Thread: Multiple Direction "one pass" shaving

I have been engaged this week in multiple direction "one pass" shaving. I used a DE as my chosen weapon. I sort of got the idea from several you tube videos on Method Shaving… It does seem to work quite well. I would not suggest this to anyone that is not confident with there razor technique or ability to make a good cushioning lather.

So this is what I have been doing;

Prep; shower, hot towel, then apply cream to face with brush….

The shave; pick a small area, shave in three directions with short strokes while using fingers to spread the lather and slip across the face between shaving passes, but make 3 quick passes You may need to apply more lather to next area with brush before moving on and shaving new area, but only if lather thins or dries a bit. (not a problem for me but it could be an issue I think)

Rinse with cold water. Run fingers over face and feel for stubble. If you find any, apply a little soap/cream with finger and blade buff ATG to remove. I only needed to do this in a couple of areas…

The Result; Several great BSS shaves with no irritation. I got a couple of weepers on the first day through not stretching the skin on my neck adequately and starting with a new blade (I used a Red Personna platinum), but one all great success with the technique.

Its not a relaxing shave but it is incredibly fast and accurate. Great for late for work shaves or when short of time.

Im going to try this with a straight over the coming weeks…..

Any one else tried or do similar?



Post Shave; Rinse with cold water, apply balm, let face dry then add cologne or AS of choice….

Originally Posted by kevinred

I have been engaged this week in multiple direction "one pass" shaving. I used a DE as my chosen weapon. I sort of got the idea from several you tube videos on Method Shaving… It does seem to work quite well. I would not suggest this to anyone that is not confident with there razor technique or ability to make a good cushioning lather.

So this is what I have been doing;

Prep; shower, hot towel, then apply cream to face with brush….

The shave; pick a small area, shave in three directions with short strokes while using fingers to spread the lather and slip across the face between shaving passes, but make 3 quick passes You may need to apply more lather to next area with brush before moving on and shaving new area, but only if lather thins or dries a bit. (not a problem for me but it could be an issue I think)

Rinse with cold water. Run fingers over face and feel for stubble. If you find any, apply a little soap/cream with finger and blade buff ATG to remove. I only needed to do this in a couple of areas…

The Result; Several great BSS shaves with no irritation. I got a couple of weepers on the first day through not stretching the skin on my neck adequately and starting with a new blade (I used a Red Personna platinum), but one all great success with the technique.

Its not a relaxing shave but it is incredibly fast and accurate. Great for late for work shaves or when short of time.

Im going to try this with a straight over the coming weeks…..

Any one else tried or do similar?



Post Shave; Rinse with cold water, apply balm, let face dry then add cologne or AS of choice….

I haven't tried it......yet! But I will. Why not? I already get great shaves but I love to try new things. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Steel

I haven't tried it......yet! But I will. Why not? I already get great shaves but I love to try new things. Thanks for sharing.

You're very welcome sir. Let me know how you get on…

Ok. So I gave it a shot this morning and it was ok but there were a couple things that didn't work for me. First, as I change direction from WTG to XTG or XTG to ATG I have to wipe the blade and switch hands. All of this switching grips and hands could be a potential for dropping the razor. Granted, I switch hands normally too but not nearly as often. The other thing I noticed is that at the end I had more spots than usual of missed stubble. I don't like to 'chase' a BBS result. I always shoot for it and usually get it but just by routine and not searching for stubble. Either I get it at the end or I don't. When I chase it I find more irritation. So anyways, I stopped myself from doing this at the end.

The result: I did have a nice smooth almost BBS shave. I liked the fact that by "stretching" the lather I saved some time as I like a thinner lather for my final passes anyways. I didn't really end up saving much time in the end. Maybe 3-4 minutes.

All in all I am glad I tried something new but probably won't incorporate this into my daily routine. Thanks again for posting though and maybe others will have different results.

Originally Posted by Steel

Ok. So I gave it a shot this morning and it was ok but there were a couple things that didn't work for me. First, as I change direction from WTG to XTG or XTG to ATG I have to wipe the blade and switch hands. All of this switching grips and hands could be a potential for dropping the razor. Granted, I switch hands normally too but not nearly as often. The other thing I noticed is that at the end I had more spots than usual of missed stubble. I don't like to 'chase' a BBS result. I always shoot for it and usually get it but just by routine and not searching for stubble. Either I get it at the end or I don't. When I chase it I find more irritation. So anyways, I stopped myself from doing this at the end.

The result: I did have a nice smooth almost BBS shave. I liked the fact that by "stretching" the lather I saved some time as I like a thinner lather for my final passes anyways. I didn't really end up saving much time in the end. Maybe 3-4 minutes.

All in all I am glad I tried something new but probably won't incorporate this into my daily routine. Thanks again for posting though and maybe others will have different results.

So you used a straight?

I haven't tried with my straight yet, thats next on my list when I have some stubble which still seems to be in short supply since my last BSS multi direction shave…lol

Reading your post I can see there maybe difficulties doing this with a straight.

Thanks for trying and letting me know how you got on

I use a straight now but when I used a DE I'd buff like mad. All directions until it was close enough. I'm trying to develop some of the same technique with the straight.

Well I can't seem to get the lubrication or "slick" I need for multiple buffing passes so I have decided to give Method Shaving a go. Just ordered a range of Hydrolast products….

Lets see what happens…

Originally Posted by kevinred

I have been engaged this week in multiple direction "one pass" shaving. I used a DE as my chosen weapon. I sort of got the idea from several you tube videos on Method Shaving… It does seem to work quite well. I would not suggest this to anyone that is not confident with there razor technique or ability to make a good cushioning lather.

So this is what I have been doing;

Prep; shower, hot towel, then apply cream to face with brush….

The shave; pick a small area, shave in three directions with short strokes while using fingers to spread the lather and slip across the face between shaving passes, but make 3 quick passes You may need to apply more lather to next area with brush before moving on and shaving new area, but only if lather thins or dries a bit. (not a problem for me but it could be an issue I think)

Rinse with cold water. Run fingers over face and feel for stubble. If you find any, apply a little soap/cream with finger and blade buff ATG to remove. I only needed to do this in a couple of areas…

The Result; Several great BSS shaves with no irritation. I got a couple of weepers on the first day through not stretching the skin on my neck adequately and starting with a new blade (I used a Red Personna platinum), but one all great success with the technique.

Its not a relaxing shave but it is incredibly fast and accurate. Great for late for work shaves or when short of time.

Im going to try this with a straight over the coming weeks…..

Any one else tried or do similar?



Post Shave; Rinse with cold water, apply balm, let face dry then add cologne or AS of choice….

Yes, I've done it successfully and it works. You notice that you need a stroke in another direction while shaving, so why wait?

Like you, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't totally confident with the handling of a safety razor.

All those years I used a multiblade razor, no one showed me how to use it and my face was always irritated. It never entered my mind to do multiple passes, so I attacked the whiskers on all fronts.

A safety razor is more forgiving because there is only one blade, so I could take liberties that I couldn't with a multiblade.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

Yes, I've done it successfully and it works. You notice that you need a stroke in another direction while shaving, so why wait?

Like you, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't totally confident with the handling of a safety razor.

All those years I used a multiblade razor, no one showed me how to use it and my face was always irritated. It never entered my mind to do multiple passes, so I attacked the whiskers on all fronts.

A safety razor is more forgiving because there is only one blade, so I could take liberties that I couldn't with a multiblade.

Great, what products do you prefer?

My favorite safety razor: Merkur 37C (3" handle) or 39C (4" handle) Slant
Favorite blades: Medical Personna (Personna Prep Blades) and Astra Superior Platinum
Favorite soap: Cella in the kilo brick
Favorite brush: finest badger
Favorite aftershave: can't make up my mind!