Thread: Cuts WTG, XTG, ATG?

Greetings, when I first started shaving with a straight, the ATG pass gave my the most worry in regards to cuts. Now that I have been shaving awhile and given it some thought, all of my nicks and cuts have come from WTG and XTG passes. The majority coming from XTG and, come to think of it, I have never cut myself ATG. it's obvious that the angle of attack is the major culprit for cuts and the fact that, if you basically keep the spine of the blade almost touching your face, it's actually kind of hard to cut yourself ATG. Is this what you have found as well? Out of the cuts that you have experienced, what pass do the majority of your cuts come from?

If the spine is too close to your face, you may not cut anything at all. If you're keeping the spine almost against your face, you may not be doing anything...are you certain you're removing more hair? Do you find that your ATG pass improves the quality of your shave?

Nicks and cuts, in my experience, don't come from direction but from not paying attention to the entire edge that is in contact with my face (or a part unexpectedly coming into contact). I try to maintain a consistent angle throughout the shave for all passes, and I can tell each pass removes more hair. If you find something that does the same and works for you, stick with it.

Only one major cut in 3 years of SR shaving. Third stroke of the shave, WTG. I was marveling at the keenness and smoothness of the edge Glen had put on my spike point SSA. I lost track of the toe and put an inch long vertical slice on my cheek. The point has not been muted, but I sure pay attention now. I'm a quick learner...

Exactly my point...you lost track of part of the edge.

I just thought it might be interesting to see if a particular pass is responsible for more cuts and figured that the angle of attack might account for a big reason. You bring up an interesting point that not paying attention to the whole blade and inattention lead to cuts. I can tell you that I am super attentive on my ATG passes so, maybe this fact and not the angle leads to less cuts for me. Of course, if only 10 percent of people respond that they have gotten cut on the ATG pass, then we could assume that the angle has something to do with it.

If few are getting cut on the ATG pass it could also just be because there is little hair left to trip up the blade and cause an accident.

I think most cuts are caused by not stretching the skin or by running into some impediment and increasing the pressure.

My worst slice was due to one of those ultra sudden sneezes during a fools pass. Luckily, avoided slicing my nose off and only received a quarter-inch nick along the side of my proboscis. Cuts, scrapes etc, are more a function of dexterity with the razor in awkward positions vs which pass I may be performing. YMMV

"My worst slice was due to one of those ultra sudden sneezes during a fools pass." Holy crap! I think if I suffered from ultra sudden sneezes, I would never attempt a fools pass. Hell...I'd grow a beard.

ATG seems to be the source of most of my nicks, but it can happen with any direction. Usually speed and complacency are the biggest factors.

Most of my cuts came from spike and square points. I also had a few cuts from setting the blade down too hard on my face and moving the edge parallel.