trimming: how to leave hair tapered rather than blunt?

What a wonderful site. First post for me, though I’ve browsed frequently over the past couple of years.

Here’s my problem. I’m a very hairy male. Except for some areas that I absolutely cannot tolerate hair on (back and shoulders), and which I shave pretty regularly, I’ve decided that I can live with the dense hair on my chest, arms, and legs as long as I can trim it down. But trimming leaves the hair so blunt that anyone who touches me risks getting wounded.

Is there any way I can reduce this porcupine effect? Are there any trimmers/shears that, say, cut at an angle so as to leave a tapered end on the hair? Or any other solution? Many thanks.

I have found that using an electric foil razor works really well for removing chest/shoulder hair. Its much easier and leaves my skin smoother than trimming or even shaving with a Mach 3.

If you cut hair, the end is sharp. No way around it. I used to trim my leg hair, as I was kind of embarrased to shave it all, which is more obvious than trimming it. However, I hated how it felt, all sharp and prickly, and ended up shaving it all smooth with a razor. The woman’s Venus is best for body shaving, as it was designed for that job. I much prefer my legs silky smooth than stubbly from say a number 1 trimmer setting, and anyone who touches them agrees. If you are going to trim, you may end up shaving, not for looks, but for the feel of it. Cut hair is stiff and sharp, not a good feeling at all. If you leave it longner, it feels softer, but of course, you end up looking pretty hairy. Its just a judgement call, but I found the short trim gave me the worst of both worlds, and frankly didn’t look that natural, either. I abolutely hated the feel of my legs trimmed, but love them shaved. You can always try shaving, and if you don’t like it, let it grow out until the length you like, and use some sort of trimmer to keep it that way. However, it will have sharp ends.