Quote Originally Posted by JimmyHAD View Post
I repeat a stroke one after another a couple of times in some areas, some call it buffing. Stretching is IME as important as blade angle. Another thing that I had to learn was not to try to get bbs in one stroke.

The first WTG pass is to reduce the whiskers not to get them down to zero. Gradual stubble removal is the way I learned and what I practice. In this way I don't use too much pressure trying to get it in one pass and I avoid irritation.

Personally I go WTG on the first pass and then either XTG or ATG on the second pass depending on the area. Some areas respond to one better than the other. I only do two passes and a touch up here and there and I get a smooth close and comfortable shave without irritation.
Do you notice that you feel more "pulling" on the first stroke when you are in the reduction stage of shaving instead of the BBS stage of shaving? Or is the fact that I do feel this still a technique issue with my blade angle and stretching?

I guess my real question is this.... On the first stroke should the razor just glide effortlessly through my beard? What I notice is that I get resistance first, then with each successive stroke in the same area the resistance goes down.