Riding the cap is safer but takes more work & gives a worse shave than riding the SB

IMHO It just seems to take forever to shave riding the cap. It does feel safer, but it's really hard getting a close shave as opposed to riding the safety bar, which just mows the whiskers down.

Maybe there's a better way than either riding the cap or the safety bar?

PS. I searched this time.

I concur.  I've discovered this recently too. I get less irritation and cleaner shaves.

I am revisiting all my razors again, trying this riding-the-bar technique and most of them have become more efficient.

Riding too shallow gave me razor bumps and irritation earlier.

It does kind of depend on wether you are shaving daily or maybe every 3. Go watch a video of somebody shaving their beard off with a straight razor using too high of an angle. They get it done quickly before the blood starts flowing, literally. It's a perfect illustration of extremes. Somewhere in between, there is probably a compromise solution. I have areas on my face that CAN NOT take the high angle of riding the bar, period. If you learn the areas that can be done on cruise control riding the bar, then you save some time. You give some back by targeting the problematic spots with a lower angle and shorter stroke. I am one of the few people on shaving forums that looks for razors that are meant to shave with a low angle, I only have one razor that is steep angle only and I have to be careful because of how fast it is. I mostly prefer kamisoris and injectors. Both can get my face like a marble in two passes with little risk.

I concur.  I've discovered this recently too. I get less irritation and cleaner shaves.

I am revisiting all my razors again, trying this riding-the-bar technique and most of them have become more efficient.

Riding too shallow gave me razor bumps and irritation earlier.

Hi luv2shave. I agree that riding-the-bar makes razors more efficient, but I find that it also causes more nicks and irritation. The riding-the-cap is, comparatively, inefficient but safer. That's my experience anyway.

It does kind of depend on wether you are shaving daily or maybe every 3. Go watch a video of somebody shaving their beard off with a straight razor using too high of an angle. They get it done quickly before the blood starts flowing, literally. It's a perfect illustration of extremes. Somewhere in between, there is probably a compromise solution. I have areas on my face that CAN NOT take the high angle of riding the bar, period. If you learn the areas that can be done on cruise control riding the bar, then you save some time. You give some back by targeting the problematic spots with a lower angle and shorter stroke. I am one of the few people on shaving forums that looks for razors that are meant to shave with a low angle, I only have one razor that is steep angle only and I have to be careful because of how fast it is. I mostly prefer kamisoris and injectors. Both can get my face like a marble in two passes with little risk.

That's really good. Thank you!

I've been much happier since changing years and years ago using a ride the safety bar method and that is for a variety of razors. I find I get the better efficiency on removing more of my beard but it is also easier on my skin. I found this for the Muhle r41 early on and realized it minimized the bouncing in each shave stroke. Other razors that it worked great on would include the Razorock Aluminum Lupo and the DLC Lupo stainless steel, the BBS1 and the various Carbon razors.

Nice to know everyone has a different take on how it may feel and that you’re free to do what works best. Since I’m primarily shaving with the Carbon razors 99% of the time the last couple of years, I’ve decided to revisit playing around with the ride the cap angle to see how it feels. I may report back in this thread if I find anything interesting.

One more note, one of the advantages I find for myself is when riding the base plate, I can press the safety bar into my skin to take advantage of the blade gap to really remove more beard during the stroke. It allows me to cut down on a multi pass shave. I try to keep my shaves at 2 pretty efficient passes. My skin can get a bit raw from doing 3 passes so 2 is what my goal is unless I for whatever reason want a shave that not only is visually close, but can feel as close to baby butt smooth. That’s not always the most important to me as long as my skin isn’t red and I can get generally an even and consistent looking shave on my face.

Cheers everyone

What the heck am I missing here?  Have I been sleeping or are we defining terms differently?  I’m lost and one of you will put me back on track. To me, riding the cap means tipping the razor handle away from the face.  I’m assuming riding the bar, a term I’ve never heard would mean bringing the handle nearer the face?  
I’ve always found the razor would tell me where the handle ought to be. For example the Razorock Mamba, although unbelievably mild, actually shaves better for me when “riding the cap”.  Additionally I’ve always found safety razors to be “safe” whether riding cap or bar.  What I generally find (at least this is the picture in my head) that my razors shave best when I’m riding the cap and bar equally.  I hope I’m not sounding dumb as a bag of hammers here.  Help me if I’m missing something.

What the heck am I missing here?  Have I been sleeping or are we defining terms differently?  I’m lost and one of you will put me back on track. To me, riding the cap means tipping the razor handle away from the face.  I’m assuming riding the bar, a term I’ve never heard would mean bringing the handle nearer the face?  
I’ve always found the razor would tell me where the handle ought to be. For example the Razorock Mamba, although unbelievably mild, actually shaves better for me when “riding the cap”.  Additionally I’ve always found safety razors to be “safe” whether riding cap or bar.  What I generally find (at least this is the picture in my head) that my razors shave best when I’m riding the cap and bar equally.  I hope I’m not sounding dumb as a bag of hammers here.  Help me if I’m missing something.

I agree with you Lip, in my experience, it varies from razor to razor and the razor will typically let you know what's best.

Some razors need to ride the bar. If you ride the cap on a Razorock BabySmooth, for example, you'll end up shaving the person in front of you.

Been much happier since years and years ago shaving using the ride the safety bar and that is for many razors. I find I get the best efficiency for my beard but that it is also better on my skin but that is just for my beard and skin. I found this for the Muhle r41 early on and realized it minimized the bouncing in each shave stroke and for other razors that it worked great on would include the razorock Lupos, the BBS1 and the Carbon razors.

Nice to know everyone has a different take on how it may feel and that you’re free to do what works best. Since I’m primarily shaving with the Carbon razors 99% of the time the last couple of years, I’ve decided to revisit playing around with the ride the cap angle to see how it feels. I may report back in this thread if I find anything interesting.

One more note, one of the advantages I find for myself is when riding the base plate, I can press the safety bar into my skin to take advantage of the blade gap to really remove more beard during the stroke. It allows me to cut down on a multi pass shave. I try to keep my shaves at 2 pretty efficient passes. My skin can get a bit raw from doing 3 passes so 2 is what my goal is unless I for whatever reason want a shave that not only is visually close, but can feel as close to baby butt smooth. That’s not always the most important to me as long as my skin isn’t red and I can get generally an even and consistent looking shave on my face.

Cheers everyone

Cheers. I've got the BBS1 and I love riding the SB with it. Curious what you mean by riding the base plate?

What the heck am I missing here?  Have I been sleeping or are we defining terms differently?  I’m lost and one of you will put me back on track. To me, riding the cap means tipping the razor handle away from the face.  I’m assuming riding the bar, a term I’ve never heard would mean bringing the handle nearer the face?  
I’ve always found the razor would tell me where the handle ought to be. For example the Razorock Mamba, although unbelievably mild, actually shaves better for me when “riding the cap”.  Additionally I’ve always found safety razors to be “safe” whether riding cap or bar.  What I generally find (at least this is the picture in my head) that my razors shave best when I’m riding the cap and bar equally.  I hope I’m not sounding dumb as a bag of hammers here.  Help me if I’m missing something.

To me, riding the cap means tipping the razor handle away from the face.  I’m assuming riding the bar, a term I’ve never heard would mean bringing the handle nearer the face? 

^ That's exactly right.

I'm surprised the Mamba shaves better for you when riding the cap. The Mamba is so bent, like Mr. Doug said about the Baby Smooth, it's hard for me to get the blade to contact the skin (when I'm riding the cap with the Mamba).