Thread: shaving ATG?

I agree that you want to get all you can out of the WTG &XTG passes. If you eventually add on ATG, then a shallower blade angle helps (as some already mention). Also, try to stretch the skin from the "upgrowth" side: for example, if the hair grows north-to-south, stretch from the north. This makes the hair stand more straight up.

I use a very shallow angle for ATG, the spine is touching or nearly so on my face. And I've learned not to go ATG in the moustache area, my face will not tolerate it. Also, before ATG takes place, you must have adequate beard reduction. With a borderline edge on a razor, you can do WTG and XTG, but for ATG, you need a sharp edge.

I have to agree with what the others have said. Get very good at the WTG and XTG passes first. Even give yourself 6 months experience before seriously tackling ATG passes. A very sharp razor used with the spine close to the skin and a very light touch is needed. Don't push/rush it or you are asking for trouble, it will eventually come.

Bob

You have really big angle if you use 30 degrees ATG. I would advice to shave really shallow degree ATG. When I shave ATG spine of razor almost touch my neck and I got BBS. And one think is that do not over stretch your skin. There have to kind of bounce for the razor

And then there is of course sharpness of razor and how well you have prep your face etc.

I share the same opinion as a couple other here. ATG requires a lower to the skin angle than with the grain. The section of your face you are shaving dictated different ATG angles as well.

When I first started shaving ATG about a year ago I did what I read many suggested on SRP: shave with the blade flat against the skin. It took some time to learn, but I got the hang of it and later experimented with varying the angle ATG, depending on what part of my face I shaved.

A few months ago I started doing ATG on my chin area, which is the difficult area of my face. I've got it down and find that short strokes with the blade flat on the skin work best for me. Those long strokes just end up cutting my chin.

The way the grain of the hair affects the "draw" of your blade onto the face-which changes your blade angle and threatens the skin- is EGGSactly why we do reduction passes WTG/XTG before attempting ATG.

and also

why only the sharpest/smoothest razors will work. The sharper they are the more effective the reduction* will have already been. The smoother they are the less they will irritate the skin if drawn too tightly into it by the grain of the hair.

An edge might cut okay WTG/XTG, but rip your flesh (like weasels) and pull hairs going ATG. And that's why i consider full-on square, quite dangerous and risky for the novice, ATG stroke to be a sharpness test. It also must not raise irritation (smoothness test). There's your butter.

*reduction. A large part of the whiskers will be nipped short enough by WTG and XTG stroke such that ATG stroke will encounter less grain resistance.

So far as i have learned, N. E. Hoo.

And i did LEARN here this very thread--that bit about stretching in such a way as to modify the whisker angle. That's a good thing to consider no doubt.