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I abandoned the multi-pass ritual and went against the grain...

and it took off two days growth in mostly one pass (a little touch up here and there) with a '60s Schick Krona and drug store blades without much irritation.

Am I missing something with all this WTG, XTG, ATG stuff? :huh:
Is it usually necessary to do all those passes? Was I just somehow lucky this morning, or have I inherited a MAGIC Schick from my grandfather?
 
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It really just depends on your beard and razor. With a DE and a Feather I could probably go just ATG and get a DFS, but probably with some irritation.

Learning with a straight, I really realized what the passes are all about. Going ATG with a straight on the first pass is a recipe for a poor shave with horrible irritation. The WTG pass will remove quite a bit of hair but still leave enough that going straight to ATG means tugging and irritation. Putting the XTG in there gets closer than the WTG, but not as close as ATG. It also reduces the hair enough so that you can go ATG with little tugging and irritation.
 
Am I missing something with all this WTG, XTG, ATG stuff?

Maybe, maybe not.

I find I can get away with a lot of different approaches to shaving when I haven't shaved for 2-3 days. If I shave every day, I have to limit the abusive techniques and go for beard reduction and a light touch.
 
Welcome to B&B!

Andy and Bob made several good points. I will add that the Krona is a fairly mild razor, and does a good job of teaching proper blade angle. Enjoy your shaves.
 
Maybe, maybe not.

I find I can get away with a lot of different approaches to shaving when I haven't shaved for 2-3 days. If I shave every day, I have to limit the abusive techniques and go for beard reduction and a light touch.

So true. Give yourself a shave or two like that then you'll know.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Welcome to B&B!

I can't shave ATG right away, the blade will tug and I will get a lot of irritation. However, if it works for you and you are happy, that's good.

The idea of the multi-pass is to have a beard reduction. Each pass will reduce the beard to eventually be so short that you have a very smooth skin.
 
Welcome to B&B! As with most things having to do with wetshaving, YMMV. Some people can throw all of the great advice that's here on the forums right out the window and still get stellar results. The rest of us are not so fortunate!:lol:
It's just a matter of experimenting to find what works for you. Keep at it, because the shaves will continue to get even better...and better...and...:001_rolle Well, you get the idea!:biggrin1:
 
If I have not much growth (shaving after less than 24 hours since the previous shave) I usually go directly against the grain without any problems.
 
The whole idea of the multi pass shave is hair reduction. The reason a simple ATG pass is not advisable is because attempt at hair removal causes irritation. Of course YMMV and all that stuff, but I think most would agree that the best way to get a shave is with hair reduction.
 
Thank you very much for posting this question and thank you to all the people who replied. It's been bugging me for a while why people did this. Now I know.
 
Welcome to B&B. The only time I can go to an ATG pass alone is if I am shaving for the second time in a day. Otherwise, I use a four pass system. But, whatever works for you.
 
Maybe, maybe not.

I find I can get away with a lot of different approaches to shaving when I haven't shaved for 2-3 days. If I shave every day, I have to limit the abusive techniques and go for beard reduction and a light touch.

I think Bobtrumpet hit the nail on the head. Trying the exact same thing the next day, with LESS growth had less than desireable results for me. :blink:
 
Learning with a straight, I really realized what the passes are all about. Going ATG with a straight on the first pass is a recipe for a poor shave with horrible irritation. The WTG pass will remove quite a bit of hair but still leave enough that going straight to ATG means tugging and irritation. Putting the XTG in there gets closer than the WTG, but not as close as ATG. It also reduces the hair enough so that you can go ATG with little tugging and irritation.

+1 on multiple passes and straights

Is this just a once off or can you do it every day for a week without irritation.
This is how I measure improvements in my technique.
 
As my technique has improved, the amount of growth on waking each morning is markedly less than it used to be. There is about as much to shave off at 7AM as there used to be by 7PM the night before (using a Fusion). I have gone from four passes to two with a little bit of touch up. I get a great, irritation free shave with just XTG followed by ATG. I dropped WTG several months ago and actually have less irritation since dropping that one extra pass. If I do miss a day, I will go back to starting with a WTG pass.
 
I tried this and it stunk! My facial hair grows this, that, and the other way; thus necessitating multi-directional passes.


Kudos on only having to do ATG!
 
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