Blade Angles

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71
I am getting used to the SS now and after about 15 shaves I have increased my confidence to the point the I can almost feel a nick coming on a and stop just in time, at about 90% of the time. I can generally shave about 3 times before a nick and again it's usually do to a lack of concentration or forgetting keep the touch light enough.

As I progress I have also noticed that I have started increasing the blade angle as it gives a closer shave, this also requires have a lighter touch and when done correctly allows me to make slightly longer strokes. Obviously this depends on which part of the face I am working on and the possibility or not of being able to adequately stretch the skin; the cheek areas and upper lip allowing for the highest angles.

On the neck, Adam's apple areas I keep pressure to it's absolute minimum as I have not quite gained maximum confidence in that area... Still a little bit wary and find that this is where I use lowest angles, either through necessity or lack of confidence..

Is there such a thing as an optimal angle and if so how would you describe it. Also, do you vary pressure according to angle or do you keep the same pressure/contact throughout..

Cheers
 
I'll start by saying I've not been at this all that long either. I seem to find I'm confident almost to the point of not being careful enough, and pushing for ever closer results, and inevitably cutting myself occasionally, although like you, I can sometimes feel it coming and react. It's usually the unintended changes of "angle of approach" (as opposed to blade angle to the skin) that catch me out when placing the blade on the skin for the next stroke, rather than excessive pressure. I find a certain pressure is needed to get a flat wide sweep, so not necessarily "less is better" but never more than a bit more than the weight of the blade, it's better to have too little pressure than risk a real slice!!

One thing I find hard when talking about angles is knowing what people mean by "increasing the angle" as the datum isn't clear. As such, I think of it as "spine widths from the face", and my aim is usually to hold the razor about one spine width away. I find that in practice it's hard to maintain when you are concentrating on other aspects, but I also find that it's sometimes helpful to change angle, to more than one spine width but less than or equal to 2, especially under the jaw or round the chin. Not sure if that's increasing or decreasing, but those are the parameters/angles I find work for me thus far, and expressing it in spine widths seems intuitive and unambiguous, if that helps.

As for what's the orthodoxy I have no idea!
 
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I think you are answering your own question - optimum angle differs according to which part you are shaving. Additionally I find that the angle changes when I’m shaving ATG - it’s much less than a WTG pass in the same area. All in all, shaving with an unguarded blade becomes intuitive in my experience - if one razor is not quite as sharp as another you find yourself adjusting to get as comfortable a shave as possible.

It sounds as if you are well on your way, so I wouldn’t be overly concerned at what other people do.
 
I think you are answering your own question - optimum angle differs according to which part you are shaving. Additionally I find that the angle changes when I’m shaving ATG - it’s much less than a WTG pass in the same area. All in all, shaving with an unguarded blade becomes intuitive in my experience - if one razor is not quite as sharp as another you find yourself adjusting to get as comfortable a shave as possible.

It sounds as if you are well on your way, so I wouldn’t be overly concerned at what other people do.

It's taken me a further month to realise exactly what you meant and now I am starting to understand how it does actually become second nature ..

I have got to the stage where I no longer have to tighten my skin for the WTG pass, it's just a case of tilting the head to varying degrees and directions, or by applying different pressures to different areas, or by using different parts of the blade or even just a slight change in grip.

I have now reached the stage where I am comfortable and can adapt quickly between two different razors..

WTG has become quite easy, XTG not too bad as well, ATG not completely there yet, it has become still the only direction where I still nick myself ( other than minor weepers)

Overall, it's a pleasure on every occasion....
 
I still find myself overthinking it sometimes, which is what happens when trying to improve a skill, but it's the times I just "wipe the lather off" without worrying that give the best results. With 2 different but similar vintage 5/8 full hollow round points, I was expecting to have to do some major relearning for the big square Koraat 14/2.0 and had the styptic on standby. Not a bit of it! First run, great shave, intuitive and claret-free. I think you just get a feel for it and adjust on the fly. My biggest errors are too much pressure (hardly surprising growing up with The Selecter!) and knowing when to stop. I get carried away and start fannying about with 3 passes and half for luck, which is unnecessary and usually when the cuts or burn starts. 2+ is probably quite sufficient.
 
The other think that I recall very clearly when I started with straights was that improvement in the quality of shaves was stepped rather than gradual. At the time I had three razors and each performed much the same as the others but one day I managed the cleanest, closest and trouble free shave ever, despite doing nothing different. After that, I seemed to keep on that plateau with only minor dips and gains which is the norm for whatever way you shave.
 
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