Is BBS possible without an ATG pass?

[Stropper]

Here's my take on the ATG pass, yes for a BBS shave you need it. The idea though is to cut the hairs not take off layers of skin cells. Use a light touch . This is true for both straight razors and safety razors. I believe the habit of using too much pressure is left over from our cartridge razor days. A well sharpened straight razor or a merkur, especially with a feather blade, will shave well with very light pressure on the skin. The discovery of the light touch cured all razor burn for me YMMV. I use one pass north to south then one pass south to north. This leaves a few patches where stubble hangs out, so as I rinse my face I take note of where these patches are and the direction of the hair growth. Now it's just a matter of stretching the skin to get the hairs on a flatter surface and selecting the proper stroke to get a good ATG pass or as close to an ATG pass as is practical for the left over patches. This method along with a light touch gives me if not a BBS then at least a DFS every time. Try the light touch once or twice even if you think you won't get a close shave and see how much less razor burn you get, my guess is you'll be surprised at how close the shave is. There's my 2 cents worth

[akw]

I've never been able to get BBS without ATG.

[richmondesi]

I don't believe BBS is possible with only WTG shaves (could be wrong), but I'm certain that I can't get BBS without going ATG... I normally do go for BBS because I rarely have irritation issues. I wouldn't go for it if I did.