Thread: First attempt at shaving

Shave six was today. Did atg and used balm this time to help calm my face. Turned out ok. Need a lot of practice with atg.

Any one got any tips when going atg? It seemed realy dry when going atg, not a smooth gliding feeling with the razor this time.

Still enjoying it, it gets better each time.

Cant wait till the next one.

Brian

You might need to give the face a rest for a day or two, or your lather may have been a bit too dry this time around...Many factors could be at play here.


Mick

I think it all depends on you face, razor, and lather.

I'm 6 foot tall, and weigh 153 pounds. I have a very angular face, and have hollows in my cheeks and throat. Heavier guys with a fuller face might have an easier time with ATG. I don't.

I have to REALLY stretch the skin, and take swipe about 1.5 inches below my fingers I'm stretching with, and keep moving down my face. This made a BIG difference for me, but YMMV.

I also have to puff my cheeks out like a blow fish to get a smooth surface to shave in the hollow areas. My throat is a lot more difficult because I can't "puff" the areas like I do on my cheeks (hence my propensity these days for smileys).

It also takes me a lot of time to do this (in large part, due to my inexperience). But, the result is my lather has a tendency to dry out. So, I wet my hand, rub it into the next section I'm going to shave, and apply more lather. (I also prefer uber lather in that for me, it seems to stay moist a lot longer than plane soap or cream).

And, the razor needs to be sharp, as well as the angle of the razor had to be correct (which will vary to some degree according to the razor's grind, IMO).

In the end, you need a sharp razor, you need to keep your face moist with a good lather, and IMO, stretch the skin. Beyond that, play with the angle to see what works for you.

Kent

Tried XTG for total of 7 shaves so far. I liked xtg, got closer in other areas. I keep trying new things and improving on the old every time. Cant wait for the day that I get my whole face BBS. This is taking more time than I had originally anticipated, but that isnt a bad thing. I enjoy the time and challenge of learning something new. Something rewarding feeling every time I shave with my straight too.

Brian

That XTG might actually be ATG in those 'Some places'. Have you studied the lay of the land so to speak? Just to find out what parts of the face have the stubble growing in weird and wonderful ways.


Mick

I've found good skin stretching is more important for ATG than WTG or XTG.

Another thing I found to help is that when I do my XTG pass, I do a few buffing strokes and with each stroke adjust the angle to go more atg. So by the end of my XTG, I've actually shaved at about a 45 degree angle ATG.

Restropping before ATG also helps a lot. The blade needs to be at its sharpest for ATG, and is fairly blunted after WTG and XTG.

Lastly, I lay the razor almost flat on my face for ATG.

Well I did the 8th shave today. Had some minor problems with equipment. I nicked the darn blade and thus it scrapped the crap out of my strop.

Other than that the shave was great. Did all three strokes and a lot of stretching. Thank you all for the help in that area, it helped. I even got my chin smooth for the first time.

So while the razor is away, I might play. Thinking of getting another one while it is away getting repaired as I am not ready to hone quite yet.

Cant wait till the next shave even if it will be a while.

Brian

Originally Posted by kd7skx

So while the razor is away, I might play. Thinking of getting another one while it is away getting repaired as I am not ready to hone quite yet.

With the free hone for life deal from SRD, there would be no better time.

Originally Posted by markevens

With the free hone for life deal from SRD, there would be no better time.

I think it changed. I only have one free hone with a new razor.

Brian

When I shave atg I sometimes actually touch my skin with the razors spine because I'm using such a flat angle - you physically can''t use too flat an angle. Anyway, that's what I think is the key to atg - YMMV.