Thread: Curious? How many passes?

Originally Posted by Firebox

Interesting is over the past few years of lurkng around the boards, I've seen posts about ATG and WTG, up, down, across and any which way to get a great shave. Should there be two passes? Three? I used to make two or more passes to get the BBS every one talks about. But, when the rubber meets the road, what does it take to get an acceptable shave? My experience is that if you do a good prep and use a good shave ready blade, one pass gets you the kind of shave that will pass in any office. A little witch hazel and bay rum is the perfect finish.

What is your experience? What is the gold standard?

depends a lot on the razor, two is ideal for BBS but sometimes thats not enough

I just started on my str8 razor a week or so ago..turns out 2xdown 2xupward..slight touchup with my DE/Se blades...close BBS

Most days, if I have time, I like three passes, WTG, XTG, ATG, lathering for each pass--my VDH soap stays very nicely lathered for that. Right now it takes me about 15 minutes. Days when I have less time, I leave out the ATG pass.

Hi,

Been viewing the forums for a while but decided it was time to start getting involved!

I usually only do one pass WTG followed by a touchup in troublesome areas.

When I do a XTG pass my face is fine straight after the shave but by the end of the day can feel quite irritated. Thats why I do the one pass!

Whisp

Wow..1 pass...and BBS?...well my face like scratching wood for 2 days then turns into whiskers after 3 days of growth..then I use my motorized str8 facial weedwacker n get as much as I can!...

It's interesting how often this how-many-passes thing seems to come up along with how does one sterilize a razor, and how much pre-shave oil should be used before slathering on the uberlather, and, by the way, how do you make the lather uber?

Apparently there is as much craft in shaving as there is in actually making the razor, or maybe the preparation for shaving is the truly artful aspect of all of the pixels in the picture.

I feel deprived now as I only strop, shower, shave and splash. Oh, I brush my teeth too, but that along with combing hair wasn't sufficiently sibbilant to be included with the otherssss.

Because of circumstances beyond my control, it is anatomically impossible for me to stretch my skin as I shave so it's usually 5 passes and sometimes more. Thanks to great honesters and 30 years of practice I achieve BBS about 8 of 10 times. I can live with that.

Usually 2 passes: WTG and ATG, and some touch ups if needed

Originally Posted by pcdad

Wow..1 pass...and BBS?...well my face like scratching wood for 2 days then turns into whiskers after 3 days of growth..then I use my motorized str8 facial weedwacker n get as much as I can!...

Nah not BBS. For me BBS means cutting the hair below the skin meaning it has to try and grow back out of the skin again, thus causing a rash so I try and get it as close as possible!

BBS is for those special occasions!

Whisp

Two passes - WTG, and a combination of XTG/ATG. That keeps me BBS for more than 12 hours.