Blade Smoothness Revisited

Shaving my head has allowed me to see myself as a new student, going through the learning process from the beginning. First, it justified the endorsement I once gave in an Amazon review, mostly on principle, of the Merkur 41C, as a great beginner razor. Now, back to my preferred Tech, I'm getting re-acquainted with the pleasures of the smooth, less-picky blades that helped me learn to shave. 

Today, with my last Baili platinum, I chose not to approach my beard with ginger precision, quick strokes and a lot of skewing, which has lately been leaving me with less-than ideal skin texture in the jaw corners, and more stubble than I would like at bedtime. This morning, following a cue from recent head shaves, I leaned on the top cap and plowed deep, just like I used to in the good ol' Personna days. I think that's the fundamental difference between smooth and sharp: the degree of leverage versus light touch. Then, subsequent to that choice, in the balance of angle selection, is a choice between slightly more burn and some missed hair. I did have to go back and dry shave the jaw corners, gingerly, to maintain my accustomed illusion of hairlessness.

No bumps, though, because no picking or stabbing. Those missed hairs seem pre-selected, not to pull the blade down into the skin when treated that way. I think they're the poorly rooted ones. A strong aftershave of 3-in-1 Lubricating Lotion mixed with Aqua Velva Musk gives a "healthy" burn, evenly distributed and not painful. The general inflammation level is slightly less than the ideal sensation of shrinking on drydown, but still completely neutral, not a "razor burn" in any degree.

Any creeping doubt in the back of my mind, that my habitual use of sharper blades, and daily BBS, would eventually justify the "no pressure" forum clown posse, is dead. This is absolutely how shaving works. Only the amplitude of the power changes, to a greater efficiency, when you move up to a sharper blade, and a lighter touch.