For you guys that never go against the grain. Try a super adjustable on setting 1 with a feather blade and see what happens. You can all thank me later. Greg.
I do a 2 pass shave with the grain. The only time I go across is directly under the nostrils. The only time I get a hint of irritation is when my lather isn't thick enough.
I go mostly WTG, 2 passes everywhere but chin which gets 3-4 passes (carefully). One troublesome spot, however, is just below my bottom lip which wants desperately on its own to grow a soul patch. That I must attack ATG.
I am happ to do a 3 pass shave and get a BBS, BUT with certain razors I know I cant do that and I tend to a similar shave to you, GEM razors are one such razor for me, that said they do shave close for one pass and touch ups and the blades do last awhile for me.
What about two passes with the grain? Sorry, I should have read further, you're doing that. I hear that works well for a lot of guys. I've thought about cutting out the across-the-grain pass, as I'm wondering if it's necessary.
My daily routine is generally one pass WTG. When I am in the mood I will do two passes WTG...but I get a really great shave with one pass. I should note my one pass has a lot of similarities to mowing the lawn. I go half over my previous pass with the blade and I do lots of buffing, i.e. short strokes over parts I know are thicker. I have been doing it this way for years even when I was cart shaving. Always a nice shave. I just can't stand redness, irritation or the sensation that I have removed layers of skin in the process of shaving.
Depends on the part of my face. I have a spot on my neck that will get cut up with anything but with the grain. Every shave, every razor. I do one pass there and if it isn't perfect, oh well, there's always tomorrow. Jawline is fine though. I do as many passes as I feel like there (though I don't generally feel like many)
I sometimes do two WTG passes but usually when I am using a straight razor as I am still trying to perfect my skill but I still do ATG pass afterword. With a DE razor I'll do WTG followed by ATG and then a touch up pass. I have thick facial hair so just a single or double WTG pass makes it look like I didn't shave at all. Everyone is obviously going to get different results based on their type of hair and of course the combo of products used (i.e. razor, soap, blade, pre-shave, etc). So if one or two WTG passes work for you then stick with it, there is no right answer... Cheers.
Tried a SA, but I get better results with a Tech. My worst ATG spot, right to left across my throat, is a bear to get smooth. The pre-war Tech with a Rubie did a fair decent job last night. Edit: Third shave with the Rubie in my Old Type...on par with the Tech, and very easy on the skin. Blade's starting to drag a bit, so time to swap it out.
Garrett @gwsmallwood hit it. This may help, too http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/acronyms-abbreviations.22209/
A couple of things occur to me. First, I think a lot depends on your razor and your technique. I've only been at this for a couple of months, but struggled with shaving ATG. It was just downright painful after the fact. Since, I've moved to a milder razor (Feather) I have a much easier time with ATG on my neck. I still won't shave ATG on my face. Don't want to risk the burn. Second is the blade. I've tried a bunch. There are some that just don't agree with my face no matter how sharp. So, I've settled on ones that I know give me a smooth shave. Lastly, for me is the soap/cream. If the soap is very cooling it ends up burning my face on a multi-pass shave. Menthol and eucalyptus are my nemeses. ATG and/or a bad blade just exacerbates the burn. I have to wait a couple days to shave again.
I tried to get the term RXTG introduced for that, but I failed. Answer to your question: sometimes yes.
Yes, when I do a second pass I go nose to ear with XTG. My daily touch-up on my jaw line is in that direction also.
Things are pretty good. How are things in Ontario. "Good thing grow in On-tar-i-o" haha. Gosh I'd love to bo back to Parry Sound for a trip sometime. I find I seem to pick up more stubble going ear to nose than the other way, I guess because my hair grows in that direction somewhat. I want to try and get as smooth as possible without going ATG; lots of nicks lately.