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Complete opposite experience here. Gillette ones used to cut me up real bad, now with a safety razor (Henson specifically) I just don’t cut myself anymore. I don’t even feel the shave anymore ! Hair just disappears 😆
I have the same safety razor. It's seemingly safer than a Gillette against a lot of 'features' on the face, but I'm not getting your great results yet. I carry a lot of had habits from shaving out of a green melon bucket or in a tent, and it's not translating well ;-)
I think you nailed it, moving from a cartridge razor to a safety razor requires a large jump in technique. With a cartridge you can just whip around your face and get an acceptable shave without really caring (unless you have sensitive skin). But with a safety razor you have to pay attention to the direction of hair growth, handle angle, and to a smaller extent the tautness of your skin.
I have VERY sensitive skin and cartridge razors were killing me, so switching to a safety razor and getting past the skill curve saved my face.
After 20 years of safety razor use I recently switched to a straight razor which accepts replaceable safety razor blades, which I saw my barber using. I've found the skill gap between a competent safety razor user and a straight razor was very small. Within 2 weeks I was getting better shaves with the straight razor! It's closer, easier on my skin (fewer passes), and I can detail around my mustache and eyebrows way better.
YMMV
I use a safety razor too and I don't really have these issues.
I can shave in any direction I want, no problem and just have to watch the angle of the blade if I want it to work properly and provide a close shave but not because I run the risk of cutting myself. Only thing I have to pay attention to in that regard is to NEVER move the blade perpendicular to the handle.
But in my experience, what makes the biggest difference is how the skin and beard is prepared. It all works so much smoother if I apply hot damp cloth beforehand or I shave right after a hot shower. Also a nice foam from a good shaving soap helps a lot as well as using a fresh blade.
But I can also just ignore all of that and go at it dry and with a months old blade. Only in that case do I have to be more careful and won't get as nice a result. Probably helps, that I don't have a very thick beard growth in the first place, though.
So yeah, looks like it can be a very different experience.
Oh but also the kind of razor make a difference. I once had a very light and tinny safety razor, that was barely useable. A nice stainless steel one with a heavier head is so much better.
How do you deal with the contorsions needed to shave on the side your good hand doesn't flex well towards? I have an actual straight razor that I seldom use because it works really well and I don't usually cut myself, but it's really annoying to get everywhere on myself with it. I don't trust using my other hand whereas with a safety razor if I need to I can without peeling half my face off.
When I first picked up the straight razor I ran into the weird areas and contorting my wrist as you mentioned.
I just tried different grips and shaving patterns until I found a pattern without weird wrist positions, it took about 10 shaves to really get comfortable.
I don't know the terminology, but if the common wrist position you see people straight razor shave with can be called "wrist up" I actually shave about half of my face and most of my neck with my wrist "down" gripping the razor kind of like a paint brush. I don't know if that's the correct way to do it, but a few months in and I can complete a shave nearly as quickly as I could with a safety razor.
The only weird spots left to figure out are the sideburn on my non-dominant side (which I do by feel with decent success), and my brow lines.