Originally Posted by
GringoMexicano
I'm someone who has the misfortune of having a tough beard and sensitive skin, and for this reason, I've had a hard time getting more than 5 comfortable three-pass shaves out of a razor before having to head back to the hones.
It occurred to me recently that part of the problem was that on the first pass my (usually 2 days worth of) tough beard was taking a great deal of the smoothness out of the edge, smoothness which my sensitive skin requires on the second and third passes. I know some people out there will strop between passes, but I don't like any interruptions once I've gotten into the shave, so instead, I now use two razors, one for the first pass, the second for the successive passes. As a result my shaves have not only become dramatically more comfortable, but technically much better: closer, with nary a nick or razor burn.
Moreover, I have found that within this system I'm able to get the most out of the various grinds of razors I own. That is, the heavy ground wedges are perfect for the first pass, effortlessly cutting down two days of tough growth where thinner ground blades tend to buckle. On the other hand, for the later passes, a full-hollow gives me the feed back I require to avoid cutting or otherwise irritating my sensitive skin. The ultra fine edge of a hollow really shines when it comes to the more delicate work involved in second and third passes, especially when the edge comes to you silky smooth right off the strop, as opposed to having been degraded fighting tough beard on the first pass.
I would be interested to know if anyone else has delegated their passes to two (or more) razors. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that this was a practice used by barbers in the past.