Hi Janet, we're sorry to hear these descriptions caused confusion! You're correct that in order to get only the top corner of the razor blade to come in contact with the dough you need to tip the lame slightly forward, but this occurs on a plane that is perpendicular to the surface of the dough, so this still results in a straight cut. Notice how in the photo directly above the subheading, "Straight blade," the blue lame is approaching the dough straight from above. On the other hand, in order to create an "ear" or a "lip" cut, the entire lame is angled about 30-45 degrees from the surface of the dough, so that same tip of the razor blade is able to slide at an angle beneath the surface of the dough and create a shallow, angled cut. This video on how to slash a baguette does a good job of pointing out the perpendicular vs the angled approach to the dough, while emphasizing the angled cut required for baguettes. 

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