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

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.

LOL Might not be bad if you could get the person behind to shave you.

I am a steep angle shaver. I read the old "ride the cap" advice and personally think it's a bad strategy....but, I don't shave you, only myself. I do what works for me while trying to to be too judgemental of others who use different techniques. My handles are close to perpendicular to the floor.

I believe the safety bar was designed to stretch the skin ahead of the blade a run it that way.

Several advantages to steep shaving, for me.

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I am a steep angle shaver. I read the old "ride the cap" advice and personally think it's a bad strategy....but, I don't shave you, only myself. I do what works for me while trying to to be too judgemental of others who use different techniques. My handles are close to perpendicular to the floor.

I believe the safety bar was designed to stretch the skin ahead of the blade a run it that way.

Several advantages to steep shaving, for me.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

I've always gone with some sort of angle, usually a fair amount, based on what I think the razor is telling me. I might try my hand at a steep angle in the coming shaves. You never know, maybe I'm missing something good? Also... It's an experiment I don't have to buy anything to try. Win-win!

I shave at the angle that the razor was designed to shave at.  The Gillette Tech and the iKon Tech are very different razors.  If you treat all razors equally, you'll not get good results.  The same holds true for people.

I shave at the angle that the razor was designed to shave at.  The Gillette Tech and the iKon Tech are very different razors.  If you treat all razors equally, you'll not get good results.  The same holds true for people.

Correct....I don't think it's some sort of binary choice.
My instincts are to put the bar against the skin and draw down gently, while angling the handle away
from the face, almost imperceptibly...until I get audible feedback that the blade is cutting....there, that's your angle.

I am a steep angle shaver. I read the old "ride the cap" advice and personally think it's a bad strategy....but, I don't shave you, only myself. I do what works for me while trying to to be too judgemental of others who use different techniques. My handles are close to perpendicular to the floor.

I believe the safety bar was designed to stretch the skin ahead of the blade a run it that way.

Several advantages to steep shaving,  for me.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

I've always gone with some sort of angle, usually a fair amount, based on what I think the razor is telling me. I might try my hand at a steep angle in the coming shaves. You never know, maybe I'm missing something good? Also... It's an experiment I don't have to buy anything to try. Win-win!

I am a pretty steep shaver, but I will slow down on problem areas and ride the safety bar or the cap.

That's very helpful. Thanks!

And now I just shaved with a Gillette New Long Comb and riding the comb  felt safe and gave me an incredibly close shave. Go figure.

Geez. I meant to say riding the cap, not the comb.

I'm a steep angle guy. I prefer to ride the safety bar (steep angle) using a fairly aggressive razor.