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Just wondering whether it's reasonable to expect baby-butt closeness on the first, with the grain pass? I'm asking because if the answer is yes then I'll know I have a technique problem that I have to work on. In my case I have to make 3 passes to get baby-butt closeness, 2 with the grain and 1 against.
Assumptions: a quality 6/8, 1/1 or 1/2 hollowed razor honed by people such as Lynn, Bill, etc. A 3 day growth which amounts to light stubble since I don't have a heavy beard.
I would guess that most if not all
require 3 passes for a BBS shave.
I know that I have to do 3 passes.
I don't have a heavy beard either.
Terry
Yes, very reasonable. The only thing your missing that I needed in my toolkit was a few years of practice and a very good understanding of prep.
for ultra smooth I can do it in two passes, but if your talking about it being so smooth that you cant tell that your face has the ability to even grow hair when you touch it all day after the shave...its 3 passes, for me anyway.
I would say 2 passes is the minimum to get BBS unless you have a really fine beard. It also depends on how many days growth your dealing with. I find if I have two days I get the best shaves with the minimum of passes.
a everday shave I only have to do 1 pass everywhere except my chin. For a BBS shave it takes 2 passes
It takes me 3 passes for a real BBS shave, where you can't detect any hair. 2 passes for a reasonably clean shave.
Duke,
One of the most important things I learned when I first started using a DE was a bit of advice from Joe Lerch. The key to getting a great shave is multiple passes, with the goal of each pass to REDUCE the stubble. Not eliminate it. If you try for a perfect shave with one pass, you are applying a great deal of pressure, with the end result being red, irritated skin, that will probably include a few ingrown hairs. One other thing I had to learn, and it took time to accept, is that a great shave is one that looks good and one that your are satifisfied with. I've had to learn that every shave will not be perfectly smooth. But a perfectly smooth shave with red, blotchy skin is not a great shave, just a smooth one. Those two tidbits of advice mean I geat a great shave 9 out of 10 times. The final thing I will toss in, and this is my big pet peeve, is the use of N-S, S-N, E-W terminology. To work on getting a great shave, you need to understand the growth pattern of your beard. Just shaving straight down, straight across and straight up will still result in irritation. The key words to learn are "with the grain, across the grain, and against the grain". That means that each pass may result in strokes of different directions. But learning the growth pattern will help result in a great shave. I promise.
RT
Thanks for all of that. So it appears that my needing 3 passes is not unusual at all. Good. Also, it seems my technique isn't at fault either. I also learned that even with a great razor sharpened to the highest degree by the pro's it still will take 2-3 passes to get it BBS, which is what I always strive for. That's all very useful information, and I thank you all for providing it.
I wouldn't make 3 passes a daily ritual if I were you. It will cause a cumulative irritation effect. I do 2 passes daily, with about 2-3 3 pass shaves a week, when I'm working with one of my favourites or when I have a special occasion on that day.
Good advice, but I only shave every third day since I have a light beard, my beard is white and not that noticeable, and I'm retired so I don't have to shave every day. But when I do shave I want to get the closest shave I can. The only time I get irritation is when I don't prep properly or use soap that doesn't lubricate my skin.Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
I shave about every 36 hours. I have a very light beard as well. Always go for the BBS. For me it's all or nothing. But like Firestart said....every day will start to irritate.
I have been trying to perfect the "once over" shave that seemed to be the standard shave in the barbers manual (posted in the help files) I have only achieved a "good shave" "once over" a couple of times. It usualy takes two passes or I have to use too much pressure as rtaylor61 pointed out.
So many things to try, and only one beard.
Dave
two passes for me is all it takes... I've never even tried 3 passes... I don't know what I would be shaving at that point. I guess if i were to do a 3rd pass, I would go completely against the grain on my cheecks (I go cross-grain on my second pass). However, the cross-grain on the second pass gets my cheeks completely BBS, with no evidence of stubble when rubbing in any direction.
However, as many have mentioned, I believe it would be tough to achieve BBS with only one pass.
Drew
Many years ago when learning how to use the straight razor, I was taught that an every day shave was a one pass shave and that it was not meant to be baby butt smooth. Simply an acceptable daily shave. But, for meetings and special occasions where you needed to be very smoooooooth, then the cross grain shave. I have found that I do more 2 pass shaves than anything on a regular basis. I also have seen where other guys will do a 3 pass shave or shave against the grain. Tis all individual preference and beard type.
Now........when you do a one pass shave it should feel pretty smooth in the direction that you shaved.
Have fun.
Lynn
Well I guess I am odd. I want baby butt smooth every morning and spend the extra time making that happen with 3 passes. Plus, it really gives me an opportunity to see if my honing technique is working. If I am working on a razor I will try it on the first pass. At the upper level of my cheek, I will find it very smooth. But down where the real tree trunks grow, I find that it requires another pass. I often switch razors to see how another razor is working on the cross swipe. It satisfies my need to have more beard to try my toys on. I usually go back on a bed of sandalwood cutting balm and check the hard to get to spots on the jaw and neck. When I finish I don't want to feel hair grow until I get up the next morning. However, with my TOUGH beard, I usually get to about 2000 before the little buggers poke their head out for air. I smile and once again look forward to attacking them in the morning.
I completely agree with Lynn. After the first pass with a razor I just got back from the Pro's my cheek feels smooth in the direction of the pass. My jaw and neck is where I have the problem. This area requires at least 3 passes and even then I still feel some roughness against the grain in these areas. So I strive for perfection, and like the perfectionist that I am I'm usually somewhat dissatisfied with my results. I now won't blame the blade but will put the blame where it belongs... with me. I'm hoping time and more experience will improve my performance. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I think it will. I can't imagine anyone knowing how to hone well finding a straight irritating. I think one pass should be enough to shave close if you follow these basic tenants (and I'm with Lynn, I'm not worried about against the grain smoothness).
- use hot water (or find the temp your skin prefers, sensitive skin can puff out from water too hot)
- wash the face oils off (I use shave cream)
- reapply
- rub in the cream with your fingers (after lathering massage cream INTO the whiskers)
- use a perfectly stropped and honed razor
- know the exact direction your beard grows in and cut the whisker correctly on the first stroke
- learn the direction and angle needed for each area of your face
- break your face up into flat sections so the razor doesn't need to work at varying angles during a stroke (ever notice how easy the cheeks are?)
- learn exactly how much, if any, stretch you need for each spot on your face
- make two-three strokes, one after the other on each section of skin if needed (OK, maybe thats cheating)
2nd Pass? Across the grain a little I suppose
3rd Pass? Against the grain . . . sounds like you guys are having too much fun in there! LOL
Duke - I think your experience is pretty normal. If your looking at an ultra smooth shave it should be done in three passes. I used to use one with, one across. I like to see how close I can get without ever going against the grain.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LX_Emergency
glad i'm not alone on this. i do 36 hrs if i have a choice, and if i try to do it more often, it gets a bit painful, not much, just enough that i know something's wrong.
Yeah, I agree with everything that's been said here, excepting of course each individual gentleman's personal preference. Me? I like to let it grow for a couple days if I can because a shave with three days growth feels sooooooo good. I do have to look good for work so that usually means daily with a half shave on odd days because I have such a light growth ... and BBS 9 times out of 10.
X
I've seen several people boast about their razors and claim that they are so sharp, they can get a "baby butt" shave in one pass. I'm pretty skeptical, though.
When I try for one of those obsessively close shaves, one pass will never do it, no matter how sharp the blade. As someone already mentioned, the hairs grow every which way, so nabbing them all (and getting that "it doesn't feel like I have the ability to grow hair" feeling) requires you to shave in all sorts of directions, which doesn't seem to qualify as one pass.
That's why I agree with the "three pass" method.
The first pass is done with the grain; the second, across; the third, a selective against. With the right razor, this is my recipe for supreme smoothness.
I put it to use this morning with a 6/8 Wade and Butcher I had been neglecting for a few months. I forgot how sharp it was and was very pleased with the shave.
I'm putting in my vote for BBS in one pass. I think it depends, of course, on the razor, AND, how the one pass is performed. When I shave I do multiple mini "scything" strokes with the grain. This way allows me to get a BBS in one pass without any irritation.
Scott
i've been fooling around with the shave to see what i could get rid of (shaves were taking close to a half and hour). here are my conclusions, i'm sure to be taken with some salt, after a couple of months of shaving and honing my own razor:
actually it's only really one or maybe two conclusions.
---on my cheeks and neck, i skip the with the grain (WTG) pass and just go right to across (CTG), then against (ATG). for my shaves, it makes no difference whatsoever. the donut area is done the way everyone else does, except that instead of re-lathering between the ATG and the CTG, i just splash a little water on to re-wet what's left of the soap. actually, now that i think of it, i do that on the cheeks and neck, too. so here's how my shaves go, with no noticeable difference between this and the traditional three-pass method:
lather, CTG on cheeks and neck, WTG on donut area, splash water on whole face, ATG on cheeks and neck, CTG on donut, rinse, re-lather donut lightly, ATG on donut, then finish with touch ups using water.
it's a little unrelated, sorry, but here are a few of the other things i've tried that i'd like to pass along to other relatively new folks like me, who are looking to make those intial refinements to their technique:
--it really did make a difference when i started stropping before i honed.
--i have spent a grand total of eighteen dollars on everything that wasn't a razor, strop, or hone, and that 18 dollar total includes an eight dollar bottle of thayer's. in other words, just get a boar brush, a cheap ramekin, and buy some soap from colleen. patience and thought will improve your shaves a lot more than fancy preshave oils and all that other stuff.
--it really does help a tremendous amount to consciously reduce the pressure you are using as well as the angle. it is said all the time here, but i realized i wasn't really being careful until about it until recently, and i've noticed a dramatic reduction in irritation. go lighter and pass over it a few times in stead of trying to dig in and get it all in one pass.