Thread: shaving aginst the grain

Hi; I am new at this and having pretty good success (and I am totally hooked!). I was wondering though, on the second pass, if I go against the grain I can get a very close shave, but I read somewhere that doing that can promote ingrown hairs, and that you should go with the grain first pass and across (not against) the grain on a second over. Hmm... Youtube video of Waldorf barber shave shows only against the grain on the neck.

Across the grain works fine for me as a second pass and then touch up on the tougher to get areas. I just go from the jaw/sideburn area to the chin and it has been very successful. I think that is shown on one of the videos I did on Youtube.

Have fun,

Lynn

for some people it can, for others it's not a problem. across the grain is usually smooth enough for most folks. try going against the grain and see what happens. if you didn't get razorburn from your disposable, you prolly won't with a straight, either.

Hey thanks. I guess I will just keep at it. Very helpfull videos. I am going to try the bit with the double layer of tape on the spine to increase the angle for the last few strokes. That makes a whole lot of sense, as its what you do with most other cutting implements to avoid having to remove a whole bucket of metal from the blade to achieve the final cutting edge. I was doing the opposite (based on "another" honing video).. putting electrical tape on the spine for the coarse stones and removing it when using the 8000, which is just dumb, now that I realize it alters the angle... my final edge isn't going to have seen the 8000 at all!

Thanks again and great site!!!

Originally Posted by dgstr8

putting electrical tape on the spine for the coarse stones and removing it when using the 8000, which is just dumb, now that I realize it alters the angle... my final edge isn't going to have seen the 8000 at all!

That's true. Taping the spine on the coarser grits is really more about protecting the spine from excessive wear if you've got to do a lot of work with the coarse stones (like removing chips). But once you've gotten the chip out then you take the tape off and do the few strokes necessary to correct the bevel angle, then you can move to the finer grit hones. Or just hone all the way using tape, and put on a second layer at the end when you're one the final stone.

Originally Posted by dgstr8

I was doing the opposite (based on "another" honing video).. putting electrical tape on the spine for the coarse stones and removing it when using the 8000, which is just dumb, now that I realize it alters the angle... my final edge isn't going to have seen the 8000 at all!

I think you and I were watching the same videos. I tried that too, and then thought about it afterwards- doesn't make much sense, does it? Adding a layer for the last bit makes a lot more sense!

Thanks for validating!

Try ATG. if you get ingrown hairs don't do that for a few weeks then try it again. After four times if you still get the ingrown hairs I would give up on the ATG pass.