It might seem crazy, but shaving with a knife is not only possible; for many people, it’s preferable. And you’ll learn why in this short guideline, written just for you!
How to Shave Your Head With a Knife: In Easy Steps
Whether you’ve watched one too many action films, you’ve used a straight razor enough and are feeling adventurous, or you’ve got an important event happening and you’re fresh out of standard shaving material, using a knife to shave is not something most people intuitively gravitate towards.
Considering safety razors can snip you pretty easily if you aren’t careful, it may almost seem like you’re playing Russian Roulette with your lives by throwing a knife in the mix.
In reality, while it is certainly a different process, it’s not nearly as dangerous as you’d think… provided you know what you’re doing.
In this brief overview guide, we’ll go over what steps you’ll need to take to shave using a knife as well as whether or not you should throw out your shaving kit.
Step #1. Sharpen Your Knife
Before you do anything, your first and most essential thing is to make sure your knife is as sharp as possible.
A dull knife means your cuts aren’t going to be as clean and won’t move through hairs like they’re supposed to.
This is ironically where you’re likely to run into some of the dangers that people always imagine when it comes to using a knife since a dull blade means more tries and more chances to cut your much more fragile skin.
Step #2. Properly Lather Your Skin
More so than with a razor, when using a knife to shave, you’re going to need to make sure you’re using a high-quality skin latherer. Running some soapy water over your head isn’t going to cut it here.
You’ll also want to warm up your hair follicles while opening your pores as much as possible. This will make the cutting process easier.
Step #3. Properly Angle The Knife
This is also where much of the issues come in when shaving with a knife. You’ll want to practice a few times so you have it just right. Because knives and razors are built differently, you won’t be able to use the same shaving techniques.
You want to angle the knife around 30 degrees while holding it steady the entire time. This will give you the smoothest cut that slices the hairs and not the skin on your head.
Step #4. Hold the Skin Taut… and Shave
Now, with your free hand (while the other is still at 30 degrees), pull the skin taut. You want as little give from your skin as possible while dragging the blade across your head. It should all be very clean and very smooth.
While dragging the blade across your head, you’ll want to do slow, predictable strokes with as little pressure as possible.
A good way of gauging if you’re on the right track is if you can feel the blade dragging your skin as opposed to gliding across it.
Step #5. The Aftercare
After you’ve finished shaving, make sure you place a cold compress against your skin. This will close up the pores and reduce any potential soreness. You’ll also want to apply some quality moisturizer to your skin to similarly prevent any potential soreness.
Why Shave With A Knife?
- If you are shaving with a well-sharpened knife, and you know how to do it, you’ll have less razor burn.
- You are going to spend less on replacing blades, just that you have to keep the mouth of your knife sharp.
- Perhaps, now you have a rare skill that you can boast with among friends?
Knives vs. Razors – Which is Better?
Is shaving with knives better than shaving with razors?
Short answer – technically yes. Long answer – technically yes., but not really.
If you can perfect your cutting angle, get your blade sharp enough, remove any and all chips and cuts, AND keep your skin taut all at the same time, shaving with a knife is slightly better than with a razor.
And while that slight improvement does get an extra point since you’ll look badass doing it, if you were to hold up most people’s pictures with a knife shave and a razor shave, you’re not going to be able to tell the difference if both people shaved correctly.
The problem is that shaving with a knife is so much harder to shave correctly. Is your knife the right level of sharpness?
If not, you’re shave will be worse. Are there any chips in the knife? If so, your shave will be worse. Are you able to keep a perfect 30-degree angle throughout the entire shaving process? If not, your shaving is going to be worse.
You get the picture.
While it may look awesome in the movies, shaving with a knife is just an ego stroke as opposed to giving you any real benefit when shaving over your regular straight-edged razor.