A two-handed shave?

Steve27752 said:
I have been using a DE for about 15 years now and one day soon I will try a straight razor :roll:
A couple of questions.
Why does he shave his face three times, is that the norm for a straight razor?
Why does he need four razors can you not just sharpen the one?
Click to expand...
Multiple passes, I think most people do with DE's too, so same applies to straights.
You don't need more than one (well 2 if you send yours away for honing), but then again you don't need a lot of things :D
(and 4 straights is very modest indeed, some have a few more, and I'm not naming anyone!)

Enjoy! it's a fun game!

Max
 
Mikael said:
It does take time, not very long though, to learn and shave with both hands. But I think it´s worth it and I think it´s best to do it from the start, before you get used to shave with one hand. In the beginning you actually can get better results with your weak hand, since you´re most likely more unsecure and light handed with that hand :D BUT, like allways, what´s right for one person could be s%¤#t for another. :lol:
Click to expand...

I have found that using my weaker (left) hand was easier than I thought, and, to some degree, a bit better than my right hand!!

Ian
 
Steve27752 said:
Why does he need four razors can you not just sharpen the one?
Click to expand...
If you buy into the idea that a razor needs to be rested after shaving (I do), then two's a minimum if you shave every day. The more you have, the less frequently you're forced into a corner where you absolutely have to do some honing. And variety, obviously, is the spice of life.
 
The guy made this video to celebrate his 30th year of straight shaving. I thing he does like 5 passes( I do 4 and touch up depending on the razor)
His tecnique is awesome, and I have picked up on some of his tips. For me is more comfortable to use both hands. There are no tight and fast rules,just enjoy your trip. His 7 day Grelot set helps to avoid honing too soon the blade. I rotate my razors one per week.
 
I'm 2 pass and once-over.

Deveron-13 said:
The guy made this video to celebrate his 30th year of straight shaving. I thing he does like 5 passes( I do 4 and touch up depending on the razor)
His tecnique is awesome, and I have picked up on some of his tips. For me is more comfortable to use both hands. There are no tight and fast rules,just enjoy your trip. His 7 day Grelot set helps to avoid honing too soon the blade. I rotate my razors one per week.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree with you more Deveron. Chimensch after showing to his Barber the video pointed out some of his angles were dangerous and wrong. But to me it was very well done video. His methods differ from mine and I can't say otherwise. For the same reason I can't dictate to my bro for instance how he should shave. Only that he try not to shave at 45 degree angle. ;)
 
IanM said:
Arrowhead said:
If you buy into the idea that a razor needs to be rested after shaving (I do)
Click to expand...

Sorry for any thread hijacking - but what's the thinking behind that, Andy?

Ian
Click to expand...
Well, it may be nothing more than folklore, but the idea is persistent and has been around for a very long time. The thinking is that shaving exposes that exquisitely subtle edge to a lot of punishment, and the steel needs some time to "relax" afterwards before it's ready to be stropped and used again. I hope that Neil will chip in on this one because he has some interesting ideas about what goes on at a microscopic level. (It's pretty certain that razors are surprisingly twitchy objects, especially extra hollows; for instance, dipping the blade in hot water - or cold for that matter, as recommended by Al Capone in "The Untouchables"- will make a difference to how the shave feels. This leaflet from Torrey is worth a glance, by the way). Anyway, I place some credence in the notion though I'm not 100% convinced. It's not just an excuse for RAD, honest.
 
Thanks Andy.

I can understand that. I suppose that the edge can get a little compressed/distorted, and then, given time, will recover slightly towards it's pre-shave form.

Interesting, but I suspect that there as many theories regarding this as there are straight razors!

Sounds like a good excuse to buy another!

Ian
 
Arrowhead said:
IanM said:
Arrowhead said:
If you buy into the idea that a razor needs to be rested after shaving (I do)
Click to expand...

Sorry for any thread hijacking - but what's the thinking behind that, Andy?

Ian
Click to expand...
Well, it may be nothing more than folklore, but the idea is persistent and has been around for a very long time. The thinking is that shaving exposes that exquisitely subtle edge to a lot of punishment, and the steel needs some time to "relax" afterwards before it's ready to be stropped and used again. I hope that Neil will chip in on this one because he has some interesting ideas about what goes on at a microscopic level. (It's pretty certain that razors are surprisingly twitchy objects, especially extra hollows; for instance, dipping the blade in hot water - or cold for that matter, as recommended by Al Capone in "The Untouchables"- will make a difference to how the shave feels. This leaflet from Torrey is worth a glance, by the way). Anyway, I place some credence in the notion though I'm not 100% convinced. It's not just an excuse for RAD, honest.
Click to expand...

Although I can appreciate that at a microscopic/sub-microscopic level there might be some change in the state of a razors edge due to either crystal growth or so-called 'metal memory' I don't think that it has any appreciable effect. I can imagine that coarser environmental variables such as heat would have some effect, and can remember reading in not a few barber manuals the need to maintain a constant heat for honing and using razors, large differences in temperature from that at which the razor was honed at having a detrimental effect. Reading it in a barber manual is not the same as saying it is 100% correct, however! Even if it is (and it may well be - molecules may be packed more densely at low heats) I am not sure that my sense of touch is sensitive enough to detect any difference - likewise with the resting/rotation theory.

There is in fact one major obstacle to the theory - that of oxidation. In a suitable macro-environment like the interior of a seven-day set of razors, containing a razor which still has some moisture between the scales, oxidation will attack the steel, especially at the edge of the razor - just that part which is said to be experiencing re-growth or realignment.

A far more likely reason for a rotation of razors is - to my mind - that it prolongs the time between honing and lessens maintaining the razors - unless you save it all up for one marathon session and then it really makes no difference whatsoever. I personally maintain a two-razor rotation: not because I believe in resting the blade, but just in case one becomes damaged - quite a prosaic reason, really!

FWIW I wouldn't attach too much importance to Al Capones sayings: he did have advanced syphilis, remember, which can affect the brain and nervous system....

Regards,
Neil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom