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Comment by slt2021 | Hacker News Reader

slt2021

This explains why my shaving blade last for me very long time - I always shave in the opposite direction of hair growth, not along, so that blade always approaches hair at nearly 90 degrees.

if you shave along the direction of hair growth, the blade will approach hair at 15-30 degrees which causes excess wear & tear on a shaving blade.

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Another tip that has worked for me is stropping the blade by running it backwards on the skin of my arm. It’s anecdote but it certainly seems to give me several more shaves out of the blade. I generally start when I would otherwise throw the blade out.

I do this against a towel after each shave, I saw a video some 10-15 years ago of a guy doing it against jeans. I believe he also verified with a microscope it indeed made the blade sharper.

I saw something similar. I thought it was Hank Green in a vlogbrothers video. My Google-fu isn't good enough to find it again.

One warning though, shaving against the grain can increase razor burn and ingrown hairs.

I thought everyone did that?

I always go with the grain for the first pass and against the grain for the second.

That does seem to be the most common method. Starting out by going against the grain is just uncomfortable for me. Fine for the second pass though, although I usually go perpendicular to the direction of growth then.

Me too; my hair is coarse. But I'm too chicken to go against the grain with a straight razor. So I keep a Gilette Mach 3 for the second pass. I get a "baby's bottom" result. I wish I had the guts to try against-the-grain with a straight razor. I have tried across-the-grain for the second pass, with disappointing results.

I do first pass with the grain, second against

its supposed to irritate the skin more or smth but i do it anyway and don't have problems

people with extra thick facial hair have problems cutting against the grain.

if blade is not extra sharp, blade starts ripping hair, shaving along the grain in comparison is more forgiving for duller blades.

I'd take my skin off if I did that on the first pass.

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