Shaving your beard with a knife?

fulloflead

fulloflead

Joined
May 3, 2002
Messages
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OK, so I recently started a thread about alternate sharpness testing (other than arm-hair) and the best idea I heard was to shave my face with a knife.

So, I'm getting ready to try this and I want to have my first knife-shaving experience to be a POSITIVE ONE so I'd like to pick the right knife.

What do you think?
The sharpest knife I have is my MT Vector, but I DON'T THINK SO! The blade geometry is too complicated and I worry about safety. I'd like to be as safe as possible the first time.

So I'd like to choose a knife with a simple geometry and a keen edge.

HERE ARE MY OPTIONS: (All of these are EASILY shaving sharp)

I have a lot of VERY sharp partially-serrated blades but I'm going to rule them out for safety unless you think otherwise.

CRKT Mirage Warncliffe: (My first choice) Nice, flat, straight edge that's probably as sharp as the Vector, just not as good a steel. This is what I'm leaning toward. It has slightly less than a 3" blade. Highly polished and EASILY passes my suspended-hair test.

A few Microtechs: LCC, SOCOM Elite, Mini SOCOM
Piranha P-1
Other CRKT: Urban Shark, Medium Mirage spear-point, various Commander series.
Cold Steel: Pro-lite 4" clip-point, X-Large 5" Clip-point Voyager
SOG: A variety of Autoclips and mini Autoclips

Which should I choose?

Any other suggestions?
Regular application of shaving cream? No shaving cream? Something other than shaving cream?

Should I drink a lot before I do this?

(Just kidding!;) )

I've never shaved with a straight razor either so this will be new. I'll be careful. Don't worry about that. I could've probably just done this. I'm just asking advise just in case there any surprises.

Who knows. Two weeks from now I may have a new habit of trading off shaving with my knife collection.:D
 
Personally, I would try a straight one first if I can, preferably with a thin profile and a SHARP edge. I'd go very carefully and VERY slowly, and probalby start up by cheekbone. Some would say under chin as less noticable if you cut yourself, but I can get more control up on cheeks then under chin.

And yes, i've tried this before. :) Actually, will do it now with latest thing I sharpened just so I can be giving you informed advice.

OK, just grabbed paring knife, touched it up quickly on sharpmaker(not hair popping sharp, but shaving sharp at least) and tested out my advice.

Haven't shaved for a few days, so kinda shaggy(past stubble stage at least). Have bald spots on each cheekbone now though and no blood drawn. Just take it slwoly and carefully. And if you use a kitchen knife might wanna clean it before using it. Leats if you do it at end of long work day like I did(and iwhtout washing face ;) )

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that, spent one summer in Africa years ago and got into habit of shaving without shaving cream, and often without water, so I just did that dry. might be easier wet/with shaving cream. and possibly safer, least with water. wouldn't add shaving cream until you get used to it as can conceal angle you're using which might be dangerous till you get experience.
 
learn to do it first with a straight razor... after that, any other knife is just goofing off...
 
I tried once, got too scary for me to handle. :)

I also used shaving cream, which concealed the angle. I could just imagine the blade slicing up my face under all that cream, so I quit. I only had about one or two mm of stubble though, and it was pretty hard to cut.

Shaving with a Microtech Vector... that's the craziest thing I've ever heard. Be careful of putting out your eyeballs with that sucker. :)
 
I say go for it!


Ive never shaved my whole face with my knives. ButI do use either my 710 or 921 to even out my goatee. I aint much of a hairy man, my beard aint that tough. But I am pretty dern careful.

If you gotta X-42 plain edge SOG autoclip, that has a straitish edge and my BG-42 knife from SOG is the sharpest frikkin peice o' edged metal I got.The Autoclips arn't terribly thick either so thats a plus. Large or small dependin on ....yer face I guess.

I say drink.... if yer a gambling man, adds a bit of risk to the whole adventure.


I have two images in my head.
Three Stooges....Shemp shaving in "The Brideless Groom"

and that Monty Python/Terry Guilliam animation where the guy puts shaving cream on his entire face then cuts his head off in one stroke.



If you mess up you can always make up a story about the scar and say it is from the 6 fingered man who slew your father.
 
Originally posted by TheSkinwalkeR
I say go for it!
Ive never shaved my whole face with my knives. ButI do use either my 710 or 921 to even out my goatee. I aint much of a hairy man, my beard aint that tough. But I am pretty dern careful.
If you gotta X-42 plain edge SOG autoclip, that has a straitish edge and my BG-42 knife from SOG is the sharpest frikkin peice o' edged metal I got.The Autoclips arn't terribly thick either so thats a plus. Large or small dependin on ....yer face I guess.
I say drink.... if yer a gambling man, adds a bit of risk to the whole adventure.
I have two images in my head.
Three Stooges....Shemp shaving in "The Brideless Groom"
and that Monty Python/Terry Guilliam animation where the guy puts shaving cream on his entire face then cuts his head off in one stroke.
If you mess up you can always make up a story about the scar and say it is from the 6 fingered man who slew your father.
Click to expand...

OK, THAT was funny!:D
Maybe drinking WOULD add to my courage! And I AM very careful when I drink because I know it makes it harder to stop the bleeding!;)

I hope it's NOTHING resembling the Three Stooges. Woop! Woop! Woop!
It DEFINATELY won't resemble the Monty Python skit.

I was just trying to get the best blade geometry to start with.

I don't plan on buying an expensive straight razor just to try it since I won't use it after that.
 
Soften your beard with hot water and apply some soap or shaving cream. What you want to avoid is crosswise slicing action, just straight push cutting. A warncliff blade is good because the edge is straight. That reduces chances for unintentional slicing action. As I recall CRKT uses AUS-6 alloy which should take a fine edge. Strop it on leather.

I personally like hollow ground blades made from AUS-8, AUS-10, 12C27, or carbon steel for shaving purposes.
 
Tried to post this before but stupid 60 second rule got me.

Whatever you do, don't use knife from your rust test, unless you want a tetanus booster. ;)
 
shaving cream tends to conceal the face and makes it difficult to shave. I use well lathered Ivory soap. If you have a bit of stubble, your face will lather well. You can also use a Pre-shave oil which penetrates the skin and lubricates the surface. This gives you a very slight "slip" to your face so that the blade has a tendency to slide over your skin instead of biting in and cutting. Sometimes if I have the time, I'll use both the oil and the soap.

For the razor itself, it's important to know how to strop a blade, and to do it before every shave. If I percieve that a blade is not as sharp as I want it to be during a shave, I will clean the blade and strop during a shave as well.

Edited to add...

as for using a regular knife, I prefer Carbon blades for all delicate work as I find that my sharpening technique works best on high carbon steel blades. As a matter of fact, my straight razor is carbon steel as well, which makes dilligent knife care an absolute necessity. It also helps if you've put on your own very sharp bevel, sharpened your knife all the way up to using an ultra-fine ceramic stone and then a stropping.

Now, unless you've sharpened your knife to the same bevel as that on a straight razor, you're less likely to cut yourself than if you had a straight razor. However, shaving will be less efficient.
 
I'll second the carbon steel, but I'm an advocate of carbon steel for just about everything, except maybe a dive knife,a nd even there I might consider it if dives weren't too long and I could clean right afterwards. ;)
 
fulloflead you are a mad brave crazy fool and I love you for it. I wake up each day thinking "what's that folloflead man going to do next?"

I can't wait to see the results of this.....
 
Actually, that is what I posted in the above post originally, then decided it was a bit off from what FoL was saying. I figured it would be better to have it's own thread.:)

Mike
 
I've shaved with my Cold Steel Voyager XL clip point before. We have a cardboard wheel for one of our grinders and it will put a nice razor's edge on a blade. It'll do just fine.


cyberhick
 
If you need some encouragement, watch the original Planet of the Apes. Chuck shaves off a serious beard with a hunting knife and a tiny mirror while being pursued by apes in the ruins of NYC.

Nova appeared to like how it felt, too.;)
 
Originally posted by Ming65
fulloflead you are a mad brave crazy fool and I love you for it. I wake up each day thinking "what's that folloflead man going to do next?"

I can't wait to see the results of this.....
Click to expand...

:confused: :)
I had to search for you on the forums to try to figure out if you were being an ahssoul or not.
(Sell them phonetically and the moderators don't catch it.;) )
I don't think you are. You've been a silly man in other threads I've started too.:p

I guess this makes you my first fan. Find another and start a club. Send club dues to Denver.:D
 
I am a minister and about two years ago I was in Fla. getting ready to do a funeral service when I realized that in my rush to get ready i had forgotten to shave. Luckily I always kept my SOCOM (which is now on my "got stolen" aaarrrgghhh list) razor sharp;) and on my personage. So with the help of a little liquid hand soap and the church bathroom I emerged clean shaven and more nervous about the fact that I had just had that blade at my throat than the funeral service.:D
 
If you must do this:rolleyes::), then I concur with the others, use the C.R.K.&T. . It's closest to a real straight razor. Also becareful around your ears. Many razors were switched to a round point because the square point nicked people's ears to much, I would hate to see what a real point could do.

Also, you'll probably need to do some edge work. From what I've read, most razors were edged to around 17 degrees, or so. And, like others have stated, if the blade start's to pull hair, rather than pop it off cleanly, re-hone:D.


P.S., The Sheepsfoot on a Stockman works well:):D.
 
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