Thread: easiest hair length to shave?

So my first foray into straight edge shaving was a POS pakistani blade that more tore hair out than shaved it. So I re-tempered the blade with a blow torch and had a little success with it.... but anyway...

I figured I'd give it another go and bought an Engstrom manganese steel razor from e-bay. I was wondering if there's an easier length of hair to shave?

Is stubble easier to shave than hair 0.5 cm long, or longer? Is there an "easy" length of hair for shaving?

Preferences will be subjective. For the most part I shave most every day of the week except for Saturdays. Occasionally I'll go two days without a shave. Hands down for me, having a one to two day growth shaves better, softens easier and is all around more enjoyable. I've also found that long whisker length does not inhibit a well tuned blade from shaving well. Last year I grew a goatee for about three weeks. I didn't like it and shaved it off. It was a great shave.

Chris L

A quality steel properly sharpened will shave any length of hair. Personally I found the shorter my stubble the easier it is to shave. From my experience the longer hair seems to dull the blade faster, it cause the blade to drag. I also do not have thick growth, just coarse hair. Shorter hair also makes it easier for me so as I do not have to make more than two passes along my face to make sure I have removed it all.

The best advice I can give is to experiment on yourself, as everyone is different.

Thats the beauty of it. Except for very short stubble (which is better supported by the surrounding skin) I would imagine that there is no difference between stubble and a full beard for a straight- no blades to gum up or stupid lubricating strips or anything. The whiskers float up onto the blade, and it cuts right near the skin all the time, so it doesn't mater if you're mowing an inch of beard or .00001 inch of stubble.