Thread: With, across, and against the grain

Tomorrow will be my first straight shave. How important is it that the first pass be with the grain? The reason I ask is that under my chin, my hair grows from the left to the right. This seems like it will be tricky to go with the grain and that across the grain will be easier. I'm thinking two passes across the grain in opposite directions, at least until I'm more comfortable with the razor.

Any ideas or opinions will be appreciated.

Mark

If you're razor isn't very very sharp, you'll see why they say to avoid going against the grain on the first pass, it's quite painful.... While i'm relatively new to this whole thing, I've found that for me it's easiest to attack the chin initially in a 'top to bottom' motion, starting from just below the lip and going straight down, then an across motion, as if going from one ear to the other over the chin- the XTG pass is usually not required to get a really close shave here in my experience. In either case, you'll (eventually!) find something that works well for your particular shaving style and direction of growth.

I have a similar problem - the strip of neck directly below my chin grows downwards towards my Adam's apple ("normal" growth) but either side of my neck grows sideways (from the middle of my neck outwards towards my ears). The sides of my neck obviously can couse some trouble, b/c trying to get a with the grain stroke is nearly impossible. What I have tried to do, is rather than going completely against the grain by doing a normal North to South cut, I first do a diagonal pass (i.e. Northwest to Southeast) and then my second pass is a traditional North to South, which is completely against the grain. Paired with some thoughtful stretching, and it seems to work quite well. As with any part of your face, if your straight isn't sharp, you are not going to enjoy it!

Good luck...it took me some time of experimenting to get this down...every once in a while when I have extra time, I try to go about it in a different manner to see if something different works best.

Try your best and let us know how it goes!

It really depends on how sensitive and/or tender your skin is. Under the chin can be a very sensitive or tender area for some guys. In that case it's best to go with the grain, or as close to it, as is reasonably possible. Sometimes it's very hard to go exactly with the grain, so slightly across is ok. With sensitive skin on any part of the face, shaving with a straight razor directly against the grain, especially on the first pass, can cause problems with razor burn and small nicks and is best avoided.


Scott

It also depends on how tough your beard is. I've got a lighter beard and usually skip the WTG pass for most of my beard. Don't fret about it too much, you'll get there. My advice is to give yourself no more than two passes on the first shave anyhow. Your skin will need a few weeks to adjust to the straight razor. Take your time and enjoy yourself.

X

ya all can do what I did in the problem area....grow a goatee