ATG not for me

I remember when I first started shaving (with a cartridge razor) I thought you were supposed to go against the grain for a close shave because I didn't have anyone to teach me. The irritation sucked and I got razor bumps. I remember watching the Cosby show and Dr. Huxtable was teaching Theo to shave and he told him to always go WTG, never against. I know, it's sad I had to learn that from a TV show. I have never shaved ATG again until last night. I've been shaving with a straight for 3 weeks and thought what the heck, I'll try a 3 pass. It is smoother but to me the irritation I'm feeling is just not worth it and I hope I don't get any ingrowns from it. It also wasn't enjoyable trying it. I even had the razor spine flat when I did it.

I'm a man. I have facial hair. If you can still feel a little stubble after I shave rubbing against the grain, deal with it.:D

I have found that to get a really close, comfortable shave ATG, the razor must be truly shave ready and you must use a very light touch.

Of course, skin stretching is a must too

I use ATG with water only as a test of 'shave readiness' when I hone.

Hope this helps

OTOH it may not be for you

ATG takes time to master. I wouldn't write it off after one try. If you don't feel any need for it, awesome. But know that you can learn it if you ever want to.

Yeah, I found out early on in my straight razor adventure that ATG wasn't for me either. I do two passes of WTG/XTG strokes and get a very nice, close shave.

I will sometimes do atg, sometimes I wont. It all depends on how well the shave is going to begin with, and how much time I have to shave. I will admit there is a difference in result between when I use and don't use ATG.

In my teens when I "taught" myself to shave I also thought a single ATG was the way to go. That was okay when my facial hair was fine, but when it started to thicken the single ATG pass would chew up both my face and the cartridge. Then like most guys I switched to WTG only, sacrificing a close shave. I still got massive razor bumps on my neck because I didn't realize I was actually shaving ATG there.

When I started using a SR and learning the proper techniques of shaving, prep and beard mapping my razor bumps disappeared for good. When wielded correctly a SR is the gentlest shaving instrument IMO. That being said, to this day I still have that Danger Zone at the bottom of my neck that doesn't tolerate ATG even though the rest of my face does. For regular shaving I just accept that that small portion of my face will be less smooth than the rest.

As well, keep in mind that you're only 3 weeks in. Once you gain more experience, especially with stropping and shaving, give ATG another go and see what happens. If the results are the same it just wasn't meant to be.

Truth be told it took me months of shaving daily to get comfortable with going ATG and that is not to say getting good results on difficult areas like the neck. I would say just do 2 pass shaves until you are really good and confident with that and then ease into ATG. By ease into it I mean get good and comfortable going ATG on the cheeks and then slowly adding more difficult areas. You are only 3 weeks in so don't rush/push it. That is from the view point of someone who has been scrapping his face with one form of razor for over 40 years before learning how to shave with a straight. You might think with that much experience shaving doing so with a straight would be dead easy, WRONG.

Besides improving your shaving/stropping technique over time, a truly good edge is needed to go ATG not barely just shave ready. You would be surprised how easy it is to dull a razor in a short time when you are just starting to learn. I mean dull to the point of being just sharp enough that it will shave easy areas with the easy passes but stumble ATG especially in the difficult areas.

Anyway, just a long way of saying not to give up on going ATG but just do it in your own good time.

Bob

I've never liked shaving ATG, I do two passes WTG and XTG, even with my DE razor and a Feather blade with a relatively smooth face I still wouldn't dare with the lightest touch do a ATG shave, I guess some people have the kind of skin you could cook a breakfast on and it would make much difference, but I get really super smooth shaves without doing a ATG shave.

Jamie

Thank God my shave is smooth with 2 passes of WTG, because I'm not skilled enough & I'm terrified of even trying ATG.

I want that bbs every day and it took a while to get it. It might not be worth the hassle. If I didn't want it that bad I think I would have stuck to a DE. I wouldn't hurt myself everyday to get it though. Pink lather is not required to get a good shave!

All good advice and you're right. Only 3 weeks in I shouldn't even be trying this. But on my first shave I ignored the advice and shaved my whole face anyway. And yes I paid the price in razor burn. I guess I just want to accelerate the learning process and get those great shaves without irritation and ingrown hairs and bumps that everyone talks about. With my old cartridge I still got ingrowns a couple times a month in the same problem spot on the neck even though I was going WTG. And I will probably try ATG again albeit not ANY time soon!

Now I have to ask and I hope I don't get struck by lightning by asking but, I tried the shave with a brand new, shave ready, Dovo Flowing 6/8 from SRD that I presume was honed by Lynn. I had only shaved with it one time before and that shave was great so I don't think I dulled it. So the question is that should have been "truly" shave ready right? Or is it possible to improve the blade even more?

you are looking in the wrong direction i think. if the razor mows xtg without trouble it probably isn't razor related i would recommend getting better with doing wtg and doing a face map before completely discounting atg. worked wonders for me.

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Originally Posted by gunsandbibles

you are looking in the wrong direction i think. if the razor mows xtg without trouble it probably isn't razor related i would recommend getting better with doing wtg and doing a face map before completely discounting atg. worked wonders for me.

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What I was wondering is does a brand new razor fresh off the hone do even better after a certain amount of stropping? Is it generally known that after you get a razor fresh from a honing that you still have to strop it so many times before first use, or do you just have to do your regular pre-shave stropping routine because it is shave ready? Maybe I'm thinking of the smoothness vs sharpness thing. I don't know how Lynn finishes the honing i.e. if he just finishes with Naniwa 12K and leave it at that or strop it on a paste or just plain leather etc. Before first use I just stropped it on plain linen 25 times and plain leather 50 times. You see where I'm going? Maybe some people prefer it just off the stone, maybe some people like to strop the heck out of it before shaving. I really don't know because I've never compared the difference. I'm just trying to learn and see what final finish surface the majority of people prefer and maybe how the razors come finished from Lynn. I've read and researched a lot but sometimes it's information overload. Some people go 12K, some go on to diamond pastes, some use CrOx, some just strop the dickens out of it.

Remember I'm only 3 weeks in to shaving so the reason I'm asking is that what I think might be a great and a smooth shave might actually be improved. Right now if I don't cut myself, get razor burn or irritation, and can at least duplicate what my cartridge did, or a little better that's a great shave to me. The results might be subpar for others though. And yes I already know it's probably a lot of my technique and I'm over thinking it. Sorry for the long post. It'd be great to have a shave ready razor just finished off each surface to try but that's not possible for me.

Jetmech

I think the usual recommendation is that you "not" strop a razor that is just back from being freshly honed before the first shave with it. The reason for that is it will allow you to establish a baseline for what sharp feels like. A secondary reason being that it can happen when you are just learning to strop that you can dull the razor with poor stropping technique. Strop before the second shave and if the blade feels duller than when first used you might have a problem with your stropping technique.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Jetmech

I think the usual recommendation is that you "not" strop a razor that is just back from being freshly honed before the first shave with it. The reason for that is it will allow you to establish a baseline for what sharp feels like. A secondary reason being that it can happen when you are just learning to strop that you can dull the razor with poor stropping technique. Strop before the second shave and if the blade feels duller than when first used you might have a problem with your stropping technique.

Bob

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Dang! Now I gotta buy another razor! :cool:

Generally after a razor has been honed it takes a few shaving/stropping sessions for it to "settle in". It doesn't get sharper per se, but will become smoother. Some guys like the feeling of a blade right off the hones, but I prefer the feeling after it's been stropped a few times.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

Generally after a razor has been honed it takes a few shaving/stropping sessions for it to "settle in". It doesn't get sharper per se, but will become smoother. Some guys like the feeling of a blade right off the hones, but I prefer the feeling after it's been stropped a few times.

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I agree with Ryan,

this is also why I tend to do double my normal stropping when I am fresh off the hones, 50+/100+ versus 25 to 30/50 to 60.

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Originally Posted by Jetmech

Dang! Now I gotta buy another razor! :cool:

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You really don't need an excuse to by another razor, at least I never did.

Yea, I agree with both Ryan82 and pfries that a blade just may smooth out after honing with a few stropping sessions before shaving. That also makes the assumption that the stropping technique is good. I know from personal experience that a month into straight razor shaving my technique was still not too good which my strop can testify to. Nothing major but I am sure it did not do the edge any good.

Bob