Ultimate Shave : Pass for Pass

[rick]

OK.
I want yalls stroke by stroke discription of your best possible shave.
In the following format:

Pass #1: North to South (N-S) / With the Grain (WTG)
Pass #2: N-S / Across the grain (XTG)
Pass #3: S-N / XTG
Pass #4: S-N / Against the grain (ATG)
Touch Up (TU)


This is my "Inspection" shave routine; Most days, this doesnt happen.
Usually I'll do a variation of passes 1-3 and very seldom I'll throw in the #4 ATG finale.
Whats your best ?

[Infotech]

First Pass - WTG
Second Pass - XTG
Third Pass - ATG
Fourth Pass - Touch up ATG/XTG until clean, especially in the neck area.

Day one of this is the ultimate BBS closest shave possible.

Day two of this is red spots on the neck so I don't do it often. Normally I stick with two passes most places and use the the third for side burns and chin only.

[qhsdoitall]

First Pass - North to South
Second Pass - Ear to Chin
Third Pass - Chin to Ear
Forth Pass - TU/ATG

This will get rid of every whisker I got but riskier due to extra pass. I also simplified this due to my beard growth pattern. I can usually get close to this in 2 passes plus TU/ATG using a combination of XTG and 45 degree XTG work and using a Feather ACD-N Razor and DE Razor in combination. ATG is only needed on the jaw line this way. It's all about knowing your beard pattern.

[patrisVII]

I tried the '4 pass' shave after I read about it on the boards, but I found it too irritating. I went back to the way I have more or less shaved most of my life.

Most of these strokes end up being bsically XTG. The only spot I go over systematically in different directions is my chin.

1. Diagonal from ear to jawline to the 'handle bar' area on both cheeks.

2. With chin tucked down to neck to create an exaggerated double chin (bullfrog), horizontal from side to centerline on each side along the jaw line and under the chin.

3. Diagonal from side to centerline at the base of the neck.

4. Mustache and handlebars diagonal from side toward centerline stopping with about an inch on either side of center on the lip. This remaining section N/S with multi-angle detail clearing under the nose.

5. Chin. N/S with lower lip stretched over teeth. Re-lather. Horizontal across entire chin in one direction with chin thrust forward. Re-lather and go the other way.

6. Inspect and re-lather/touch up depending on mood. Touch up most often needed on the jawline, at the corners of the mouth and the upper cheeks (ATG is typical in all these areas).


This is BBS for me except the sideburns which I don't bother to clean up (I define BBS as smooth under a light touch in all directions).

[Hoos]

All my shaves are two-passes with touch up if needed.

First pass is top to bottom.

Second pass is across, coming from outer face/neck to inner face/neck.

Touch up is usually only around the ears and Adam's apple.

[shavingidiot savant]

Here's my routine: The first three passes include both my face and neck.
First pass- WTG
Second pass- XTG
Third pass- AGT
Fourth pass is the odd one.- ATG on my face, and diagonally on my neck on one side, with some j hooking on a spot on the left side. Necks can be very mischievous.......heh.
Then, for a truly BBS shave, I lather up the area where a goatee would be, and spend 30-45 seconds blade buffing that place, both lip and chin. Now, that is smooooth when I'm done. Plus, it's gratifying in a way to be able to use that technique for what it's designed for. An excellent tip from Mark ( Mantic) that really hit home for me.
I've got it down to 15 minutes now, and when finished, I sometimes find myself wishing for some reason or excuse to do another pass.....heh. Silly me. Luckily, I have no problems with any irritation, if everything's done right.
Martin

[TraderJoe]

Cheeks, upper lip, and chin -> North to South

------->(Shave with the grain only)

Upper neck -> North to South

------- >(Shave with the grain, twice, and against and/or across the grain on final pass)

Lower neck -> South to North

-------> (Shave with the grain only)

I blade-buff constantly throughout the shave (all strokes are fluid blade-buff-strokings)

[crackstar]

Joe, you da MAN!!!!!! I'd slit my face to shreds if I tried that! My skin's too fragile.

[TraderJoe]

As long as the pressure is extremely light, even non-existent....its all good.

Otherwise, its hamburger hill :rofl

[crackstar]

As long as the pressure is extremely light, even non-existent....its all good.

Otherwise, its hamburger hill :rofl

Bro, did you know, I cannot stretch my skin, because if I try to, I'll get the most unbearable pain you can imagine. I feel like the tissues in my face are tearing, and I get faint.

[rick]

Ive been experimenting a bit lately for a 7-day a week shave....a shave I can live with every single day.
This is what it looks like right now:

Pass #1: N-S / WTG
Pass #2: N-S / WTG (Yep. 2 of the same)
Pass #3: N-S / XTG
Pass #4: S-N / XTG
Touch Up

Staying away from the ATG passes altogether.

[Baloosh]

1st pass with the grain:
N-S (forehead to chest) on all areas except lower neck
S-N (chest to forehead) on lower neck

2nd pass across the grain:
Nose to ear on all areas

3rd pass across the grain (the other way):
Ear to nose on all areas

4th pass (not all the time... just when I want to attempt BBS):
S-N (chest to forehead) on all areas except lower neck
N-S (forehead to chest) on lower neck (using VERY light touch and NO pressure)

Works for me!

[jbcohen]

I must be unusal here, it makes little difference which way I go I come out with the same result each and every time.

[Scorpio]

I must be unusal here,

Ladies and gents we have a new CT

Raf

[qhsdoitall]

Staying away from the ATG passes altogether.

Wimp :D

[St. Croix]

OK.
I want yalls stroke by stroke discription of your best possible shave.
In the following format:

Pass #1: North to South (N-S) / With the Grain (WTG)
Pass #2: N-S / Across the grain (XTG)
Pass #3: S-N / XTG
Pass #4: S-N / Against the grain (ATG)
Touch Up (TU)


This is my "Inspection" shave routine; Most days, this doesnt happen.
Usually I'll do a variation of passes 1-3 and very seldom I'll throw in the #4 ATG finale.
Whats your best ?

Pardon my ignorance, but how is this possible???

How do you shave with the grain and across the grain with the same pass?

St. Croix

[Queen of Blades]

Pardon my ignorance, but how is this possible???

How do you shave with the grain and across the grain with the same pass?

St. Croix

I'm not sure if I understand the question, but.......

He isn't going with and across the grain with the same pass, according to his description.

Pass #1: North to South (N-S) / With the Grain (WTG)
means
First pass; going top to bottom/ with the grain

Pass #2: N-S / Across the grain (XTG)
means
Second pass; again top to bottom but at an angle, not straight down. More of a NW-SE/NE-SW type of pass. This is where I'm thinking the confusion is coming in.

Pass #3: S-N / XTG
Third pass; bottom to top at an angle

Pass #4: S-N / Against the grain (ATG)
Fourth pass; bottom to top straight up.

[rick]

OK.
For clarity's sake lets say "N-S" = Head to chin and "S-N" = chin to head
WTG from N-S is actually Head to chin, nose to ear
XTG from N-S is Head to chin, straight down my face
S-N XTG is chin to head, straight up my face
S-N ATG is chin to head, ear to nose

[Queen of Blades]

Guess you answered that better, Rick, since I don't know your growth pattern and all.

One thing though. Isn't the chin technically part of the head? :p

ps- My head (and my chin) really hurt now, from all this N-S S-N E-W W-E NE-SW stuff.

[Michael]

S-N XTG is chin to head, straight up my face


Do you, like, go around your nose? :confused:

[rick]

I knew I shouldnt go there......
and Fergie:
Nose hairs need trimming too.
Youll find out more about that the older you get ;)

[mastermute]

Nose hairs need trimming too.
Youll find out more about that the older you get ;)

Hmm.. The bearer of bad news ;) I've tried trimming the nose hairs but didn't like how they were when they grew back, too thick/sharp. So I use tweezers and pull them out. Hurts like hell and I sneeze for an hour, but fortunately I only have to do this once every month at the moment.

[moviemaniac]

My recipe for BBS:

- 1st pass: N-S
- 2nd pass: E-W on the cheeks and on the upper chin, S-N on the lower chin and neck
- 3rd pass: S-N everywhere

[TOB9595]

I find that with a DE
First pass - NS
Second Pass - SN
Third pass - ATG most times just focusing under my jaw line which is where the peskiness is.
:)
Tom

[qhsdoitall]

Hmm.. The bearer of bad news ;) I've tried trimming the nose hairs but didn't like how they were when they grew back, too thick/sharp. So I use tweezers and pull them out. Hurts like hell and I sneeze for an hour, but fortunately I only have to do this once every month at the moment.

Been there. Done that. Unfortunately, one out of five times I did that would end up with an infected hair follicle. Damn that hurts inside the nose. I got a rotary trimmer in my Christmas stocking.

[tjgriffin]

Using Merkur Progress with either a Dorco 300 or Astra Supreme Platinium

1st: Setting: 4.5
N-S Cheeks and mostache down to jaw line only

2nd: Setting: 3.5
S-N from bottom of neck to jaw line
S-N from jaw line all the way up cheeks
XTG to center on mustache, front of and under chin

3rd: Setting: 3.5
N-S below jaw line with diagonal towards center at Adam's apple
Touchup above jaw line
Optional: ATG S-N on mostache w/ diagonal stroke

Final: Water down cream mixture and cover face while cleaning up.
Then rinse. Soft!

- Tere

[TOB9595]

I note that there are many guys who change settings during their shave. I may have to look into this.
Tom

[moviemaniac]

I note that there are many guys who change settings during their shave. I may have to look into this.
Tom
I used to do that back in my days but for the last few months the settings of my adjustable razors have stayed pretty much the same for all blades and every pass.

[TOB9595]

Amazing that so many differences in how we use what touches our face
Tom

[tjgriffin]

I used to do that back in my days but for the last few months the settings of my adjustable razors have stayed pretty much the same for all blades and every pass.

I used to go the other way: start with a less aggressive setting, then go up for the final pass. Doing it in this order, I think 1) takes more off in the initial pass, making the later passes more gentle and 2) avoids the aggressive setting on my neck and the XTG/ATG passes on my mustache, my problem areas. I've been doing this for about a week and it seems to help.

- Tere

[tjgriffin]

Amazing that so many differences in how we use what touches our face
Tom

It amazing how many different combinations of types of skin, hair, oil glands, sensitivities, etc there are :)

Yesterday, I tired a new blade and cream and ended up red faced from just under my eyes to just below the jaw line. It looked like I forgot to put on sunscreen on a ski trip. I skipped shaving today...

Like I say with diabetes, there are almost as many types of diabetes as there are diabetics.

Take care!

- Tere

[moviemaniac]

I used to go the other way: start with a less aggressive setting, then go up for the final pass. Doing it in this order, I think 1) takes more off in the initial pass, making the later passes more gentle and 2) avoids the aggressive setting on my neck and the XTG/ATG passes on my mustache, my problem areas. I've been doing this for about a week and it seems to help.

- Tere
Now THAT's interesting! I've read about the contrary thing - start with an aggressive setting and dial down of every following pass.

But it's all YMMV :)

[TOB9595]

Just proves, once again, the diverse nature of our faces.
Tom

[qhsdoitall]

Now THAT's interesting! I've read about the contrary thing - start with an aggressive setting and dial down of every following pass.

But it's all YMMV :)

It's what I do with an adjustable. It's also why I use a Feather ACD-N for the first pass and a DE for subsequent passes. Aggressive ---> Milder

[TOB9595]

Hmmm I can see the point of going milder to aggressive
Tom

[moviemaniac]

Hmmm I can see the point of going milder to aggressive
Tom
Not me - shaving against the grain is a sensitive thing to do, so you might wanna be as gentle as possible when doing it...

[tjgriffin]

Not me - shaving against the grain is a sensitive thing to do, so you might wanna be as gentle as possible when doing it...

Just to clarify...

In my earlier message, I meant that I recently started going aggressive --> mild and that it worked better (for me) for reasons 1 and 2 as stated. I didn't mean to apply those reasons to mild --> aggressive.

My old rationale for mild --> aggressive was: as the hairs were cut shorter, I needed to set it closer to the skin to get 'em. What that didn't account for was that even the milder settings exfoliate/damage the skin. So more aggressive later passes left my skin more raw.

This might not be an issue for those with tougher hides than my oh-so-delicate skin :)

BTW, My face is almost recovered after one day off. Right on my cheek bones is still a little tender. I used a mild setting, two gentle passes with a forgiving Dorco 300 and a rich mix of Roxi cream (nice stuff!).

[moviemaniac]

Just to clarify...

In my earlier message, I meant that I recently started going aggressive --> mild and that it worked better (for me) for reasons 1 and 2 as stated. I didn't mean to apply those reasons to mild --> aggressive.

ah, okay, that clears everything up :D

[TOB9595]

Just another indicator of how each face is different and individual

[Dog Man]

Hi,

I'm new to str8s. Please help me understand what "Blade Buffing" is.

Thanks again,

Bill

[Mottern Man]

1. Pass WTG
2. Touch up (as needed) XTG

Close and comfortable.

No fussin' around. Just shave baby!

Hi,

I'm new to str8s. Please help me understand what "Blade Buffing" is.

Thanks again,

Bill

Blade Buffing is quick/short/choppy strokes repeated over an area a few times.

Mantic59 of youtube fame has a video of it under Advanced Techniques.