Thread: once over shave?

Your not being difficult at all, you should see the posts I have to deal with.

I really can not give you good advice. Though I have shaved with a Feather it is so far from what its like to shave with a straight as to not really relate well to the "once over" or water pass.

The straight is so smooth that you'd clearly see the value in this process and the comments from the barbers manual would make a lot more sense.

In fact the only advice I could give you about the Feather is to forget about a water pass or once over pass and actually do the full two passes. That is to say always reapply lather before shaving with a Feather. I might even recommend shaving oil, though I can't due to lack of experience. I tossed mine after 5 painful shaves. One of my favorite semi-retired members used to say the key to the Feather was "negative pressure", that is holding the razor up away from the skin and not really using full weight contact in order to shave.

I can get a great straight shave without ever applying lather, its simply that smooth. With a regular straight there is great utility in shaving little sections while the face is still wet and not reapplying lather. A regular straight actually seems to perform better when there is no lather in the way.

The negative pressure comment is a good one--you'll be surprised how little pressure you actually need with a Feather.

Also, try varying the direction of your strokes more. For example, with a regular straight I can and do go N-S on my first pass, from sideburns to the base of my neck. The beard on my lower neck grows upwards, so this is actually an against the grain pass there. A well honed straight can handle this ATG on the first pass, but the Feather punishes me for that. I have to reverse direction and go upward for that first pass on my neck.

Also, my WTG stroke on my cheeks is different with the Feather. I got from my cheekbones back down toward my jaw by my ear--it's a slant. With a straight, I just go N-S.

Have fun,
Josh

you said you go against the grain on the neck on the first pass? that is bizarre! please explain further!

For some reason, with a regular straight I end up going against the grain for part of my neck. There's a strip maybe an inch and a half wide around the lower part of my neck where the hair grows upward and back toward my ears. I always shaved this part of my neck straight down--against the grain. Then I got my Feather. After a few days, I had really bad sore welts on either side of my adam's apple. That's when I realized I was trying to shave that spot against the grain. With the Feather, it didn't work. I had to reverse my grip and shave upwards, with the grain. Then I could come back and do the downward stroke.

I've tried this with my regular straights, and for some reason, it causes more irritation than just going against the grain. I do lower the angle and use light strokes.

My beard growth isn't very heavy down there, so maybe that's why it works.

Josh

I wanted to pipe in here and say thanks for the explanation of the once over shave using the chevron pattern strokes. I just tried that this morning and it cut quite a bit of time off my shave and gave me the same results I would've gotten by lathering up for a 2nd xtg pass. So it turns out that I get 2 pass smooth with 1 pass using this style. Great for shaving before work!

I also tried the chevron strokes, and I was very pleased with the results. I usually end up doing several WTG strokes on each area before doing my ATG pass. This approach greatly reduced the number of strokes I had to do. I'm going to keep practicing it!

Thanks guys.

Josh

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

I always shaved this part of my neck straight down--against the grain. Then I got my Feather. After a few days, I had really bad sore welts on either side of my adam's apple. That's when I realized I was trying to shave that spot against the grain. With the Feather, it didn't work. I had to reverse my grip and shave upwards, with the grain. Then I could come back and do the downward stroke.

Josh

Now it is becoming clear. So you actually were shaving with the grain on the feather right? down on the upper portion of the neck and up (with the grain) where the grain changes directions?

Correct. The Feather is less forgiving than my regular straight, which didn't complain much when I went ATG on the first pass.

It's funny: I went to a Feather because I couldn't shave with a straight without significant irritation. I found the Feather irritated my skin worse, but the things I learned from it helped me figure out how to use a traditional straight without irritating my skin.

The Feather is a great tool, but I prefer my traditional straights now.

Josh

so with the feather, instead of going against the grain on the neck, it is even more important to stay with the grain on the first pass. Would that be about right?

I think that's right. My hair is coarse and grows really flat against my neck, so my razors tend to hook under the hair and dig in on the ATG pass. This might be less of an issue for other guys.

Also, it's good to remember that you're aiming for beard reduction, not elimination, with each pass. If you go for broke on the WTG pass, you'll probably use too much pressure and irritate your skin.

Josh