One-pass Week Challenge

The first thing I noticed was my angle of approach too, mostly with my straight razor.
Who is using DE and who is using a straight razor?

Okay gents, I'm very pleased to report that I achieved a damn fine shave on day 3 of my one-pass week. Here's how I did it:

Shower shaved using shave gel I purchased locally, keeping my strokes efficient and tight (overlapping some), following the grain carefully, and using my free hand to help tighten my skin just ahead of my stroke.

The result was superb compared to days 1 & 2. I made zero touchups! Skin looks great and although I feel the stubble rubbing my face atg, it's smoother than an apple going wtg. I'm very pleased indeed. My only regret is a minor nick between my lower lip and chin (too many fast tiny strokes in that spot, oh well... it's invisible). I never nick myself! Dangit!

Charlie Van Dyke said:

The first thing I noticed was my angle of approach too, mostly with my straight razor.
Who is using DE and who is using a straight razor?

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DE, here (not sure I mentioned it).

With an aggressive razor I can get a pretty decent shave in a single pass. Some days I just do one and am quite content with the results usually. I never do more than two passes. Something between a CCS and a DFS is plenty good enough.

I get nowhere with one pass. Instead of torturing myself with the impossible, I just continue with my two full passes and touch-up.

It depends on the razor you're using. With my EJ 89, I have to do WTG, XTG, and ATG to get a BBS. Just WTG and XTG will get me a DFS.

BUT, on my Muhle R41, I only have to go WTG and XTG to get a BBS. If I go ATG I will get pretty bad irritation.
I hate to admit it, but I actually enjoy using my mild razors more.
Are there any less mainstream and/ or obscure 3 piece medium-aggressive razors out there? All of the cool and obscure ones that I've heard of are super aggressive.

Using the same method as Day 3, I managed another decent shave last night (didn't have time to shave in the morning). I got the idea to use up the Derbys that are just sitting in my closet. I figured they're good enough for a one pass shave. I was right

I'm doing a one pass with my Dovo "Best Quality" straight razor all week with Williams soap due to another post. I think finding that a very shallow angle of approach garners the cleanest results, is the most important lesson I've learned from this exercise. I haven't had any redness around my facial hair. I used to get a kind of red aura at the hairline edges of my goatee and especially my mustache.
The Williams soap only gets a thin lather with a lot of slickness (which tends to clog my DE razors). I found that this thin, slick lather helps me see and detail the hairline.
When I saw the attached video of a barber shaving around a goatee, I thought that he was being cheap with the lather, but now I understand why this professional chose this consistency. Check it out if you straight shave or maintain facial hair.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1-F1JfnUC4g

Well since I shave everyday I did a one pass shave yesterday in 2 minutes flat.It was SO much worse than my regular 6 minute 4 pass shave that the 4 minutes I "saved" weren't really worth it.I looked at the mirror after I finished shaving and I was MARGINALLY better than totally unshaven (1 day's worth of stubble).

Razorcan said:

Well since I shave everyday I did a one pass shave yesterday in 2 minutes flat.It was SO much worse than my regular 6 minute 4 pass shave that the 4 minutes I "saved" weren't really worth it.I looked at the mirror after I finished shaving and I was MARGINALLY better than totally unshaven (1 day's worth of stubble).

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Wow. That's pretty bad. You must have a beard like steel wool. I take much longer than 2 minutes to do a single pass, but I'm kind of new to wet shaving and take my time. I even find myself enjoying the ritual of shaving, so there is definitely a difference in techniques.
If you found a routine that works for you and only takes 6 minutes, stick with it. I'm still working on mine.

Charlie Van Dyke said:

Wow. That's pretty bad. You must have a beard like steel wool. I take much longer than 2 minutes to do a single pass, but I'm kind of new to wet shaving and take my time. I even find myself enjoying the ritual of shaving, so there is definitely a difference in techniques.
If you found a routine that works for you and only takes 6 minutes, stick with it. I'm still working on mine.

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Trust me I have found a routine that I follow since.....well 1980 when I started DE shaving.

I always do 4 passes and it takes me 5-6 minutes


After my hot shower (during which I wash my face and stubble well with regular soap) I simply re-wet my face with hot water and put on some shaving foam (usually Proraso green) from a can.

Than I take my trusty Mercur 34c (loaded with a Feather or a Persona or a Shark blade) and do a quick 4 pass shave (with the grain,across to the right,across to the left and against the grain).

The secret is to shave SMALL areas (around 3 sq cm) and perform ALL passes at the same time rewetting your face w/ a bit of hot water after each pass thus eliminating relathering.

So what I do is shave a 3 sq.cm area w/ the grain with shaving foam on it and than immediately re-wet the SAME area with a bit of hot water (I simply dip my finger into hot water and drag it over the particular area on my face) and shave the same area across the grain to the right than re-wet and shave the same area across the grain to the left and than re-wet and shave the same against the grain (yes the water reactivates the "invisible film" the shaving foam leaves and provides plenty of glide and slickness).

Than I move to the next area and do the same all over again ( I start on my half right cheek under my ear,move to the other half closer to my nose,moove to the right side of my neck than move to my left cheek and left side of the neck and leave my nose & mouth/chin areas for last)

I do this VERY fast (I have been shaving with a DE for more than 30 years so I have very good technique) and this way I do a complete 4 pass shave in around 5-6 minutes.

The result is BBS every time not different from my "leisurely" (8-10 minute) 4 pass shave that I sometimes do when I "pamper" myself using a brush and shaving soap.

So... I ordered a Maggard V3A last week along with a new handle and it arrived today (actually since it's 2:00am, technically it arrived yesterday). So of course, I took it for a spin and Muahahahaha!! I was grinning so wide I could've eaten a banana sideways. This was the smoothest one-pass shave to date. It took no time at all and my skin was smooth enough for me to go meet a client and not feel the least bit self-conscious. I have to admit tho, I cannot WAIT to get a BBS with that new razor! Mmmmm mm!

Thanks for sharing your insight, Razorcan. I'm still trying to get technique down and switch between straights and DEs. Right now I'm working on my straight technique and just using Williams for a while. Trying to strengthen skills and give Williams a fair shake at the same time. If I try a second pass this week (for touch ups) I'll try to just re-wet my face instead of re-lathering.

Congrats, Zigzag

I shave daily - and twice daily for all of June (a sortof challenge). I can do a two pass XTG R41 shave daily, and be pretty happy but if I'm not in a hurry, then three passes / three and a half do it for me. I cannot shave ATG, so it's a two pass minimum with most razors.

Floyd Eye said:

With the right technique, daily BBS in 2 pass is easily attainable. I do it regularly and I am less than 3 months in.

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Not for everyone, though. It's all ymmv since all have various skin,beard types. Despite best hardware and technique not everyone can get bbs in just two passes.

Was somewhat inspired by this thread to reduce my shave by one pass. I decided to try two XTG in different directions and that's it. Worked out pretty well. Somewhere between a CCS and DFS with pretty much zero irritation. Perhaps worth looking at as a every other day shave to give my face a rest.

Okay gang, I just finished with my 6th one-pass shave this week but since it didn't vary greatly from the last shave, I thought I'd talk about something other than the quality of it. While I didn't have any epiphanies this week, I did learn a few things. For starters, I originally accepted the challenge because I had intended to shave three nights a week with a single pass but the first thing I realized was that one pass is just not going to cut it (oh god, that was a terrible, unintended pun). I don't like shaving in the morning except occasionally on weekends, where I like a close shave with some mentholated product (Texas heat, ya know). Also, I had reservations about using a more aggressive razor but it turns out, as i'm sure many of you have also experienced, it takes so little effort to get a damn fine shave with one and it's a lot easier to wield (feedback etc). I became much more familiar with the landscape since I had more stubble for longer periods. And I learned that I care nothing about the number of passes, I desire a BBS shave EVERYtime. I can't wait till Friday when I can finally get one! One more day, gentlemen and I'll be playing in my soaps and trying out two new brushes! Whoop!

This isn't a challenge. This is what I do every day.

bvance554 said:

This isn't a challenge. This is what I do every day.

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Word.