Thread: Horrible and painful XTG

I am getting a pretty good WTG pass without nicks and cuts, but my XTG pass is not doing well and becomes painful with many nicks. I think its probably blade angle, or it could be not a close enough WTG. Any expert suggestions about probable cause. Just a newbie seeking advise to get better with.

Not everyone can go against the grain. Could be angle, you could be pulling the blade to the side instead of straight down (or up) as well which would account for nicks. To go against the grain you need a super sharp razor. Try going with the grain on the first pass then cross grain on the second for a while. Build up more experience handling the blade then try and against the grain with a freshly honed blade.

thanks for thoughts. I always start with a WTG pass. My blade could not be sharp enough due to newbie stropping. The blade feels great WTG. Only shaved with STR8 5 or 6 times

Just give it more time, practice makes perfect, or a hospital visit.

Originally Posted by bconl205

I am getting a pretty good WTG pass without nicks and cuts, but my XTG pass is not doing well and becomes painful with many nicks. I think its probably blade angle, or it could be not a close enough WTG. Any expert suggestions about probable cause. Just a newbie seeking advise to get better with.

XTG at the end of a shave can find the blade a little dull because
of the previous passes.

As a newbie -- take a pass on the XTG for a while....

later...

If you think you need the XTG pass lightly refresh the blade on
the strop in the middle of the shave (ten to fifteen laps on the strop)
then lower the angle for XTG. You do not want the edge to slide down
the whisker and dig in.

It may be that you just want to work on the early WTG pass and work
on your lather. Try a pass where you only "wipe the lather off"
and do not think too hard about shaving. Experiment with
the angle as you "wipe lather off".

Better than XTG for some is cross the grain after a starting WTG.

If you did OK on the WTG pass, then you should do OK shaving again WTG plus 5 degrees. And, with each pass move forward an additional 5 degrees. You shouldn't have any problems with each pass, and after about 5 days you will finally get to XTG!

While the above advice is ridiculous, my point is that after WTG advance only the number of degrees you can advance without running into the problems you describe.

Experiment!

If you are doing something unatural in your attempt to shave XTG, then stop. All of your motions should feel natural and comfortable; if any feel awkward or clumsy, you should avoid these as they will often lead to cuts.

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

If you did OK on the WTG pass, then you should do OK shaving again WTG plus 5 degrees. And, with each pass move forward an additional 5 degrees. You shouldn't have any problems with each pass, and after about 5 days you will finally get to XTG!

While the above advice is ridiculous, my point is that after WTG advance only the number of degrees you can advance without running into the problems you describe.

Experiment!

Normally when we speak of adding degrees to the angle, it means AWAY from the skin, no towards it. So somebody may say "drop your angle" and that means bring the spine CLOSER to the skin.

I'm just stating this as a point of reference so when you say to add 5 degrees, he does not take the spine 5 degrees away from the skin. That would be disastrous for an XTG or ATG.

Originally Posted by bconl205

I am getting a pretty good WTG pass without nicks and cuts, but my XTG pass is not doing well and becomes painful with many nicks. I think its probably blade angle, or it could be not a close enough WTG. Any expert suggestions about probable cause. Just a newbie seeking advise to get better with.

Your XTG pass may not be a true XTG pass depending on which direction your beard is growing.

For instance, my whiskers grow east to west just below my jawline. So even when I'm doing a WTG, it turns into a XTG just below my jawline. And, when I do an XTG, it turns into an ATG in that area as well.

Once you understand the beard directional growth, you can adjust your WTG/XTG/ATG angles on the fly.