Which razor excels against the grain?
Best ATG Razor?
- Thread starter ScritchTheItch
- Start date
Some of the razors that are often mentioned here as having great ATG performance = Henson, Karve Overlander, Lambda Athena.
I have all three and would agree they are great ATG. I'd also add that injectors, with their rigid blade and shallow angle, work quite well ATG.
I have all three and would agree they are great ATG. I'd also add that injectors, with their rigid blade and shallow angle, work quite well ATG.
After going through over 50 razors I will list 3 for you to choose from.
Atelier Durdan La Faulx (AC Blade)
Karve Overlander (DE Blade)
Lambda Athena (DE Blade)
Atelier Durdan La Faulx (AC Blade)
Karve Overlander (DE Blade)
Lambda Athena (DE Blade)
Welcome to B&B! I see you joined us a couple of months ago.
Agree with @Alum Ladd , any razor. In my 2+ pass shaves the 2nd and + passes are all against the grain. All three of my razors work well. It's all about technique (slick lather, little to no pressure on the razor and angle) and ensuring a sharp blade. My three razors are popularly price models in order of aggressiveness including a King C. Gillette, Razorock Adjust (rebranded Baili) and Weishi 9306 Long Handle.
Big_T and @spacemonkey42 , outside of a preferred level of aggressiveness, that is a personal preference YMMV item, what would make one razor preferable for ATG over another? I shave ATG on my second pass and all three of my razors work well so long as I adjust my technique for their varying levels of aggressiveness.
For me, adjustables excel at ATG. Mostly because on my upper lip, under the nose, I can dial them down to "1" and greatly reduce the chances of cutting myself there. For me, in particular, I'm thinking of my Futur, Pearl Flexi OC, and Yaqi TFC.
Good question, @Lane101, I'll try to articulate a couple of thoughts, which are my opinions, of course.
I shave ATG with all my razors, so I can do it with any of 80+ razors. "Best" comes down to how comfortable the razor is ATG along with how effective it is. Some of my razors behave much differently ATG than WTG/XTG, that's not consistent. Blade rigidity is part of it, my razors with low clamping and/or chatter tend to not be comfortable ATG. So that's why I recommended the three above.
I shave ATG with all my razors, so I can do it with any of 80+ razors. "Best" comes down to how comfortable the razor is ATG along with how effective it is. Some of my razors behave much differently ATG than WTG/XTG, that's not consistent. Blade rigidity is part of it, my razors with low clamping and/or chatter tend to not be comfortable ATG. So that's why I recommended the three above.
That makes sense and is consistent with my post above that the main parameter is the desired level of aggressiveness. Similar with my very mild King C. Gillette where, at the cost of some extra effort, one can reduce the chance of a nick or cut down to close to zero.
Thank you for posting. Thinking of starting a thread on blade chatter as it has multiple definitions. Would love to see some research or stats regarding the definition around blade flexing.
These are my top 3 for AGT grain comfort as well. The Athena and La Faulx being my favorites.
I would have to agree with @Alum Ladd and say pretty much any razor should do that. Technique and good lather are your friends.
I usually do three standard passes. The only razor with which I can skip the cross pass and trade directly against the hair is the Lambda Athena. With every other razor I've tried, I absolutely have to make a second pass on the side of the hair, otherwise it's very rough.
Lambda Athena
Since college in the 1960s, I've always finished shaving with ATG. From injector and carts using canned foam or gel, to multiple DE's using a brush, soaps and creams, I favor a DE that works for WTG, XTG and ATG.
Anything with Low gap + neutral exposure?
This ^^^ (also my opinion)
I find stiffer blades (AC, Gem) are best ATG, along with DE razors that clamp the blade securely enough to eliminate flexing along the blade edge.
My Timeless razors are the smoothest DE razors that I currently own, followed by my Game Changers.
@Alum Ladd is also correct, and I can get comfortable ATG shaves with any of my razors, though some are noticeably smoother during the shave.
Overlander, easily. Head shaver here and if anybody was going to get irritation going atg on their noggin, it would be me. I have nothing but smooth sailing and no drama with the Overlander no matter which blade I use, and I rotate through about a dozen different blades.
