Thread: Do You Start Your Shave Going Against the Grain or South to North?

In using DE's and SE's, I would sometimes make an against the grain or south to north, my first pass. Has anyone tried or do this on a regular basis with straight razor shaving? Will it get you to a closer shave more efficiently?

I myself do not begin a shave going atg. Most others probably don't either. Give it a shot, and if it works for you then rock on. If not, Congratulations you are normal.

Mostly north to south for the first pass which translates to across or with the grain. Against the grain is mainly a finishing stroke for me, but ymmv.

I did actually try this, it didn't make a difference and I still felt the need to do three passes. But try it may work better for you.

Always WTG on the first pass. I've tried other approaches (XTG first or ATG first) and neither resulted in a better shave and I got a touch more irritation. This is definitely one of those YMMV things though.

I find the ATG pass is more effective and easier after an initial "beard reduction" first WTG pass.

Gentlemen:
Gradual beard reduction is the general idea in wet shaving with the straight razor or the double edge. Since my exceptionally sensitive skin is matched with a heavy and multi-direction beard, I compensate by starting with the grain, mostly north to south, to make it easier for my skin. Across the grain comes next. Finally, I shave against the grain where needed.

I do general WTG/XTG first for beard reduction. I do not pay close attention to grain direction until final clean-up which is always ATG. I often rehydrate/relather immediately before initial ATG clean-up. I may end my shave by rinsing the lather away which removes its cushoning effect letting me feel my remaining fine stubble for my final ATG clean-up used on my most difficult spots. Rinsing off the lather for final clean-up on wet hairs lets me get a closer shave, but requires more attention to pressure and angle to avoid nicks and irritation. Keeping my skin wet gives me enough glide for this final clean-up. By the time I am done, I have come at my beard from many different directions.

Major beard reduction before ATG lowers my risk of tugging and irritation when going ATG. I cannot get a really close shave on my difficult spots without using ATG. Rubbing my fingers on my face feeling for stubble tells me the razor stroke direction that I must use for my final ATG clean-up.

Blade sharpness makes a big difference. The first thing I notice when a blade is losing its edge is that it starts getting harder to get a close shave.

Pre-shave prep also makes a big difference. Maximum beard softening is needed to achieve the lowest risk of tugging and irritation when shaving ATG.

Skin stretching also makes a big difference in the achieved shave closeness and risk of getting a nick..

When using a DE razor, it is easy to make strokes from almost any direction. Stroke directions are more constrained when I am using a straight razor. I may be able to use strokes that are generally XTG from made from different directions, but not always true WTG or ATG. With the straight razor, I avoid risky difficult to control stroke directions that have given me slices or bad nicks in the past.

Being a newbie at straight razor, and a long time full beard before that, I'm still learning about the grains on my face. Today I discovered that on my neck I get a visibly closer shave XTG - there were annoying little hairs that I could not seem to get even ATG. It was a pleasant surprise and my neck is, for the first time, BBS. But that was third pass, WTG being the first pass.

Always WTG on the first pass. Starting ATG gives me a LOT of irritation and sometimes even razorburns... If I don't get myself a nice cut first... ATG on the first pass is far to aggressive for me