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Hi,
I have been shaving with a straight for just a few weeks now. I was curious if anyone here is able to get a good shave (not BBS) with just one WTG pass and a touch up? My beard is not exactly thick/dense and I am wondering if I will develop enough skill to get a good shave with just one pass.
I have what many would describe as a "corse, dense" beard. When I first started shaving with a straight, I thought it was a requirement to do more than one pass. I was doing 2 - 3 passes every shave.
About two months in, I started doing one pass only and never went back to two + passes. For some reason, I am able to get just as good a shave on 1 pass as I was getting with 2. I think I may slow down and concentrate more knowing that I only get one shot..ha.
Either way, I shave in the morning prior to work and one pass has become my routine and I am very happy with my results. I am always working to improve my shave and I think striving for the best results on 1 pass only is the perfect way to do this.
yes.
:D
Yep........
During the summer, yes.
I could get away with just one pass, but I enjoy myself too much to be limited to just a quick 5 minute single pass. Plus my beard grows back a lot quicker if I do.
No...Two passes WTG and XTG minimum.
I do use one pass .
the reason is i want hair grow back faster for next shave test.
if i am free then i usually do wtg and xtg.
I'm new with the straight, but I find myself wishing my beard would grow back faster so I could shave again and get more practice!Quote:
Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl
Sometimes I'll just use one pass, but typically I do with- and across-the-grain.
I can and sometimes do limit it to one pass. Sometimes two. Never more than two for me.
Full Monte for me ,3 passes.If iam going to go thru with 50 linnen 100 leather, whipping up a nice lather, i just can't control myself, if it aint BBS we aint shaving, do you smell what I'm cookn!!!!!!!
I can get by nicely with one pass, but I prefer a two pass WTG and ATG.
Mick
Always three for me. If I feel hair growing back within 12 hours I feel I have not shaved satisfactorily.
Maybe I'm just sick in da head but I just love the rush of going ATG on my neck, I mean usually I'm not all the way awake yet and I have the sharpest piece of steel thats ever touched my body about a mm above my most vital artery. What a rush and great way to start every morning:rock:
So to answer th OP I usually do at least 2 passes WTG, ATG.
I only do one pass (downwards) and then a touchup on the chin area. It gets me what I call directional BBS - meaning if I run my finger in the direction I shaved, it feels BBS. (It usually feels BBS if I rub across the direction I shaved too, but never against.)
On a "good day"...meaning that the razor is really sharp,
and I'm "in the zone" with my technique...one pass plus
a minor touch-up is entirely sufficient for an everyday
shave.
If it's a "special day"...meaning something like a
wedding anniversary or kids birthday party...then 2
passes +touch up is the rule.
If it's a "REALLY special occasion"...like getting married
or having an audience with the king...then no less than
the full monty (3 passes +touch-up) is required.
But, generally speaking, I'm with Nessmuck on this one:
"If it aint BBS, we aint shaving."
+1 what Jimmy saidQuote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
i do a single pass with my artist club with a just a light touch up around the edge of my mouth and under my jaw.. i can't get any closer no matter how many passes i do.. it seems like any additional passes only serve to add irritation to an already perfect shave.
since my learning to use a DE.. i do two wtg passes.. and i still suck at DE shaving.. i usually have to go back and do like a blade buff type thing on some problem areas.. i have generally found that a full ATG pass always does my harm than good with me though.
I can get mostly BBS with just the one pass, but I find the extra pass and cleaning up the odd areas I've missed really make the difference between a good shave and a great shave.
On my cheeks I just do one XTG pass and thats BBS right away. My chin, neck and tache area usually needs a WTG pass plus some XTG tidying up to get BBS. I also do some scything strokes on my neck which seems to help catch the areas where the hair growth is a bit all over the place.
I call it one pass
- but sometimes I wonder if my buffing strokes almost make it like doing 3?
My idea of a pass is as follows:
Going over an area once, in one direction - using buffing strokes is ok.
My routine
I do one side of the face with one hand*, wipe the blade clean, then...
I do the other side of the face with the other hand and wipe the blade clean.
(I skip WTG and do a combination of ATG/XTG with sything... but might consider WTG again down the track as part of one pass routine... when I feel like more experimenting)
All the best,
Michael
*When I say 'with one hand', I mean holding the razor with one hand... haven't tried shaving with my hand... yet (maybe when I go the ultra-minimalist approach!!)
No, I used to do 3 passes, but recently cut down to 2 (WTG and XTG).
I'd say the shaves are good this way. It is very nice and smooth in the morning, though I have tactile stubble by the end of the work-day. It's still presentable, though.
My facial hair is thick and black, so the fact that it's presentable at all by the end of the day is quite impressive.
If I'm in a bit of a hurry I'll occassionally just do a single pass. Usually you don't get a great shave with one pass but I bought a Dovo with a solid MOP handle off Don recently and that was so well honed a single pass almost gave me BBS. It's a freak of a razor.
Ryan,Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan82
+1 on this. I could have written it myself.
This question seems to come up regularly. Yes, you can get a good shave, even BBS with one pass, at least what I define as one pass. I do this every time I shave. It is not, however, entirely WTG, and it does not mean that any part of my face only sees one stroke of the razor.
I use what I call a single natural pass. This means that I apply lather and go over my face with a series of natural strokes. Sometimes these strokes are WTG, sometimes ATG, and sometimes XTG. It all depends on which way the hair grows and what stroke is natural for that part of my face. I also overlap the coverage areas of each stroke, so each part of my face usually sees the blade at least twice, and often three times.
I never relather and go over any part of my face in a radically different direction (this is what I would call a second pass).
If, after rinsing with cool water, I notice a spot I may have missed, I will do a water only touch up with the same natural pass to clean up this area. In my opinion, these missed spots indicate a problem with technique, not a systemic need to do multiple passes. I don't always miss places, and the locations of these misses are random.
As far as I can tell by palpation, there is no difference in the quality of the shave on areas where the natural stroke is WTG, ATG or XTG, if it was a proper stroke (or series of strokes in reality), then the shave is smooth. If it is not smooth, then I did something wrong.
Yes, if one pass is defined the way MasterRolf defines it. I think if I use truly one stroke over a given part of my face, I get a good shave over most of my face, but it's hard not to touch a part of my face only once. That's not the way I shave. If you get what I mean.