against the grain?

Against the grain works very nicely. I used a very gentle touch and noticed that a little bit of a steady pace helped to prevent the blade from hanging up and provided a very close shave. The neck was relatively easy to get, however the crest of the chin was a bit more challenging and the blade hung up a couple of times.

Does anybody else do this?

Str8 or DE? I struggle ATG in difficult places like the chin when using a straight. If I want a BBS chin I use the DE, which is my default razor lately.

I utilize an extreemely shallow angle when going ATG, almost flat on my face.

My first pass on face and neck is a WTG pass. To get a BBS shave, I have to go ATG on my neck and ultimately use a mixed ATG/XTG second pass (lower left to upper right on left side and lower right to upper left on right side) so I get the different directions of growth. My hardest area is around the Adams apple, where after trying different methods I found pushing from the opposite side so that area bulges and becomes more flat works best for me.

I also use a wtg for a complete first pass, and then xtg above the jaw and atg for neck up and over the jaw and chin for second pass. i agree that at first i found it very frustrating with the atg until i could trust that i was not going to slit my throat and started to put a little pace on it, after about 20x it became very effective and has now become as fluid a stroke as any.

Ian

Yes, ATG every shave. Otherwise it doesn't feel like I shaved.

I have just started doing ATG passes. The only place I really do it at the moment is the neck and jawline. I really don't need to do it anywhere else as WTG and XTG is more than enough everwhere else but it's one of those things that as I get more and more comfortable using the straight I'll give it a try.

Are you talking DE or straight razor? the techniques are a bit different as DE is a bit easier to do ATG with than str8 shaving.

I have to do ATG every day otherwise, I still feel stubble after 2-3 hrs (dense, coarse beard). ATG allows me to go for a good 10-12 hrs before feeling the need for another shave (for next AM, of course).

I keep my str8 razor almost flat to my face when going ATG, except in certain areas like the chin (and some parts of neck) where the blade needs to be a bit more aggressively positioned (15-20º angle).

professorchaos said:

Yes, ATG every shave. Otherwise it doesn't feel like I shaved.

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Bingo!

str8!

I did a first pass WTG and then went ATG. I'm still working on a gentle touch vs my trying to drive the edge into my face technique.

Seraphim said:

I utilize an extreemely shallow angle when going ATG, almost flat on my face.

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+1 here too...this seems to work every time and twice on Sunday!

I rarely do an ATG pass anymore. I typically do a three-pass with one WTG and two XTG in opposing directions. I find I get a consistently smooth and wonderful shave that way.

I do a 2-pass shave daily. The first pass is completely WTG. The second pass is a hybrid - XTG on cheeks, and ATG on neck. What I've been trying to do recently is to continue ATG above the jawline towards the sideburns. The cheeks closer to the mouth are still XTG, and so is the chin. Does anybody have tips for going ATG on the chin with a straight? Do you do multiple short strokes to cover the entire chin, or one longer stroke, adjusting blade angle as you go along?

seraphim said:

i utilize an extreemely shallow angle when going atg, almost flat on my face.

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+1

closer said:

I do a 2-pass shave daily. The first pass is completely WTG. The second pass is a hybrid - XTG on cheeks, and ATG on neck. What I've been trying to do recently is to continue ATG above the jawline towards the sideburns. The cheeks closer to the mouth are still XTG, and so is the chin. Does anybody have tips for going ATG on the chin with a straight? Do you do multiple short strokes to cover the entire chin, or one longer stroke, adjusting blade angle as you go along?

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I believe that this is a reasonable way to shave. To say that you MUST go ATG, or any other way is a bit out of line. Everyone is going to have to find the best way of shaving for themselves. I shave with my straight using all of the ways of shave strokes. Any of the strokes work better on some parts of my face than others. In the end, as long as the shave is what you want, that's the way you should shave. Remember the straight is the ultimate adjustable.

professorchaos said:

Yes, ATG every shave. Otherwise it doesn't feel like I shaved.

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Must agree. No ATG = crummy shave.

yah, when youre stretched in just the right direction, and you get a killer ATG pass - theres nothing like it

markb said:

I rarely do an ATG pass anymore. I typically do a three-pass with one WTG and two XTG in opposing directions. I find I get a consistently smooth and wonderful shave that way.

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+1 If I stick to 1 WTG and 2 XTG I can get a very low risk DFS. I have been experimenting with ATG lately but it is still very tedious since I have not acquired enough confidence to give it any pace. Once I have proven to myself that I can achieve BBS any time I want to, I think I will go back to 1WTG followed by one or two XTG.

I dont go atg that often, perhap once the week, or even once a fortnight, but i do what others tend to do, keep the blade almost flat against my skin, this seems to work fine and no irritation for me.

woodturner said:

Must agree. No ATG = crummy shave.

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Same here. I still do a 1 pass on a rushed morning, but I hate feeling small stubble as I'm driving to work...

I actually shaved last night so I could get 3 passes in. I knew this morning would be a rushed one, and sure enough, I was right! Good thing I woke up with a pretty good feeling face!