Thread: Finer points

It took me ages to get really BBS in all directions, but I don't shave my top lip, chin and 'soul patch' area. Basically I realised for a lot of the time I wasn't really following the grain; either with, across or against. My hair grows in a LOT of different directions, esp on the neck. A lot of the time, if I really want a 'perfect' result, I need to use a DE, as there is no way a straight could ever get 100% up against the direction of hair growth on my neck.

I think face-feeling can be a 'problem' at times. I'm a bit OCD-ish, and if I get too wrapped up in stuff I can end up taking it way beyond a reasonable level. For instance, last night, I must have trimmed by beard and moustache etc with the electric clippers no less than ten times within a one hour period, sometimes I did it no more than literally 15 seconds after sitting down after trimming it. I don't get a REAL lot of people feeling my face, generally they look, and if it looks OK to me it's OK. In the past, when I used a plastic piece of rubbish to shave with, If I started feeling my face, I'd pull over to the side of the road while driving to work, grab the plastic razor out of my glove box and have a touch up. In hindsight, that's probably a bit extreme...

However, having said all that, feeling your face does give you a sense of your skill, and it sounds to me that your skill is pretty good, really...

I'm finding that there are pros and cons to every method of shaving, so a combination is probably necessary if you want to get every little bit. I like my Atra Plus for catching what very little I miss, and I don't even need it with every shave. After just a couple of weeks of this, I've pulled off at least a couple of excellent shaves that have proven to me what's possible with a straight razor. The greater potential for the best shave is why I've gone to the straight razor, but greater potential certainly doesn't mean it's the most practical choice. When I'm blowing in from a workout with only 10 minutes to shower and shave or when I'm underway, I have to use the Atra Plus, which will be necessary on some days, at least until I retire from the Navy. It is eminently practical, however, to save on cartridges and develop skill with the straight razor as much as possible, since more skill = more options and actually manifesting that greater potential.

Good advice, gentlemen. In the interest of clarification: I typically do one WTG pass and one XTG pass. The XTG pass is difficult along the neck because my hair grows almost horizontally and with the curve of my neck it is really hard to get in there. If I only have one days growth and I am in a hurry I just do a single XTG pass and it is usually good enough. I don't like to resort to a DE, unless the shave is really embarrassing (for months my shaves were so bad I didn't want people to know I shaved with a straight...lol). It just feels like I am cheating with a DE, but if I am really in a hurry I do use one. I am a head shaver as well, but haven't gotten to the point where I am shaving my head with a straight just yet. I completed two passes on my head a couple of days ago with a straight and cut myself about 6 times, but we are moving in that direction!

Originally Posted by mloyd

Good advice, gentlemen. In the interest of clarification: I typically do one WTG pass and one XTG pass. The XTG pass is difficult along the neck because my hair grows almost horizontally and with the curve of my neck it is really hard to get in there. If I only have one days growth and I am in a hurry I just do a single XTG pass and it is usually good enough. I don't like to resort to a DE, unless the shave is really embarrassing (for months my shaves were so bad I didn't want people to know I shaved with a straight...lol). It just feels like I am cheating with a DE, but if I am really in a hurry I do use one. I am a head shaver as well, but haven't gotten to the point where I am shaving my head with a straight just yet. I completed two passes on my head a couple of days ago with a straight and cut myself about 6 times, but we are moving in that direction!

If your hair grows horizontally then XTG would be up and down, I believe. I know it sounds "duh" but you could be missing this point, I did. Just something to point out

Originally Posted by ccase39

If your hair grows horizontally then XTG would be up and down, I believe. I know it sounds "duh" but you could be missing this point, I did. Just something to point out

Thanks, Man! Your observation, made me realize that I have made a big mistake! I had to check the wiki and I realize that I should be saying that I make one pass WTG and one pass ATG. The ATG pass is difficult across my neck because i'm trying to move the edge east to west. Sorry guys...dumb mistake.