WTG, XTG, ATG - BlimeyTG

I've made a few shaves with my straight and I feel I am getting more used to it. However, I think I've been doing it wrong.

First pass is always WTG. The jawline, chin, and neck areas are complete <censored> however. Lots of pain, and pulling. I think that is more a technique issue, so I'll keep trying.

The second pass I do is ATG as per the videos on the sticky thread. I re-lather, and shave upwards

I now realise I'm supposed to shave XTG on the second pass, but the problem I am having is working out my grain.

On my cheek the hair lies downwards. So a downward stroke with the razor is WTG, and an upwards stroke is ATG. My jawline I've noticed the grain grows side on. So if I take the razor and shave from about an inch away from my chin and towards the ear, that's WTG. From my ear to an inch within my chin is ATG. My chin is downwards, like my cheek. As is the area below my chin till my adams apple. On my neck however, the grain is upwards. So an upwards stroke is WTG, downwards is ATG.

Confused yet? I know I am.

Effectively then, for my first WTG pass I need to...

Shave downwards on my cheek, chin and blow my chin (and above my upper lip)

Shave across towards my ear from an inch either side of my chin.

Shave upwards from my neck to my jawline.

:shrug:

Am I over thinking this? Is that what it's really like--changing the razor motion at different points?

I don't know what others exactly do, but this works for me:

I shave one pass down, long and even, overlapping strokes bit of a scything motion. Relather with "lathery water", as oposed to the luxurious lather from my first pass. It gives me a better visual of the shaving results, and I feel my beard is still sufficiently hydrated from the initial lather. Than I shave one pass up, with short an precise, light strokes. Don't need to go over the same spot twice.
That leaves me BBS for about 80% of my beard area.
I then relather the usual suspects (the remaining 20%: a spot between my earlobe and the corner of the jaw bone, a tiny patch in the hollow part of my neck, right above the jugular, and the sharp corners of my chin) I have to do some awkward moves to tackle the spiraling grain of those areas. The "jugular patches" only respond to smiling razors. On a good day, I reach 99% (not to say 100:))

I'm pretty sure your mileage will vary. I takes a while before you know the hair direction map of your face. In the beginning it amazed me how little I knew my face. Converting to the straight razor has certainly changed that a great deal. If you add it all up, I must have spend countless hours sitting somewhere quietly, gauging the grow direction of the stubble on my face. I witnessed the exact same behavior with two other gents that recently picked up the straight razor. Very funny and recognizable.:)

Best regards,
Bart.

Just to chime in...it would be great if a beard grew in the same direction in all areas! Some gentlemen may actually be lucky enough to have such a growth pattern, but unfortunately for most of us our beards grow up, down, sideways, and maybe even in whorls in spots. So yes, a "WTG" pass usually does mean changing the angle and direction of your razor a few times on different parts of your face and neck.

I won't detail the contours of my beard, but suffice it to say, my first pass includes some down strokes, side strokes, and up strokes. My second pass (XTG) is similarly convoluted, with primarily sidestrokes, but a few downstrokes too in my lower neck area. And my ATG pass is primarily upstrokes, but again, a few downstrokes and some to the side.

So yeah, it's not as easy as swiping down, across, and then up. Analyzing your beard is an important part of learning to wetshave, whether it's with a DE or a straight, and it sounds like you have a great start on that process. :tu

Getting to know your way around your face includes learning the hair growth. I think it is more a matter of feel than of knowledge of grain direction though. I do my best to shave at as great an angle from my hair growth direction as possible without pulling or tugging, and then on my next pass I increase the angle as close to 180 as I can

It can certainly be analyzed to death for a great shave, but the mechanics of actually shaving what needs to be shaved will probably be learned much more quickly through trial and error. Just make sure the errors don't stint your desire for more trial

Tip #1 Take some digital pictures of your beard after a fews days worth of growth. This made a huge difference for me. Zoom in on those problem areas.

Tip#2 If your beard is tough take extra time to prep. Use some pre-shave while in the shower to soften the beard or hot towel method will work too. I wash hair and face first the apply pre-shave and let it soak in while I finish showering, a good 3-5 minutes.

Tip#3 Stretch that skin to keep the razor from catching and to help the hair become more exposed to the razor. I also do another quick strop before the ATG pass to keep things nice and smooth.

Hope these help.:)

I'm glad I wasn't the only one. When I used a catridge, I just went down. Now I'm going to have to pay close attentiion to my hair growth. I'll let my beard grow a few days so it's easier to see which way it's growing, and then I shall attempt again :)

Thanks!