Thread: ATG angle

Originally Posted by BigBlue

Well I have one of yours i bought last year... so I'm pretty sure it was honed right

NOOOO i don't think it was honed properly last year. send it to me now i will hone it right this year

That is a joke.
Please make a video and let us watch . we my see something.
I will make my next shave scything motion and record. will post and hope won't slice my face half.

I would suggest to speed up your stropping, practice on an old belt, etc with a popsicle stick or paint stirring stick.

I have a thick, heavy beard, and I use a hot towel on my face before applying lather. It works for me, but YMMV.

Instead of WTG and ATG, try adding XTG between WTG and ATG passes. Again, that helped me a lot.

Good luck!

My ATG got noticeably better when I realized that ATG is a variety of different directions in different, often small, areas of my face. It isn't just N-S or Bottom to Top. Careful attention to the grain's actual direction has helped me a lot.

Also, here is where the sharp and smooth blade will shine. I have a few razors that I find I need to give a quick fresh stropping, like 15 light and quick laps on leather, for the best. It varies with the razor.

Light touch. One of my favorite axioms is that more pressure will cut everything on your face except...hair. For some reason, pressure seems to push the hair down so the razor doesn't catch it. A light touch with a sharp and smooth edge is the ticket.

I love my shaves these days. I periodically bust out a spastic move and actually cut myself, but that's not the razor or the stroke, it's my lapse in attention. And I use a cheap soap (VDH Deluxe, $2 a puck) but I use Musgo Real pre-shave oil which helps.

you are cutting yourself when using the scything stroke it means you're using too much horizontal movement. Remember, horizontal = blood, so try to make the stroke a bit more subtle and you should be able to nail it.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

I will make my next shave scything motion and record. will post and hope won't slice my face half.

As an aside, I was wondering if you would ever do this. Please Sham, show the world what your idea of the scything stroke is, we are all curious. Some think it's the same as a guillotine cut, some think it's like cutting a tomato, and Utopian thinks we're all wrong! We need closure once and for all!!