Thread: SR Shaving is Getting Better, But...

My only regret with straight razor shaving is that I didn't start sooner.

Yeah, I've only been shaving with it for about four months now (and I only shave about once a week), but it's becoming quite natural for me to do it. I've got my routine down, my technique is getting better & better and the whole mirror-image thing throwing me off is a worry of the past.

To summarize, I'm very comfortable with a straight razor in my hands; my face loves it, the ladies love it, and my guy friends are intrigued by it (and how I haven't cut open my throat yet).

BUT, now I'm faced with a dilemma: WTG shaves are, dare I say, easy. XTG shaves need improvement, but it's getting there.

But ATG shaves? I haven't gone further than merely trying it because of the tugging and pulling that I'm feeling (and this is after both WTG & XTG passes). This is where I feel I could potentially incur a really deep cut that would validate my friends' fears of the Straight. And so every time I've started ATG, I've stopped just as quickly.

Could this be a sign of a dull blade? Or is this more of a case of user technique?

Don't feel bad there, it took me years to get the shave quality I have been after. I shaved with a straight for about 2 years and then almost gave it up before discovering this forum. The tips I have gained here finally gave me the knowledge I needed to get a shave superior to that of a cartridge. My biggest issue was finally getting a good edge on my razor through honing and proper blade angle and pressure.

I the WTG and XTG passes are good then I would not think the blade is an issue, could be wrong however. It could be the angle you are using. Are you using the same 30 degree angle as WTG or are you placing the blade flat against your skin, I believe the ATG passes are best done if the straight has the least amount of an angle as possible. I too am trying to figure out he best way to tackle this but so far the less the angle the better the shave.

Originally Posted by TSasser

I the WTG and XTG passes are good then I would not think the blade is an issue, could be wrong however. It could be the angle you are using. Are you using the same 30 degree angle as WTG or are you placing the blade flat against your skin, I believe the ATG passes are best done if the straight has the least amount of an angle as possible. I too am trying to figure out he best way to tackle this but so far the less the angle the better the shave.

I quite logically read the instructions in the 'how to' pages, etc. saying 30 deg was usually optimal. I thought that was the case for all of the face and couldn't figure out why the full hollow razors would just stop like they hit a wall when I got to the course stubble. Sigh.

ATG with a very very small angle isn't that hard on most of the face. What I'm aiming for is not NEEDING ATG. Some of the more experienced guy argue that it's never needed if you do WTG & XTG adequately. I can't do that yet, but that's the goal. At this point, ATG is the only way I can get very smooth results under chin & jawline.

I can almost hear Utopian telling me that the touch should be so light you almost can't tell if it's making contact. There are several techniques that help initiate the atg cut, scything, guillotine strokes. You'll get so that it doesn't take any special tricks to do. I had to limit the amount of face the edge was contacting. If the entire edge was in contact, the resistance was too great for my blade angle. So - lowering angle helped, and starting on a section where only a small part of the face was on the edge helped. An example of only a small part of the face engaging the edge might be to flex the jaw muscles as if gritting your teeth - making the muscle pronounced below the sideburn. Stretch skin above the jaw muscle, and take a very light touch with a very small/shallow angle, and you'll only have about 1/2 - 1" of the cutting edge on the skin, providing little resistance. Once started, you can take it from there.

I always want to say - listen to what this or that guys says. What stops me is the large number of very helpful guys that wouldn't be mentioned. It would be a dis-service to you and them. The help here has been invaluable to me.

One thing thing that improved my techinque a lot was moving from moving the blade completely perpendicular to the edge to moving. This allowed the blade to cut the hairs far far easier, which translated as less pulling on the skin and better shaves.

Tthis pic here illustrates it well from the wiki.

Fiddle around with your angles mate (small increments). What is diagrammed in the Wiki is your general rule that works on average. You show me an average face though.You might need to adjust your angles to suit yourself. markevens' hint to angle the blade for the 'scything' stroke is also a good idea. I tend to lead with the heel of the blade rather than the toe that is shown in the diagram...It's just easier for me. I also have the blade flatter to my face than shown in the wiki because that works for me too. Your shaving will need to be customised to suit your face.


Mick