Originally Posted by
Library Guy
I so pompously stated the first WTG pass is a foundation for what follows is because the closer I can get on the first pass, the easier the strokes of the XTG become. And if neither WTG or XTG has been done properly, the ATG pass is going to be painful.
I often read here of new guys talking about trouble they have with their second and third passes. They seem to think these passes are intrinsically harder than the WTG. True, they can be, but I often wonder that if they had better executed the first pass that the subsequent passes would be easier or even unnecessary. And no, I'm not saying you should be BBS after one pass but you should be at least presentable. I doubt many of our fore fathers did more.
Subsequent passes are a continuation of the shave- not a correction of a botched previous pass.
Since the thread is about getting back to basics, I wanted to stress the importance of the basic WTG shave- something lost amid the talk of more difficult strokes and expensive equipment.
A writing teacher of mine once said that if the end of the story doesn't feel right the problem is probably with the way you crafted the beginning of the story. The same applies with shaving.
...or maybe I'm just one of those people on the internet who likes to listen to their own voice.
semper circa,
LG Roy