my wedges. But, During the shave, the sound is not at all like 'scraping' and it's usually pretty quiet and a lot softer sounding.
Time for a new classification. There was bbs. Now we need to.judge the edge by the audible feedback on an audio scope. Lol. It can be another study of useless parameters we are always looking for. We can study it, analyze the data, argue about it then realize that it was a waste of time. But it all adds to the flavor. Lol. Maybe instead of a blind test we can do a deaf test.
Which begs the question, If a whisker falls and makes no sound was it actually cut?
Angle matters
As if I didn't have enough to think about today!
It depends if it was sharp or keen. Lol.
This is a fantastic idea. It’s what we do!
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Did it even exist in the first place?
Is the whisker you cut tomorrow the same whisker as the whisker you just cut today...
Of course our faces are just play doh fun factories extruding a never ending whisker. This forum engages in the study of its removal.
I've only just started, but I feel like that noise is more pronounced on a "monday shave" (u know, first shave after 2 days of not shaving). I do get what people say about it being a nice 'feedback', even though i'm new to this I defenitely listen for that sound to know I'm doing well in terms of angle/shaving etc.
+1 to what Keith said.
Generally I think the scraping sound results from improperly hydrated whiskers and/or keeping the razor spine to far away from the face.
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