Thread: ATG Impossible?!

welcome to srp! the upward and downward strokes you are doing are essentially both across the grain and if your holding the razor at proper angles then those 2 passes should be getting you 99% there, shouldn't really be leaving patches of hair after those 2 across the grain passes. the 3 things that id think right away without watching you shave are that you may need to work on stretching the skin more when doing those 2 passes (don't even do against the grain), you may need to work on the angle you hold the razor during the strokes, your razor may not be up to snuff or need stropping. an edge that's dulled a bit can still cut (scrape) away hair but often will leave patches uncut. as you progress and get more comfortable you will learn to use a scything stroke to get more of an across/against the grain "combo" stroke that will definitely help with the neck situation.
and remember- short strokes are your friend again, without watching you shave im just picturing things that could be problems starting out. sometimes theres a newbie tendency to do long strokes to mow down the hair. short strokes are key.