Thread: once over shave?

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

got it. So I've probably been trying to stretch the living hell out of my skin and doing multiple strokes on the first pass trying to get a once over shave and irritating my skin more than I ever would doing 2 or 3 light passes simply reducing the beard. Does that about sum it up?

yes, most likely. But that chevron technique is also something you can try just be careful with a Feather. A quick second stroke may be dangerous.

Technically, the once over shave requires a reapplication of water to the face first, you might try that too.

With a Feather though I would recommend relathering completely.