No lather

So instead of writing my paper I think I will post this question which has been driving me absolutely crazy. I have problem areas shaving. There I said it! but what I have realized is that if after my third pass there are still places with too much hair sticking up I simply run the razor atg over the area to try to remove the hair, this usually works (and yes causes some irritation but nothing a splash of clubman wont solve). I don't mind doing this but I mean this should not be the case right? Lathering and shaving off the lather should help remove a lot of hair I think. I would think my technique is pretty solid after alittle over 4 months with it I know what sounds to listen for (buttering toast) when shaving with my razor, I know how to avoid cuts but I am still having such difficulty getting close shaves when I don't resort to razor on skin shaving w/o lather. I've tried switching up the order of passes, increasing certain passes, taking shorter strokes, taking longer strokes just plain old confused here.

Sincerely,
Someone who wants to throw out the disposable for good!

Whiskers succumb to sharpness, with or without lather. Make sure your blade is sharp.

Actually, the use of water to touch up those troublesome leftovers is an old trick and works very well. Something we used to discuss around here (which I haven't seen mentioned in quite some time) is the "water pass", where select parts of the face or the face as a whole is shaved with just a splash of water. Of course you should gauge your skin's sensitivity before attempting this - usually by the third pass my face is pretty tender so I tend to use this technique very sparingly.

I've done water-only touch ups since I began wet shaving four or five years ago, and as long as you're not too heavy handed, there's no reason not to do it if it works for you. I recently saw a series of videos regarding straight shaving on YouTube where a guy only did one pass with lather, and then did his entire second pass with water only. I can try to find the vids if you want to see them. I wouldn't consider his entire series to be ideal for everyone, but he found a system that works for him which is all any of us can ever hope to do, right?

When you stop and think about it the most important thing you need when you shave is lube so the blade moves smoothly across your face. Water works fine and there is no reason you can't shave your entire face with water only. Having said that if you use the water only approach your technique must be really flawless or you will suffer. In a way shave cream is almost like a crutch providing additional cushioning though I know few would ever think of cream or soap as a crutch.

Something to think about eh?