Thread: Against the grain shaving

I am Person who is against the grain shaving.
In fact i used to shave ATG every single time for almost2 years
This is what happen to me. i am not sure you will have similar case or not?
when i start to use straight razor's i never had properly honed blade.
i was shaving and unable to get close shave . that is why i tried to shave ATG TO get closer shave.
what happen is finally i find out how sharp razor should be(thank you to Randy) and i start to shaving ATG.
My shaves was getting better day by day. Only problem i had is my skin wasn't feeling smooth after the shave.
i did shave with this way almost 2 years.
In this time period i learned how to hone blades and my shaving techniques changed + i did learn how to lather up my face too.
i start to use straight razor as a hand saw instead of axe.
Basically scything motion shaving.
I learned biggest rule in straight razor shaving " PRESSURE IS ENEMY OF STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVING"
After all this learning i start to shave only WTG AND XTG . That is all i need to get great shave and have smooth skin after shave.
Now i start to enjoy straight razor shaving. It was great enjoyable times.
(until i start to hone blades for customers).
After that i haven't shave with my blades and i shave wtg and some rare cases AGT. for testing purposes.
This is why i am at the moment saying . Please you can get great shave without going AGT .
Person needs to have right razor, right technique and patience.
In the other hand wile you shave AGT you always damage your skin. simple scraping out it is protective surface.
This will end up more infections etc more uncomfortable shave feelings etc.
hope this helps.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

i start to use straight razor as a hand saw instead of axe.
Basically scything motion shaving.
I learned biggest rule in straight razor shaving " PRESSURE IS ENEMY OF STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVING"

I have to go along with Sham on this. It took me a couple of years to get the scything motion down but once I started using it without pushing the edge against my skin, gliding over the skin, I began getting closer more comfortable shaves. Slicing the whiskers off rather than chopping them off is the key here. That is the good news. The bad news is that if you do it incorrectly you can slice the skin instead. Blade angle, skin stretching and no pressure are key.

That's for the great advice.

All of my blades have been professionally honed so I know how a sharp blade should feel.

As for my shaves and technique, everyone could use some improvement but I feel like I am doing a good job so far.


When I shave my face is always smooth when I rub my hand across the skin with the grain. It's just when I rub across the grain I can feel some stubble left over. The reason for me wanting to try against the grain is to see if I can make it just a bit smoother.

I'm too busy with work to have a chance to shave so I'll be shavless until Thursday I'll test it out then.

Someone used to sign their posts "perfection ruins good". (was that Old School?) Anyway, some things are simply "good enough". If you want to spend all day shaving every last whisker down below the surface of the skin, well, knock yourself out, but be prepared when your skin rebels with redness, ingrown hairs, and burning.

Besides, I don't want my shaves to last 2 or three days ... I need the calming experience every day.

[QUOTE=JimmyHAD;620185] Then I read a post by Lucky Cynic here with a PDF of a 1905 shaving booklet. QUOTE]

Thank Jimmy for bringing this up and Lucky Cynic for originally posting it. Briefly browsed through it and looks great. I will be printing it out and reading it tomorrow.

I cannot get away without an ATG pass. My hair is black and thick, so stubble shows very quickly if the shave is not close enough, and I have to do an ATG pass to get close enough in order to get through the day with presentable facial hair.

A properly honed blade with proper skin-stretching technique is mandatory for a passable ATG pass for me. The blade has to be sharp, yes...but smoothness of the edge is equally important. I have had the best results when I use a coticule-honed edge, as they really seem to cut 'hair-not-skin'. Others have undoubtedly had different experiences.

Unfortunately, even with great hardware/software/technique, I still cannot get a completely smooth shave as I have hollows in my neck area where the hair grows in a direction it which it is impossible for me to do a proper ATG pass.

When it comes to straights, I can't go ATG. I'm still new to this so I do 2 WTG and 1 XTG. Gets me at minimum a DFS without the irritation. I think my newbie straight hands haven't acquired the skill yet to go ATG. When it comes to DE's though, I've got no problem got ATG after a WTG and then a XTG pass.

If it's burn and irritation..which I got in the beginning..any good str8 razor should improve these issues as I have..err..had the sane problem which goes away..but make sure your technique and blade is stripped well enough as I realized 1time before it wasn't

Good luck!
Pcdad

i always shave with the the grain and across the grain. i can shave atg just one area under my chin can hurt somtimes as that is my only sensative area , i could never shave every day atg no way my skin would not like it. i shave all my customers in the same wtg and axg this in my opinion gives close and comfortable sahve thats all you want . i find ultra close shaves don't feel right for me and tend to grow back faster and also with a prickly feeling that i don't like .

I'm with you, Gary; I have never seen the need to shave against the grain. That's just looking for skin irritation.